“Every 3 seconds, a child dies completely unnecessarily as a result of extreme poverty …The thing is, all these deaths are avoidable..” if we take proper steps to raise awareness and act to end poverty.
During the Vietnam war, my grandparents and parents grew up in poverty. As I was told, life was extremely tough. Mum used to help her parents sell “banh beo” (a traditional Vietnamese dish) on the street. Dad sold knick-knacks and did a number of odd jobs hear and there throughout his childhood to help support his family. Both of my parents went to school but did not have an opportunity to attend college. When they met and got married, my parents decided to work hard to send my siblings and I to school to get an education, and hopefully, we would have a better future. I would not be the person I am today if it wasn’t because of them. To my parents, education is the key to overcome poverty.
On 6-10 May, 2013, together with thousands of other Australians, I took on a challenge of feeding on $2/day, for 5 days, to fundraise for The Oaktree Foundation. The funds that we raised helped renovate schools, train teachers and provide education opportunities for thousands of young people in East Timor, Cambodia and Papua New Guinea. I never thought it would even be possible to eat on $2/day in a developed country like Australia. The fact is, almost half the world – over 3 billion people, live on less than $2;50 a day!
Having lunch with my friend, Angelica Casado, who was also doing LBL.I’m currently writing an E-book on how to be yourself and be happy. Please fill out your details in the contact form below and you will be notified when the book is ready!
Binh Doan 