RIH Foundation Holiday Fundraiser z | Page 2
your neighbourhood. your newspaper.
north shore PAYDAY LOANS & CHEQUE CASHING
Pogue Mahone Irish Alehouse
BC LIC# 64061
z | Page 5
554 TRANQUILLE ROAD
Volume 13 Number 50 | 50¢
December 10, 2014
778-470-0170 • www.easycashinc.ca
To Vietnam from Kamloops with love It is December again, a month where we all tend to be busier than usual; filling stockings, baking treats and preparing for Santa’s return to town. In amidst all the hustle and bustle is the underlying sentiment of giving; giving of ourselves to others whom may not be as well off as us, who may have faced tragedy or who simply could use a hand up. Former North Shore residents Ric Troyer and his wife Son No Ngoc Mai, who most people know just as Mai, are two such people who take the spirit of the holidays and let those principles guide them all throughout the year. At first glance they look and appear like a normal couple. They do all those normal couple things; they work together, walk their dog Saigon, laugh, play and love. Beyond all the normalcy is something pretty special and to totally understand you need to have a background. Ric himself is a Vietnam vet and met Mai on a trip to Vietnam in 2000. That trip inspired the creation of a registered charity which is still functional to this day which provides tricycles to land mine victims in Vietnam along with rice and financial support to poor villages and orphanages in Vietnam and now Cambodia as well. Through this work Mai and Ric fell in love, were married and together have furthered their work in these countries. Over the years Mai has saved money from her wages to build a home for her father and niece who still live in a small village in Vietnam as well as went back to school as a trained beautician. After honing her skills she and Ric proudly opened the Son Mai Spa. Most years the couple takes a break from their normal life and travels back to Vietnam to continue their charitable work. “We have been able to provide
On December 18, I’m inviting everyone over. JENNIFER HOWE, AT CHARTWELL SINCE 2007. CHARTWELL.COM
over 500 tricycles to double amputee Vietnam vets who otherwise cannot get around,” explains Ric. “Last year we started working in Kampuchea with a children’s safe place for kids with dysfunctional families and were able to supply them with a years worth of rice.” This year is no exception and they are scheduled to fly out of Canada on January 18 armed with a vision and a want to provide some much needed assistance including another year’s worth of rice for Kampuchea as well as a 20,000 litre water cistern which helps collect clean rainwater for the kids to use all year long. “I want everyone to realize that this is not Ric and Mai who does all this,” continues Ric. “We PAYDAY LOANS are just the lucky ones who get& to CHEQUE deliver these CAS gifts. We It isCash really about the Kamloops people.please In bring: Payday Loans these •past 14 years it has had the• Identification energy from the Government Cheques people• Payroll of Kamloops. big ofasIncome Cheques We’ve gotten • Pay gifts stub orasProof airfare• Post from NRICheques Distribution, which probably Dated • Blankwe Cheque or Pre-Authorize wouldn’t have been able to afford in the long run. • Insurance Cheques • Bank Statements People call and ask if they can •buy rice or • Personal Cheques Proofsome of Address buy a tricycle for an amputee. We’ve never asked for money but it comes. We’ve received shipping 554 Tranquille Road • 778-470-0170 • www.easy containers for storage and much more. It is just amazing the amount of people who want to help and it just amazes me that Mai and I have been lucky enough to have this opportunity to represent the people of Kamloops in this way.” Just sitting down with the couple will warm your heart. They take great pride in providing this aid and will do it for as long as they can manage. This year they will go to Vietnam and Cambodia. They will check in on many of their tricycle recipients and visit the kids at Kampuchea. They are excited about being able to provide another cistern for the water collection and help out in any way they can. - continued on page 2
COCOA & CAROLS December 18 2 pm RSVP by Dec 15
Make us part of your story. 628 Tranquille Road, Kamloops 778-376-2001 Conditions may apply.