I met the founder of Bridging Hope, Sr. Sen, many years ago when she had a small retail space where she sold handmade items from Vietnam. No one working in the store was paid, so proceeds from sales went directly back to the Vietnamese crafters. The store is no longer open, but Sr. Sen has grown Bridging Hope into a powerful source of resources for several projects in Vietnam. The non profit focuses on women and children, providing nutrition and educational programs, support to women entrepreneurs, and recently, the building of a bridge for a community that previously had been isolated by flooding during the rainy season. Bridging Hope is a grass-roots organization that has no high-paid executives, but does have extremely high levels of compassion, perseverance, and love.
Previous Stories
Bridging Hope is a small but powerful non-profit organization. Its founder, Sr. Sen Nguyen, works tirelessly to advocate for the poor in her home country, Vietnam. I met Sr. Sen many years ago when she had a small store in northwest Denver. She sold goods made by Vietnamese women who had polio. The store had no paid employees and money earned from sales was returned to the women in Vietnam. As rental rates increased in the neighborhood, it was no longer viable to keep the store open. During this time, Sr. Sen had established Bridging Hope as a non-profit and she turned her focus to building the organization so that her work could be more impactful for Vietnamese women and children. Money raised by Bridging Hope supports nutrition programs for children, particularly children suffering from HIV/AIDS. It also provides funding for education, elder care, flood relief, and care for abandoned children. It is so inspiring to hear Sr. Sen speak about her work and mission, and donors can be assured that their dollars will have a direct and positive impact on the Vietnamese communities that are in great need of support.