Khánh An Pagoda, Bình Châu, Vũng Tàu 2026: Gifts, Wheelchairs and Prayer Beads

On March 13, 2026, the Compassionate Hands team gave out gifts at Khánh An Pagoda in Bình Châu, Vũng Tàu, and spoke about monthly rice, wheelchairs and scholarships.

On March 13, 2026, after a night's rest in Saigon, the Compassionate Hands Foundation team (Hội Từ Thiện Bàn Tay Nhân Ái) rode to Khánh An Pagoda in Bình Châu, in the Vũng Tàu area. It was the next distribution after the Mekong Delta leg from Sóc Trăng to Bạc Liêu.

On the bus and under the old tree

Every day on the foundation's bus, before giving anything away, the members pause inwardly. Soft chanting for peace mixes with the engine and the early sun through the windows. The city outside hurries along, while inside the bus there is a quiet space of its own.

At Khánh An Pagoda, the first sight was villagers waiting beneath a huge old tree, its shade spread over kind faces. So that nobody had to wait long, the team started work at once: unloading boxes and setting them out on tables. Each member knew what to do without being assigned.

The foundation on rice, wheelchairs and scholarships

A representative of the foundation, the first to speak at the ceremony, thanked the venerables, the nuns and the organizers for allowing the foundation to build a bridge from donors in America. He said Khánh An is one of the places where the foundation has supported people in very hard circumstances, giving 10 kilograms of rice a month to get through.

We keep hoping that this year or next year we can restore the 10 kilograms of rice for you. Please be patient and glad.

Representative of the Compassionate Hands Foundation

Because the foundation's funds are short, the monthly amount is for now cut to 5 kilograms, and he said clearly that this is only a temporary fix. He then spoke about three more groups.

• Elderly or disabled people without a wheelchair: the foundation will ask donors for wheelchairs. Some live far away and cannot easily come, so the team will check carefully so that each wheelchair reaches the right person. Unclear cases will be reviewed later.
• Students: the foundation used to give scholarships twice a year but can no longer give them regularly. When the team visits, it brings one-time gifts. If funds improve, scholarships will return as before.
• Struggling families without a monthly rice share: they receive one-time gifts to ease their hardship a little.

He asked the villagers to be understanding if the gifts fell short, and thanked the nuns of the pagoda for their hard work in preparing over the previous days.

A string of prayer beads in the gift

Besides rice and daily necessities, each package here included a small string of prayer beads. A monk from the team asked the villagers to spend a little time each evening on practice. If they know little about the Dharma, he said, they can recite the Buddha's name a few times before sleep, one round of beads is enough.

When we start to recite the Buddha's name, the mind settles and becomes steady, we fuss and worry less, and our lives can improve.

Monk from the team, speaking at Khánh An Pagoda

He also thanked the abbess and the nuns of the pagoda for making it possible for the team to come and give.

A song and slow footsteps

During the distribution, one team member began to sing, softly, in the pagoda yard. The narrator called it a gift without a shape, music saying what words can hardly say.

In the yard, a bent old woman, walking with difficulty, still made her way to the distribution. A team member quietly came over to support her. Nothing was staged; the person did it out of simple instinct.

What remains, and the next stretch

Looking back, everyone on the team was smiling. They had left family, work and comfort in America for long bus rides, carrying, guiding and sharing. In return they received warm eyes and the firm handclasps of the villagers.

Khánh An Pagoda closed with reluctance on both sides. The team got back on the bus and continued toward central Vietnam, where more people are waiting.