LIFE HERE IS A MUSIC

Dear Caritas family, today from all over the world, we invite you to come to Vietnam and listen to the song "My love, my love" that the mental health brothers at Trong Duc Social Protection facility along with the facility's owner family, Caritas Dalat and many other hearts are singing every day. To describe the brotherhood here, we will use the image of a piece of music. In particular, each person in Trong Duc, from patients to waiters, is a musical note. Those musical notes were written by the One we call Father - God - "Did not He who created me in my mother's womb also create him? And did not he also create us in my mother's womb?" (Job 31, 15) - who created us all, therefore we are brothers. And in the context of Trong Duc, we are brothers.

The brothers were taken in and raised by the owner of the facility  Here are people with diseases related to mental health. Most of them were abandoned by their families for a long time. Therefore, they need love and care. Caritas Dalat serves Trong Duc better 5 years of striving to enhance dignity and improve the quality of life for our brothers and sisters children through health care and improving mental health through therapy social psychology. The journey of the past 5 years started from the Diocese of Dalat saw the need for holistic healing and service in these areas these brothers and sisters.The Caritas spirit always implies a fraternal relationship with all everyone. And we are aware that the service program here is a “prize Dharma" helps your life have "the necessary conditions for a life there is humanity and comprehensive development” (quote Fratelli Tutti, 129). You know no? The brothers here mostly have disorders of consciousness, thinking and behavior. Degree Ways to help practice basic habits like washing hands, brushing teeth, or participating in activities activities like washing dishes, cleaning the house, reading, making rosaries, doing crafts, watchingtelevision and participate in festive events organized by us, fellow patients Improved awareness and action.

It's fun to hear, isn't it? But sometimes at work, we feel impatient like when you get frustrated with so are your children. But after overcoming those difficulties, there will be joy joy, joy comes from the heart, comes suddenly through many different images that we received while serving, including two images that they I will mention it below.

Second image most: It is they who take care of each other and here "brotherhood" appears

In the facility, there are many groups of mild patients who have recovered Participate in service work such as drying and folding clothes, washing dishes, clean the house, prepare meals, and the young brothers take care of the old and weak brothers. At the facility There are couples who go together, they help each other walk, feed each other and bathe their friend when he is unable to take care of himself. Many times before the danger of death of a brother, there were many people worried, crying,... and many people standing in front medical room to pray. A few sketches of the brothers in this place This evokes the "selfless" sacrifice of poor people for each other. The word itself We find the wealth of affection that strangers have for each other many “Good Samaritans” in a psychiatric facility.

Story about Mr. Vo Phuong Huu Bao

Every day a patient takes clothes from the washing machine and take it outside to dry. When it rained, he hurriedly called more brothers another to collect things. Dry clothes will be neatly arranged for the day the next day. His motivation for service was gratitude and a desire for holiness. No We must have thought of ourselves and made such judgments, but there were many times when he said: “Yes I've been here for 18 years, if it weren't for this facility I would have died, I wouldn't have had to come here No matter what, your stomach will be full and you will have warm sleep." As for the desire to become holy what? One singing practice session I asked: "Did Uncle Bao ask the Virgin Mary for anything?"” you He replied: "I only ask to die peacefully in Miss Maria's hands, looking at the second or fourth something has asked for a good death in the hands of Miss Mary. Through small evidence, We see that the good deeds we do for our poor brothers and sisters are a testimony of love Love completely, thereby creating motivation for love to spread. Those are us caring and caring will be committed to caring for and serving others.

Second image two: Friends remind us

Here while living among you, we are the “normal” people are a minority. Therefore we are turned into "crazy" people. in their normal lives. Sometimes we were absent-minded and they reminded us. Many times the scissors are left on the medical table while the door is open, and the key is left at the door and maybe a proverb that someone wrote outside the door of the medical room: "A physician is like a mother." There is a brother who specializes in writing on walls and doesn't know it Whether it was by chance or on purpose, he wrote "A physician is like a mother" on the front door of the room Doctors work. That made us feel warm because of his affectionbrothers for us but it is also a reminder to us Do not neglect the professional ethics of a physician. Finally, Sometimes when we experience it again, we see that we are really similar to them, and we are happy. also sad, also tired, also angry. But go beyond the similarities Human characteristics and the feelings we give each other are the same each other more than anything.

In a society where exclusion is widespread where, many times, our brothers and sisters are considered a burden remove. But through the two images we just looked at, we can see: "Each person Each of them can make a unique contribution to the common good thanks to their life stories worth your price” (quoted from Fratelli Tutti, 98). The gift we give them, They give to each other and from them they give back to us, helping both us and you The patient's children all develop in a new way, as Pope Francis said: “Indeed, when we open our hearts to others, that opening will making it possible for them to develop in a new way, while they are still themselves” (excerpt Fratelli Tutti, 134)

Life here is a song and chorus “brotherhood” will be repeated over and over again. Although there are many flat signs next to those notes, but overall the song still has a joyful sound because we know that:

“Let's give each other thousands of loves Let's give each other happiness and pain The heart gives us a place to take refuge To forget many desolate days"

(excerpt Let's love each other - Trinh Cong Son)