On the morning of February 13, 2025, the 5th Spring of Love Festival organized by Caritas of Da Lat Diocese with the theme of Spring of Association and Hope gathered more than 400 people with disabilities at the Bao Loc, Bao Lam, Di Linh, Da Te Disabled People's Associations and the Hoi Home group at Trong Duc Social Protection Facility. The program was fortunate to have the joint contributions of Tan Bui Parish, the Dalat Holy Cross Lovers Association, a group of volunteers, the parish Caritas network and benefactors near and far.
Like the warm rays of sunlight on the first day of the year, each convoy of vehicles carrying disabled brothers and sisters rolled towards the Spring Festival with joy. From early morning, the atmosphere was bustling with the presence of Vicar General Father Gioan Bosco Hoang Van Chinh, Father in charge of Caritas Bao Loc District, Parish Priest and Deputy Priest of Tan Bui Parish and the Fathers in Bao Loc Parish. They not only come to accompany but also to share, to love and together create a meaningful festival.
SPECIAL MOMENTS
Opening the spring festival was the dance performance of the Peaceful New Year Mashup performed by the children at Mai Chan Giuse Shelter. Although they are not professional dancers, each of their movements contains a warm depth - a story of strength, of the desire to love and accept. Parish priest Giuse Phan Dao Thuc shared: "The opening performance is from special children, so it's really special. They may not be perfect in every dance step, but it's that effort that touches our hearts."
On the occasion of this spring, the organizing committee gave souvenir flags to participating units, as a meaningful commemoration so that every time spring comes, they remember the warm moments together.
The spring festival atmosphere is more bustling with stalls of folk games such as throwing cans, drawing lucky numbers, releasing mice, traveling to three regions, throwing bottle necklaces, magical hats... Each crisp laugh, each eager look creates a joyful, cohesive space. At the same time, the diverse food area with familiar delicacies such as duck eggs, grilled meat vermicelli, spring rolls, lagu bread, fruit jelly... brings a rich meal, full of loving flavor. Interwoven with the singing performances, the "channel number scanning" part is also an indispensable performance on this happy day, the participants had relaxing moments full of joy with the lotto singing filled with laughter.
INSPIRING STORY
One of the meaningful and traditional moments of the festival is the moment of honoring examples of overcoming difficulties and inspiration. This year, we are pleased to welcome Mr. Gioakim Pham Cuong from the Bao Loc Disability Association - who wrote a powerful story called "Overcoming Fate".
In the warm atmosphere of the spring festival, his story touched everyone's hearts. The story originates from a traffic accident in 2016, where he became quadriplegic due to a cervical vertebrae injury. At that time, he was only 20 years old, but he had to rely on his family's help for every daily activity, no matter how small. His life seemed to have ended in darkness, but in the midst of his most desperate days, he still had a lingering question to God: "Why am I still alive?" It was that question that motivated him not to give up, not to surrender to fate, so that day by day, he found the light and true meaning of his life. After two years of being in darkness and persistently struggling with himself, he realized his own talent and found new light in writing and spreading positive values.
Even though his hands cannot move, he can still write emotional words thanks to the support of computer technology. Each of his words is not only an expression, but also a source of encouragement and support for people in the same situation. To date, he has published many inspirational works such as Overcoming Adversity (published in 2019), Journey of Dreams (2021), Desire Is Here (2023), and most especially the book 99 Wishes in the Night (2024) - this is a work that records his whispers to God, miraculous experiences of prayer life - a small light that illuminates the path of hope for many souls. At the end of the sharing, Mr. Pham Cuong did not forget to send words of encouragement to everyone, he emphasized: "I believe that, if we are still present in this world, God must have a good plan for each person." At the same time, he also gave his dedicated books to the participants in the festival.
BEFORE THE MINUTE OF PARTING UP
Today's program alternates between silence and a fun atmosphere, bringing different levels of emotions to attendees. The gong dance performance "Tung Chieng Ban Mai" of Tan Rai parish brought into the traditional festival space full of identity, while the quiz with prizes with questions revolving around spring day stirred up the space, creating an exciting atmosphere for everyone to quickly win attractive prizes. And finally, the ending performance "Doan Xuan Ca" by the young people of Tan Bui parish completely closed the program. Before ending, Father Director of Caritas Da Lat Gioan Bosco Hoang Van Chinh did not forget to send spring wishes to everyone and give lucky red envelopes to each disabled brother and sister, as a word of encouragement for the journey ahead.
THANK YOU
Spring Love Festival 2025 ended with joy and the joint efforts of many units. Our organizing committee would like to express our gratitude to Father Giuse Phan Dao Thuc for creating conditions for Caritas to have a venue to hold the program. Thank you to the Da Lat Diocese Communications Department for not fearing long distances to record and broadcast live, spreading loving moments to the community. In particular, we would like to thank our benefactors, brothers and sisters in Caritas parishes, young people, students and volunteer groups who contributed their efforts and enthusiasm to make the program a success.
May God bless all the generous hearts who join hands to spread love. Although the number of disabled people in the diocese is still very large, with all our current abilities, we hope that our small contributions can add a little joy and encouragement to our less fortunate brothers and sisters on life's journey.
