About the orphanage
The House of Affection/La Maison des Affections was founded by Thuy and Jean Garcia in Hue, Vietnam in July, 2012. The work of taking care of orphans has started back in 1999 after the epic flood of November, 1999 but we have not formally registered our non-profit organisation until 2012. Once the news spread, other orphans and abandoned children were sent to us as well. Today 40 children live in the The House of Affection and under our direct guardianship.
Educate to Elevate
We are not an orphanage in the traditional sense. Yes we take in children who have lost both parents or are abandoned, however, we don’t stop supporting them once they reach 18 years old. Both Thuy and I believe that we need to give them the best possible education so that they can have a brighter future and can return and help more children. For 17 years, we took care of them in a self-sufficient way though the income of our travel agency and homestay business but COVID-19 would change all that…
In addition, The House of Affection is also in charge of the reintegration and the education program for Sampanier children. Sampaniers are former lake tribes who live on boats. A small association in France, Les Sampaniers du Vietnam, is responsible for finding sponsors. For this program, we built 160 houses, helped build 2 kindergartens, a primary school and a college. With the help of volunteers from major French and American schools, we were able house and educate about 500 children.