Title: Sapa and Minorities | Life Stories | Cinematic Documentary Organization: Sapa O'Chau General Enquiries [email protected] Trekking Enquiries [email protected] Volunteer Enquiries [email protected] Contact: +84 2143 771 166, +84 915 502 589 Website: www.sapaochau.org Donations: www.sapaochau.org/social-enterprise/support-us/ Genre: Education, Social Travel Enterprise, Nonprofit & activism Based on: Ethnic Minorities Location: Sapa, Vietnam Documentary By: Ank Adventures (Shoot, Edit & Voiceover) Music: YouTube Audio Library, Freesound SFX: Freesound Overview: A cinematic representation on the ongoing crises in Sapa related to ethic minorities. Followed by 2 interviews with an organization called Sapa O' Chau, which is providing an unconditional support to the minorities here. Description: Sapa is home to five ethnic minorities of Vietnam. Popularly known as H’mong, Red Dao, Tay, Giay (Zaay) & Phu La. Also, its one of the most popular travel destinations in the north of Vietnam. It is estimated that every year nearly 2 million people pay visit to sapa (pre-covid) but these days its pretty empty. And its impacting the locals here due to lack of business & earning opportunities. The living conditions are cruel in this coldest part of the country. Where basic necessities such as a gas stove, proper bed to sleep or in extreme cases clean drinking water, considered as a luxury & seem so distant. If you visit one of the minority villages, you may encounter stone age ways of living. I personally visited Cat Cat, Ta Van, Ta Phin, H'mong, & Lao Chai villages along with others to experience the extremely harsh conditions. To be honest, it's pretty difficult to see minorities experiencing such dreadful problems, especially in Sapa, where the weather usually goes to minus along with wet fog & seldom it snows outside the town. It’s quite a common sight to see kids as young as a 3-yr old selling souvenirs on the streets, eliminating the importance of education & future growth opportunities. You can find them everywhere, usually around the city center. A few of them could be found on the footpath underneath an umbrella on a rainy day, while still selling the souvenirs to the tourists. I've encountered a few incidents where kids don't go back to their villages. Instead, they sleep on the footpath itself with a mere blanket on bone chilling nights. Breaking the poverty cycle appears next to impossible in the midst of lack of resources & absence of guidance. As probably the parents are less than reluctant to send their children to school. Hence, the same story continues from one generation to the other. And the young kids haven't been taught to dream big and to pursue their goals. But, then there’s one organization called Sapa O' Chau, runs by a minority itself, which is making a difference & turning dreams into reality by providing the right platform to the underprivileged. The organization is helping the young adults to get the proper education in the field of tourism & hospitality. And to have the opportunity to lead a decent life and reflect as a role model to their communities. Sapa O' Chau runs a free school, where the students are getting free education, meals & accommodation followed by the internship. However, they're managing the finance via homestay & tour businesses. Which is awfully shaking at the moment and they're forced to support less students. These students are more than willing to change their lives and don't shy away from the hard work. But, during these times of urgencies they need support from you guys to let their dreams survive. So, don't let their dreams die in the middle of a success story worth supporting. Come forward & try to help any which way possible. !!Don't forget to LIKE & SHARE the video to spread the awareness!! LOVE & PEACE