On June 27, 2025, On June 13, 2025, a group of volunteers joined the rhythm of daily life at the Da Nang Center for Victims of Agent Orange and Disadvantaged Children—a place that has long served as both home and haven for those living with profound challenges. What they brought with them were not grand solutions or heavy promises, but simple, sincere actions. A broom in hand. A warm smile. A quiet willingness to listen.

Phase 2 of the project, titled “The House is as Fragrant as Sunshine”, wasn’t just about cleaning or organizing. It was a day to restore beauty, presence, and shared humanity in a community where every smile, every gesture of care, means more than words can say.

A Shelter of Endurance
This center is home to people whose lives have been forever altered by the lasting effects of Agent Orange. Most of them children and individuals with disabilities, many abandoned or with no family to turn to. In this quiet corner of the city, staff and caretakers work tirelessly to provide a home, care, and a sliver of comfort to those who have been dealt the hardest hands in life.

Each hallway echoes stories of resilience. Each face carries a quiet strength. Yet despite the love within, the center has long struggled with limited resources. Over time, some spaces grew dim. Others were left uncared for. The weight of scarcity often left behind untended corners, cluttered courtyards, and more than a few forgotten rooms.

This was where the project found its calling: to restore not just cleanliness, but dignity.

Cleaning Space, Closing Distance
The volunteers began with simple, heartfelt tasks: sweeping the garden, clearing walkways, collecting trash, and sorting waste. These actions, while modest, were done with the hope of offering support to a place already held together by so much quiet dedication.

At the heart of the center are the staff and caregivers: the people who have devoted themselves fully to the care and dignity of the residents. Their work, often done without recognition, is the foundation upon which the center stands. On this day, the volunteers did not come to replace that love, but to join it. To walk alongside it, even just for a moment.

In between cleaning and organizing, volunteers spent time with the residents in small but meaningful ways: drawing together, sharing gentle stories, singing softly. These moments weren’t about doing more, but about being present. For a few precious hours, the center became a space of shared humanity, of people simply showing up for one another.

A Bowl of Warmth, A Gesture of Respect
One of the most touching parts of the day came with the midday meal. Thanks to generous fundraising and community support, the project provided bún bò Huế—a rich, flavorful dish far beyond the simple meals typically served at the center.

To most of us, it’s just a familiar Vietnamese comfort food. But to the nearly 50 residents that day, it was a small but powerful message: you are worthy of something special. A warm bowl of carefully prepared noodles, broth, and herbs became more than nourishment. It became proof that they are remembered, honored, and cared for.

The dining hall filled with the aroma of spices and quiet joy. For a moment, the room held something sacred: a shared sense of celebration, as if even the air had become softer.

A Space that is as Fragrant as Like Sunlight
The name “The House is as Fragrant as Sunshine” wasn’t chosen for its poetry alone. It reflects the project’s deepest hope that kindness can linger like sunlight, quietly warming those who live in its glow. In this space where so many had been touched by hardship, the presence of care itself became a kind of healing.

This project didn’t only change the environment. It reminded people inside the center that they are part of the community beyond these walls. That their presence matters. That there are hands and hearts reaching toward them in genuine respect and solidarity.

And for the volunteers, it was a moment of transformation too. Many entered with the intention of helping others, but left with a profound sense of having been helped themselves. Helped to see more clearly. To feel more deeply. To appreciate more quietly the strength of the human spirit.

A Quiet Yet Powerful Affirmation
Phase 2 stands as a deeply emotional milestone in the journey of the project “Clean Home, Happy Meals”. It shows that even in places often forgotten, love can find its way. It affirms that cleanliness, safety, and beauty are not luxuries—they are human rights.

But perhaps most importantly, it speaks a quiet truth: that everyone, no matter their circumstance, deserves to live in a place where the air is fresh, the rooms are kind, and the sun can reach all the way inside.

Because sometimes, a clean home isn’t just about sweeping the floor. It’s about lighting up someone’s heart.