By Tam Nguyen, Nguoi Viet
WESTMINSTER, Calif. ― Just ask the children who have attended the Bodhi Youth of America camps what their time spent there means to them.
Bodhi Youth of America campers perform during the opening ceremony.
“I liked going to the camp because I made new friends, and it was a lot of fun,” said Amy Pham, 9, a BYA camper said.
“I would like to come back if I can .I enjoy the camp and the activities,” said Thomas Nguyen, 8.
“It was better than summer school, and I like the activities and learn how to be a better person and help my family,” said Kelly Tran, 10.
The organizers of Bodhi Youth of America held a fundraiser on Sunday to make sure kids can keep attending the camp. Their goal: to help the organization make its final payment on a campsite.
Harmony Pines Camp and Retreat Center in Wrightwood, Calif., hosts summer camps sponsored by BYA. The teen summer camp for ages 13 to 19 .last one week, and children ages 8 to 12 spend a week there.
The mission of the camps is education combined with fun, including outdoor activities such as hiking, canoeing and swimming. An estimated 20 to 30 youths attend the camps each year, according to BYA organizers.
Vu Mi Hanh speaks to the community about the organization, Bodhi Youth of America.
“We started in 2006 with a campaign to rally the youth and the community to spread the word of BYA,” said Vu Mi Hanh, a board member. “In 2009, BYA started the children’s program and every year after that at the campsite.”
The camps teach the young people how to take care of their families and themselves while controlling their emotions with meditation. BYA is not only for Buddhists but to followers of all religions.
“We have youths from different religious beliefs who join the camp, and they enjoyed it as well,” Hanh said.
“We don’t focus on religion in our activities at the camp but we teach the youth the meaning of life with the Buddhism cultural background,” Hanh said.
BYA is a nonprofit organization that helps the youths with their lifestyles and families. It also supports the community and charities. Master Ce Thich Hang Truong is the founder of BYA.
“The youths have enjoyed their summers with us, and we are glad to show them the meaning of life and show the youth the way on how to care for themselves and their families,” said Master Truong.
Truong was born in Vietnam and lived through the war and was educated in the United States.
“I have seen many things in life that have changed the way the youths have grown up. With these camps, the youth know between the rights and wrongs and learn to say ‘no’ and ‘yes’ to the right things in life,” Truong said.
A few hundred community members attended Sunday’s event to help BYA toward its goal of $30,000 to pay for the campsite. As of the end of the evening, the group was just $7,000 short of its goal.
The youth of BYA provided the entertainment along with Vietnamese singer Nhu Quynh.
“It’s nice to have a chance to help the youth as they are the next generation,” she said. “The youth are to be taught to live the right way. BYA prevents them from walking down the wrong path, and it’s why I like to help.”.
Anyone who would like to donate to BYA can visit http://www.bodhiyouth.org/www4/index.php/financial-sponsorship/donation.
