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Mama Tina
Christina Noble knows the pain and loneliness of being left outside the door -- Of having no door or one's own to walk through, for she was one a streetchild herself, alone on the streets of Dublin.
In 1989, driven by a dream and by the memory of her own past, she traveled 6,000 miles to Vietnam, a country of great beauty where war has left a terrible legacy. Against extraordinary odds she opened the Christina Noble Children's Foundation, a haven of food, beds, medical aid and schooling where the street children of Saigon can find safety and new beginnings under the protection of "Mama Tina".
236 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
About the author
Christina Noble
10 books10 followersChristina Noble is an Irish children's rights campaigner, charity worker, and founder of the Christina Noble Children's Foundation.
Born into the slums of Dublin, Christina was sent into an orphanage at the age of 10 when her mother died. She spent the rest of her childhood and adolescence either in institutions or living rough on the streets of Dublin. In 1971, during her abusive first marriage, she had a dream where she saw the children of Vietnam implore her for help. However, it was 1989 before she could finally travel to Ho Chi Minh City and set up her foundation to help these children. She later expanded her charity work into Mongolia.
Noble describes her early life in Bridge Across My Sorrows and her continuing work with neglected children in Mama Tina.
Born into the slums of Dublin, Christina was sent into an orphanage at the age of 10 when her mother died. She spent the rest of her childhood and adolescence either in institutions or living rough on the streets of Dublin. In 1971, during her abusive first marriage, she had a dream where she saw the children of Vietnam implore her for help. However, it was 1989 before she could finally travel to Ho Chi Minh City and set up her foundation to help these children. She later expanded her charity work into Mongolia.
Noble describes her early life in Bridge Across My Sorrows and her continuing work with neglected children in Mama Tina.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 24, 2012
An incredible inspiring and caring lady.
September 22, 2019
I remember picking this book up from one of my mum's collection of condensed Reader's Digest books around 2005 perhaps.
I was in a maze, struggling to know who I was or what I was meant for. This book gave me a spark within my tempered depression, for that is what I would love to be doing: to affect lives healthily.
I enjoyed reading it, it inspired me to keep going (although it didn't give me further insights into how to turn my goals into reality) besides the realisation to have grim determination (as indicated by Christina in her abusive and neglected past and in using her last savings to start the foundation).
This book told me that dreams of kindness are possible to be achieved. (I didn't particularly like that the foundation was named after her or that it took a foreigner to come to a country to help.)
I write this review as I pass on the copy of my mum's book. Life goes by quick. Enjoy the present moment in whatever goodness I find in it.
I was in a maze, struggling to know who I was or what I was meant for. This book gave me a spark within my tempered depression, for that is what I would love to be doing: to affect lives healthily.
I enjoyed reading it, it inspired me to keep going (although it didn't give me further insights into how to turn my goals into reality) besides the realisation to have grim determination (as indicated by Christina in her abusive and neglected past and in using her last savings to start the foundation).
This book told me that dreams of kindness are possible to be achieved. (I didn't particularly like that the foundation was named after her or that it took a foreigner to come to a country to help.)
I write this review as I pass on the copy of my mum's book. Life goes by quick. Enjoy the present moment in whatever goodness I find in it.
February 13, 2013
This book follows on from the first, Bridge Across My Sorrows, which describes how Christina established her Children's Foundation in Vietnam, and following her successful fundraising ventures and the launch of her book, she extends her help to the neglected children of Mongolia.
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November 12, 2009A brilliant book written by an inspiring woman who was first an orphan in Ireland... and what an incredible journey she is on.
August 7, 2011
a very good book
September 10, 2016
People can be endlessly good. Christina Noble will show you how.
May 28, 2020
I came across Christina Noble’s movie on Amazon Prime and was deeply moved by her life story. TIME Magazine named her one of the 50 most inspirational figures of all time.
The book gets more personal than the movie because she tells the stories of the children she met with their real names. She narrates the first time she crossed paths with them and how their lives would intertwine through the years. Along the way, there were many setbacks and disappointments but the majority of the stories have happy endings.
The poorest and the most disadvantaged children of Vietnam are called the “bui doi” which translates to “dust of life.” They are treated as such, like dirt on the ground. Children of single parents or no parents, and children with disabilities are abandoned in the streets. The disabled children are seen as a bad omen to a family or a possible curse.
Christina saw a lot of children suffering from abandonment, malnutrition, poverty, and exploitation. She could relate to them in a way most people could never do because she too was poor and she too was abandoned by her father when she was a child. She lost her mother when she was 10 years old and her family didn’t have the means for a tombstone. She later corrected this wrong as soon as she made enough money.
Christina had no money to her name when she arrived in Vietnam in 1989 but she had something more important. She had love to give for the children.
Christina literally moved heaven and earth to gain support from local officials, global organizations, media publicity, and most importantly monetary donors who helped her build a school and a nursery center for the poorest children of Vietnam.
Years later in 1997, she arrived in the country of Mongolia where she built a housing project and ran programs for the betterment of the Mongolian youth including the children who were imprisoned.
Undertaking a project that speaks to your heart is a great start to living a purposeful life in the service of others. Sometimes all you need to do is care!
The book gets more personal than the movie because she tells the stories of the children she met with their real names. She narrates the first time she crossed paths with them and how their lives would intertwine through the years. Along the way, there were many setbacks and disappointments but the majority of the stories have happy endings.
The poorest and the most disadvantaged children of Vietnam are called the “bui doi” which translates to “dust of life.” They are treated as such, like dirt on the ground. Children of single parents or no parents, and children with disabilities are abandoned in the streets. The disabled children are seen as a bad omen to a family or a possible curse.
Christina saw a lot of children suffering from abandonment, malnutrition, poverty, and exploitation. She could relate to them in a way most people could never do because she too was poor and she too was abandoned by her father when she was a child. She lost her mother when she was 10 years old and her family didn’t have the means for a tombstone. She later corrected this wrong as soon as she made enough money.
Christina had no money to her name when she arrived in Vietnam in 1989 but she had something more important. She had love to give for the children.
Christina literally moved heaven and earth to gain support from local officials, global organizations, media publicity, and most importantly monetary donors who helped her build a school and a nursery center for the poorest children of Vietnam.
Years later in 1997, she arrived in the country of Mongolia where she built a housing project and ran programs for the betterment of the Mongolian youth including the children who were imprisoned.
Undertaking a project that speaks to your heart is a great start to living a purposeful life in the service of others. Sometimes all you need to do is care!
August 12, 2022
An incredible life story and, again, exemplifying how "One person can make a difference." Definitely on my shelf of, "Outstanding achievements."
February 25, 2024
Unforgettable!!♡
February 21, 2024
One of my all time favourites.
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November 24, 2013Beautiful. True story, makes u think how blessed we all are.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews