Greater
Seattle Viet Nam Association
Greater
Seattle Viet Nam Association
GSVA Newsletters
Past Newsletters:
January / February 2001
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December 2001
2002 Year End Special Issue
First Quarter 2003
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UPDATE Summer 2004
Breaking the Poverty Cycle for Orphans in Viet Nam
Dave Dean
The plight of orphans in Vietnam and throughout the developing world is truly heart rending. Abandoned, often diseased, shunned by society, and kept alive through the most meager of government programs, these children grow up with virtually no hope for the future. In Vietnam, when government support ends at age 18, the children typically turn to the street for a livelihood and are often preyed upon by the worst elements of society. A few lucky ones are hired back into the orphanage to work with the endless stream of children coming through the doors. These children have almost no chance to experience the support of family and to break out of the cycle of poverty.
Breaking the cycle of poverty is the paramount goal of the “Teaching English” program in Saigon by the Greater Seattle Viet Nam Association. Supported by private donations and grants from the Rotary Club of the University District Seattle and Microsoft Matching Gift Program, this program at Go Vap Orphanage is beginning to show stunning results. The program has been in effect for four years, when I first discovered this special orphanage. Up to 20 students were selected to receive English language training on Sundays and to interact with participants from the Humanitours that have been visiting Go Vap for the past three years. These lucky orphans commit to a great deal of extra work outside of their regular school lessons and orphanage chores. The payoff is that even rudimentary English skills give them an opportunity to get a decent job. Achieving some capability in English and interacting with Humanitour visitors also gives them an important boost in self-confidence so essential to breaking the poverty cycle.
Two of our Teaching English graduates are on their way to independence and a new life as part of mainstream society in Vietnam. Little Linh was found begging in the street for herself and her two little brothers and a sister in 1995. She was 10 and the youngest brother an infant. All abandoned, they had no food, the youngest brother was naked, Little Linh and her siblings dressed in rags. A Vietnamese newspaper reporter found the kids and took them to Go Vap Orphanage. Little Linh was always a hard worker and was selected to be in the first Teaching English class. Last fall, she was accepted to the Culinary Training School and she is now working at the Que Huong Restaurant in the Liberty Hotel in Saigon where she is doing well working with co-workers, managers, and customers. Her English capability opened the door to that job.
Nam, a young man of 19 spent most of his life at Go Vap Orphanage. Treated shabbily by school system he attended, he was rebellious and frustrated during his early teen years. Another of the students in the first Teaching English class, Nam applied himself to English more assiduously than any of the other students. Again his hard work paid off. He was hired as an apprentice to a hotel chef of the Equatorial Hotel, a luxury five-diamond hotel in Saigon, and has become a fabulous cook. After he completed his training, Nam led the opening team for a new restaurant in Vung Tau, a resort city near Saigon. Without his English language capability, Nam would never have been considered for an apprenticeship in Saigon and would have had no chance to be in management in his field.
By the yardstick of orphans in Vietnam, Linh’s and Nam’s achievements are enormous. Our modest Teaching English program is breaking the poverty cycle for orphans in Vietnam one child at a time. When one considers the vast number of orphans in Vietnam, the task seems hopeless. But when you see the pride in Linh’s and Nam’s eyes after years of despair, the effort to build these programs is totally justified.
Through the efforts of board President Son Michael Pham, GSVA plans to expand the Teaching English program to at least two other orphanages in the next couple of years. Equally important, we need to find the resources to begin vocational training for orphans in addition to the English classes. Kids Without Borders began to collaborate with GSVA providing vocational training to the students of the English classes through the ‘Teach Me To Fish’ program. Through extraordinary effort by a board member of KWB, Mike Shimizu, Kids Without Borders has received generous contributions from Pro Sports Club of Bellevue as well as individuals to support the ‘Teach Me To Fish’ program. Another program by KWB arrange for volunteers around the world to donate their time at orphanages such as Go Vap, working with all of the children, from the babies with life-threatening illnesses, the disabled orphans, or the kids in the ‘Teach Me To Fish’ program.
The Teaching English program at Go Vap costs about $2,000 per year, and vocational training costs approximately $300 a year per kid. Similar program can be implemented in other orphanages at about the same cost. KWB goal is to expand these kinds of programs to include children in need in other developing countries.
We urge any of you who can to join the upcoming Humanitour, see the programs
in action, meet the kids involved, share a bit of your time and knowledge with
them, and do what you can to keep the programs healthy. Or you can contribute to
the programs and help us continuing our work.
Changing the world one life at a time is a great way to spend a part of your
life.
** To learn more about Kids Without Borders, please visit www.kidswithnoborders.org.
Clean Water Project
Dick Hunter
The 102 Bru Van Kieu mountain people of Vay Village, Lang Vei, Huong Hua District, and Quang Tri Province in Central Vietnam today have safe water. This village, which has 35 children in it, is just off of Vietnam route 9, 3 miles from Laos. Route 9 stretches some 45 miles from the coastal plane at Dong Ha to the Laos border. The area is mountainous with banana tree groves and rice fields. It is very near to Khe Sanh and the old DMZ. These very small in stature and very poor mountain people who have lived in this area for thousands of years are friendly, polite, humorous, and gregarious. They live in mostly one room thatched huts built on stilts. Their only source of income is selling bananas along the road.
On June 19th , Richard Hunter, GSVA board member, and his wife Saunie attended the dedication ceremony of the safe water system in the village which was finished in May, along with the villagers, officials of the village, the Tan Long Commune, and the Research and Training Center for Community Development. The dedication was held in the village community hut using the Bru, Vietnamese and English languages. The project had started in September 2003.
In the past the woman of the village would have to walk down a very steep sloping bank to get water from the river. The river is downstream from several villages and very polluted. During the rainy season the slope becomes very slippery and very dangerous. GSVA along with several individuals managed and financed the new safe water project using the Central Vietnam Development Center as local project manager. The villagers organized a management committee, which was trained to manage this project, and future projects as well. This training was important for the villager’s future as the benefits go beyond the safe water. “You give a man a fish and he eats for a day, but teach him to fish and he eats for a life time.” The villagers provided most of the labor for the project and feel a sense of ownership and pride.
The water system is a continuous gravity flow system coming from a newly installed small dam, 1 kilometer up the mountain up stream past other villages and piped into four tanks strategically located in the village, a common system in Vietnam. The water is readily available for all uses including bathing and hygiene.
“The benefits of this new safe water system are many fold,” said Richard Hunter. “The safe water is obvious but also the villagers learned how to manage projects, have pride and ownership, and will do more bathing and have better hygiene.”
Note: GSVA Board Member will participate in the HumaniTour November 2004. HumniTour team members will visit the Vay Village with gifts to the children, and tour the new water system.
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Blind Children in DONG HA
On the 18th of June 2004, the Greater Seattle Viet Nam Association made a contribution to the Quang Tri School for the Blind in Dong Ha, an organization they made contributions to in the past. This year a US$200 doantion was made to buy a set of 30 books in Braille for the 7th grade students. Last year a donation was made to buy and install two water tanks for the school for cooking and bathing when the local water source fails which it does regularly.
The school has 25 blind students, 7 to 9 years old, including 7 students from ethically minority families. The school was started in May of 1999.
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Can Tho Orphanage
January 2004, my husband, Paul, my 6 year old nephew, Peter, and I took a 3 week trip to Viet Nam and spent our time visiting family as well as many wonderful days with the needy children of the Can Tho Orphanage. 82 children live in this little orphanage with more than half of them mentally and/or physically handicapped. Chances for adoption is very slim for these little ones; what makes it worse is the borders for adoption out of Viet Nam to the United States is currently closed. Paul and I yearn to bring home a Vietnamese child, but we must continue to wait for the agreement to be signed between the two countries. The children in this orphanage get 2 meals a day, mainly a bowl of white rice and few morsels of chicken or some kind of meat. Vegetables and fruits too expensive, so it is never a part of their meals. They are a family unit; the older kids taking are of the younger ones. Feeding, changing, daily needs as well as give each other rides on their rickety bikes to school and back home again.
MannaRelief and GSVA teamed up to provide these fragile children with almost $16K worth of glyconutrients to feed these children. We also bought 6 new full size beds with rail guards for the older disabled children. In early February, Sister Danielle began to follow the protocol in administering the supplements to each of the children.
On March 4th I received an e-mail from Sister Danielle updating me on the children’s progress. There are some wonderful improvements in many of the children already. Some of them have increased appetites, gained weight, look and act healthier.
• For example, Hoang, an 18-month-old boy, developed Asthma when we was 8 months old. He had a hard time breathing and was always extremely uncomfortable. Glyconutrients were given to him on Feb. 3rd and after 2 weeks all asthma symptoms diminished. Sister Danielle says he’s healthier, more active and can breathe normally.
• Then there is Dong, born on April 29, 1999. He had an underdeveloped brain and tiny arms and legs when he was admitted. During his time at the center, he developed a major skin rash covering all of his tiny body. In one month, Dong’s rash began subsiding. He is now happier and visibly stronger.
On June 10th, we received another letter from Sister Danielle. She reported after three months, the children are still taking the supplements daily with the following results.
• General assessment: All the children have good physical and mental improvement. The majority have had growth spirts. They have a better appetite and sleep well.
• Many of the children gained weight. The less than one-year-old children gain weight faster compared with the older children. Sister Danielle provided a spreadsheet with the weight gain report, which can be obtained per request.
The trip was worthwhile and the work long lasting. We will continue to receive quarterly reports from Sister Danielle and watch what our love and the kind support of GSVA members have done for these children.
Thank you for your kindness.
Khue Dang
HUMANITOURS VIET NAM 2003
My first thought when we landed at Seatac … whew! I got everyone home safe from our journey.
Our trip started out with an unexpected stop in Hong Kong. We were late getting in to Taipei due to our delayed departure from Seattle, due to a power outage at Seatac in the middle of the night, and we missed our flight in Taipei to Hanoi.
Our group of 15 travelers spent a total of twelve days in Viet Nam. We arrived in Viet Nam with 30 pieces of checked luggage, each weighting almost 70 pounds. Prior to our trip, we collected toys, toothpaste and toothbrushes, soap and shampoo, and first aid supplies. We carried computers donated by Digital Partners and Microsoft, new children’s clothes from Kids Without Borders, school supplies and letters from elementary students from our state of Washington. We used a 35-passenger bus to move our group around because of our luggage, and on several occasions we barely had enough room for ourselves.
In Hanoi, we provided over one hundred children’s safety helmets to kindergarten students at the Hoa Mi School. Rotary clubs from the Seattle area and Kids Without Borders have supported the ‘Helmets for Kids’ program of the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation and this is the third school at which we provided helmet scholarships for the students. We were greeted with songs from the kids, lessons about the danger of head injury, and how they could prevent serious injury by wearing their new helmets.
Next we joined the Wheelchair Foundation and VNHelp (both are nonprofit organizations based in California) at a wheelchair distribution in a small commune just outside of Hanoi.
People of all ages and with different types of disabilities came to claim their wheelchairs at the community center. If one could see the expression on some of the faces of these wheelchair recipients, when they replaced their wooden homemade crutches or crawling boards with their own wheelchairs. Mixed with tears were big smiles when they experienced for the first time the ability to move around on their own and to be at the same level as others instead of looking up from the ground.
The next morning we went to pick up 16 wheelchairs, and it took a little teamwork to fit all of them on our bus. We arrived at the Thanh Xuan Peace Village, a rehabilitation center where over 100 disabled children from 3 to 18 years old lived. After we unpacked and assembled the wheelchairs, the children got on them and without any training they showed us how they maneuvered themselves around the playground. In addition to the wheelchairs, we left our donation of new clothes, and dental care supplies.
Our next working day was at the Hoa Phuong Orphanage in Hai Phong, Seattle’s Sister City. We brought along 9 wheelchairs, a computer, new clothes, backpacks full of school supplies, toys, sports equipment, dental care and hygiene supplies, and school scholarships. The morning before we arrived, the children went to the market to buy food and they prepared a sumptuous lunch reception for our group. We spent the afternoon visiting their living quarters, and some of us engaged in soccer and basketball games with the kids. As always saying goodbye was not easy, since the kids made such a great impression on us in such a short amount of time.
After spending some R&R time in Ha Long Bay, one of the World Heritage designated sites, we headed to the central region of Viet Nam. After we arrived in Hue, we visited the landmine programs located in the city of Dong Ha by a Seattle-based non-governmental organization (NGO) named Clear Path International. As we traveled to visit the former DMZ (de-militarized zone) and the battle fields in Khe Sanh, we made quick stops and gave out gifts to hundreds of children along the side of the road. These children are from the hilltribe villages in this remote area of Viet Nam, one of the poorest and most impoverished area of the country. Before we departed Hue, we visited a small school built by VNHelp in a remote village, and a kindergarten school run by a group of Buddhist nuns. It was monsoon season in the central area of Viet Nam and many of the areas we traveled through already started to flood with the heavy rains and the overflowing rivers and canals. The next morning when we arrived in Saigon, we learned that the flooding water claimed up to 10 lives and approximately 45 people were missing. It was only the beginning of the floods, with a major tropical storm just off the coast of Hue.
Our very first event in Saigon was an early morning wheelchair distribution event at the City’s Exhibition Center. As our vans pulled up to the gate of the Center, we watched a middle-aged woman without legs making her way through the entrance of the Center by moving her body with two homemade wooden stools. Remarkably she moved swiftly and quickly by shifting her body from one stool to the other to move forward. This woman was one of hundreds of physically disabled people lucky enough to be selected as recipients of the new wheelchairs. After a lengthy program organized by various donors and government officials, each of us helped carry selected recipients and placed them on their new wheelchairs. It was quite emotional for all of us as well as for the recipients, as we could not hold back our tears and neither could these people. Most likely, for the very first time, these disabled individuals were touched and hugged by strangers instead of being avoided. Then we surprised everyone when each of us handed to each of the recipients the beautiful flower bouquets presented to us during the earlier ceremony. It was a fitting gesture as we wanted to share with them their joy for getting their own mobility.
The final mission of our trip was our visit to the Go Vap Orphanage in
Saigon. The children anticipated our arrival with great anxiety as they knew we
would never come empty handed. We unloaded our bus with bags of toys, candies,
new clothes, dental care and hygiene supplies, medical supplies, and a computer.
We presented our donations to the orphanage staff and children. And we made a
special presentation of a framed plaque to the Director of the Orphanage and to
one of the orphans. Thanh Thanh is a ten years old girl, whose photo was
featured on the front cover of the September Rotarian magazine. She used to be a
shy girl, but now she is much more outgoing after she learned that millions of
people around the world saw her picture. Thanh Thanh is no longer just an orphan
in an orphanage located in one of the poorest areas in Saigon, she is WORLD
FAMOUS.
The hardest part of this entire trip was when we visited the babies in the sick
ward in this orphanage. Near 90 babies from newborn up to 3 years old are kept
in this area. Most are suffering from life-threatening illnesses such as
hydrocephalus to heart problems. With some advanced knowledge, our group
arranged to purchase a small number of stainless steel cribs to replace some of
the rusted and paint chipped smaller cribs.
Then came the highlight of our visit, a trip to the city with a group of the orphans. Our group and a group of 20 kids changed into our group uniforms, logo blue t-shirts from the Pro Sports Club of Bellevue. We jammed everyone in our bus and headed to downtown for a lunch buffet. Then the kids were taken to our hotel for an afternoon nap. Most spent time exploring everything they saw, such as the television remote control, the in-room bar, hairdryer, elevator, … Next we went shopping at one of the most luxurious shopping centers in the city. We started with spending an hour in the game room playing electronic games and rides. After ice cream, each kid was allowed to pick out one set of new clothes and a toy. Finally, time to bid farewell and then came the hugs, kisses and tears.
What a great team we had on this trip. One came from as far away as Florida, and our ages ranged from 17 years old to over 80 years young. We worked for months collecting school supplies, toys, and sports equipment. We begged our dentists for donations of toothpaste and toothbrushes. We met at late hours to pack clothes and medical supplies. Without the funds raised by the Rotary Clubs of the Mt. Vernon, Camano Island, and Sedro Wolley area, the Rotary Club of the University District Seattle, Pro Sports Club of Bellevue, the Wheelchair Foundation, and VNHelp, 1,500 disabled persons in Viet Nam would still be crawling today.
There are many other wonderful touching memories during the trip, many stories to tell. We all came to Viet Nam with different expectations, and somewhat similar goals and purposes. We wanted to experience the country, the culture, the people, and the children. We wanted to experience the reward of making differences to lives of strangers. In the process, we learned about forgiveness, endurance, and persevere.
By Son Michael Pham
HUMANITOUR 2004
Scheduled from November 4 through November 17, 2004.
ABOUT HUMANITOURS: A once a lifetime opportunity to go on a vacation, and at the same time make small differences in many people’s lives. The HumaniTour will offer unique time to experience the glorious sense of peace, the magnificence of a culture, the simplicity and natural flow of daily life, and the irresistible cuisine of Viet Nam. It will also bring you the opportunity to witness humanitarian projects throughout the country by many international service organizations and agencies including Rotary International, the Greater Seattle Viet Nam Association (GSVA), and Kids Without Borders (KWB). Started in 2001, the HumaniTours is an unique concept combining tourism and humanitarianism.
TOURISM: Walk through the outdoor market where ginger and lemongrass fill the air ... among street vendors hawking snacks ... sail a dragon boat on the Perfume River ... wave at women in conical hats on the golden rice paddy or a child on the back of a water buffalo ... cruise among the 3,000 islets of Ha Long Bay, one of the World’s Wonders ... ride on a cyclo (rickshaw) through Hanoi’s charming Old Quarter or the bustling streets of Saigon ... Some of our main stops: Hanoi, once known as the “Paris of the East”; the wonders of Ha Long Bay, the World Heritage Site famous for its natural beauty, its bio-diversity, and its cultural and historic significance; the ancient city of Hue, also a World Heritage Site; and Saigon (officially named as Ho Chi Minh City), a vibrant metropolis teeming with life.
HUMANITARIANISM: You will have several opportunities to participate in delivery donations of gifts or goods to people along our stops. Some of the our stops:
ITINERARY SUMMARY (subject to change):
For additional information and reservation, contact Son Michael Pham at 425-868-5284 or write to info@humanitours.org.
HUMANITOURISM
By Dave Dean
An idea that could both raise funds for GSVA and greatly expand awareness of humanitarian needs in Viet Nam: What if people had the chance to not only see Viet Nam as tourists, but also to participate in humanitarian projects? What if we called this concept “Humanitourism?”
A few of us tested the idea last November. We called the trip HumaniTour 2001. It began with delivering 40 shunts to a doctor in Hanoi. These shunts are metal tubes used to relieve cranial swelling in babies afflicted by hydrocephalus, a disease that seems fairly widespread in Viet Nam. Shunts are expensive, and getting 40 of them donated to GSVA was quite a coup.
We visited a center for disabled children and the aged in the Ba Vi District of Ha Tay Province southwest of Hanoi, giving the children much-needed blankets and sleeping mats, as well as treats.
In Ho Chi Minh City we spent a good deal of time with the children of Go Vap orphanage, where GSVA provides funding for teaching English to the older children one day a week. We had a ball taking the 11 children of the English class on a field trip and helping them develop their English skills. And, in return, the kids taught me how to count to 10 in Vietnamese.
Then we went far south to the Bac Lieu Province to meet with Father Peter Chanh, a parish priest in a small village near Bac Lieu town. The soccer balls, volleyballs, clothes, candy and toys we brought were great hits.
The HumaniTour Concept work will succeed because people like to help, there is great interest in Viet Nam, and the tour enables a person to be a tourist while contributing to the welfare of people in need. It gives the traveler the opportunity to interact with Vietnamese children, teachers, caretakers and others on a personal level.
With the HumaniTour concept, tourist will get to know people of all ages in Viet Nam in a much more personal way. And, if they wish, they can make small contribution in time, money or effort that will make a big difference in many people’s lives.
Article printed in TRANSPORT, a publication by the Port of Seattle, written by Dave Dean, General Manager of Economic & Trade Development for the Port and Board Member of the Greater Seattle Viet Nam Association.
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Greater
Seattle Viet Nam Association
P.O.Box 23282; Seattle, WA 98102 USA
206-322-1178 * Fax 206-374-2944 *
Email info@seattlevietnam.org