Last week we visited Thien An Orphanage in Ham Tan District in Binh Thuan. The orphanage is run by a group of Catholic* sisters, headed by Sister Mary Thanh Mai.
The orphanage has approximately 35 children, and also takes care of pregnant local women who would otherwise abort their pregnancies. The orphanage appears to be well managed, although it suffers from the usual lack of resources.
It was very hot on the day that we visited (it usually is hot there) and the electricity was out across the region. Apparently the electricity doesn't work for a number of hours every day, so the children have to suffer in the extreme heat. The orphanage is trying to raise money to pay for a generator so that they can runs fans all day in the nurseries and elsewhere. We were told that they need a 10 kilowatt generator which will cost about $USD1200. We are looking to raise the money for this generator for the orphanage. If you would like to contribute, please email us at vietnanon@yahoo.com and we will co-ordinate with the orphanage.
The orphanage also is looking for funds to help take care of the pregnant mothers and babies. It costs $200-$300 to see each pregnancy through to the end. It costs $30/month to care for each child in the orphanage.
We plan to visit Thien An Orphanage again in the next week or so.
We told Sister Mary that we would write about the orphanage on the blog and she sent us a personal message to be posted here, describing the activities of the orphanage and some of her needs. You can read the letter here (PDF). You can see some photos of the orphanage and her residents here and here.
(* For the record, we do not endorse any religions on this blog, and we have reported on our visits to Buddhist, Catholic and Government orphanages and organizations)
Thursday 17 July 2008
Sunday 13 July 2008
Mekong Delta
When we were in Saigon late last month, we had the pleasure of joining up with a group of American 'Viet Kieu' led by Dr Phu Ngoc Nguyen of Global Community Service Foundation (GCSF).
The group was in Vietnam for a number of projects, including the delivery of 180 bicycles to needy children so that they can ride, rather than walk, the long distances to school. The group also built and donated some houses, and housing improvements, to some people in need.
Here is a pic from a recent GCSF event when a bunch of bikes were given to school kids.
The group invited us to join them one day on a visit to Mekong Delta to witness a small ceremony when they handed over a new home to a poor family in the village of Tan Thanh. Dr Phu said a few words (pictured below), in Vietnamese of course, to mark the occasion, as did the woman of the household (pictured left, standing). It was touching, despite the fact that we couldn't understand the words.
Some of the village kids came to see what the commotion was all about:
After the ceremony, we visited a house in another village which was to have a floor added (the floor is currently just the dirt on the ground.) The man of the house is also having some health difficulties and in need of a hernia operation which the group is trying to facilitate.
After the group had finished their work for the day, we all jumped on a boat in the Mekong for some lunch and recreation, hopping from island to island. First stop was a delicious lunch in a stilt house, with seafood and chicken, Jack fruit, and the ubiquitous warm beer.
Yummm, grilled fish.
And here is some Jack Fruit on a tree. Apparently it tastes great in a fruit shake for breakfast.
This pic was snapped from a boat in the river after lunch. These local lads were swimming in the river and enjoying the shade under the bridge... It sure gets hot in the Mekong...
After lunch we visited another island with a (very manual) coconut candy factory, and shop for tourists. These women are hand-wrapping the candy.
Our last stop was on another island which featured an orchard with various fruits where we were treated to a recital of old Vietnamese songs, sung by members of the family who run the orchard, while we feasted on fresh fruit dipped in chili salt.
Some kids watching the performance:
After the performance, we took a stroll through the orchard and climbed into little boats on a little river that runs through the island. This pic shows our oars-woman at the front of the boat, who is five months pregnant.
Thanks to Doctor Phu and friends for sharing their day with us.
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For more background, these two articles (1,2) from earlier in the year describe some of the good work that GCSF is doing in Vietnam, while this article describes the recent trip by Dr Phu and his friends and family. Another organization represented in the group was Viet-Nam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH) which provides wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs. The group also lobbies for rights for the handicapped here, for example, ensuring that building codes include wheelchair access.
The group was in Vietnam for a number of projects, including the delivery of 180 bicycles to needy children so that they can ride, rather than walk, the long distances to school. The group also built and donated some houses, and housing improvements, to some people in need.
Here is a pic from a recent GCSF event when a bunch of bikes were given to school kids.
The group invited us to join them one day on a visit to Mekong Delta to witness a small ceremony when they handed over a new home to a poor family in the village of Tan Thanh. Dr Phu said a few words (pictured below), in Vietnamese of course, to mark the occasion, as did the woman of the household (pictured left, standing). It was touching, despite the fact that we couldn't understand the words.Some of the village kids came to see what the commotion was all about:After the ceremony, we visited a house in another village which was to have a floor added (the floor is currently just the dirt on the ground.) The man of the house is also having some health difficulties and in need of a hernia operation which the group is trying to facilitate.
After the group had finished their work for the day, we all jumped on a boat in the Mekong for some lunch and recreation, hopping from island to island. First stop was a delicious lunch in a stilt house, with seafood and chicken, Jack fruit, and the ubiquitous warm beer.
Yummm, grilled fish.
And here is some Jack Fruit on a tree. Apparently it tastes great in a fruit shake for breakfast.This pic was snapped from a boat in the river after lunch. These local lads were swimming in the river and enjoying the shade under the bridge... It sure gets hot in the Mekong...
After lunch we visited another island with a (very manual) coconut candy factory, and shop for tourists. These women are hand-wrapping the candy.
Our last stop was on another island which featured an orchard with various fruits where we were treated to a recital of old Vietnamese songs, sung by members of the family who run the orchard, while we feasted on fresh fruit dipped in chili salt.
Some kids watching the performance:After the performance, we took a stroll through the orchard and climbed into little boats on a little river that runs through the island. This pic shows our oars-woman at the front of the boat, who is five months pregnant.
Thanks to Doctor Phu and friends for sharing their day with us.
-----------------------
For more background, these two articles (1,2) from earlier in the year describe some of the good work that GCSF is doing in Vietnam, while this article describes the recent trip by Dr Phu and his friends and family. Another organization represented in the group was Viet-Nam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH) which provides wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs. The group also lobbies for rights for the handicapped here, for example, ensuring that building codes include wheelchair access.
Saturday 12 July 2008
Phu My Orphanage, HCMC
When we were in Saigon in late June, we visited a Catholic orphanage for abandoned children with physical or mental handicaps called Phu My Orphanage (aka: The Handicapped Orphanage Protection Center of Thi Nghe).
The orphanage appeared well managed, like all of the orphanages we have seen in Vietnam, although the caregiver-to-child ratio is much higher than we have seen, with 400 children and only twenty caregivers. Given that many of the children at the orphanage have significant problems and many are permanently confined to bed, the orphanage could use a lot more staff.
We spoke with the Vice-Director, Sister Marie Nguyen Thi Hon, and asked her what type of volunteers she needed, expecting that she'd tell us that she needed qualified medical personnel. She told us that they have doctors there at the orphanage every day, and therefore they don't require doctor volunteers, although physiotherapists would be a great help. What they really need is simply for volunteers to come and spend time with the children, perhaps pushing a wheelchair around in the garden area, reading a book to the children, or pushing a swing etc. The most common health issues that the children face are bed sores, choking syndrome and bone weakness.
(The images are from this web page)
The orphanage also maintains two other venues; a 'daycenter' which houses 200 kids during the day so that parents are able to go to work, and a 'teaching farm', 200km north of Saigon, where young adults are taught farming skills so that they can re-integrate and become self-sustaining. We didn't get a chance to se that, but it sounds like an interesting idea.
If you are visiting Saigon and would like to help out for a day, or a month, or on a regualr basis, the address of the orphanage is 153 Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Str, Binh Thanh District, HCMC. ph: 08 899 6563. Email: mocoithinghe@vnn.vn
The orphanage appeared well managed, like all of the orphanages we have seen in Vietnam, although the caregiver-to-child ratio is much higher than we have seen, with 400 children and only twenty caregivers. Given that many of the children at the orphanage have significant problems and many are permanently confined to bed, the orphanage could use a lot more staff.
We spoke with the Vice-Director, Sister Marie Nguyen Thi Hon, and asked her what type of volunteers she needed, expecting that she'd tell us that she needed qualified medical personnel. She told us that they have doctors there at the orphanage every day, and therefore they don't require doctor volunteers, although physiotherapists would be a great help. What they really need is simply for volunteers to come and spend time with the children, perhaps pushing a wheelchair around in the garden area, reading a book to the children, or pushing a swing etc. The most common health issues that the children face are bed sores, choking syndrome and bone weakness.
(The images are from this web page)The orphanage also maintains two other venues; a 'daycenter' which houses 200 kids during the day so that parents are able to go to work, and a 'teaching farm', 200km north of Saigon, where young adults are taught farming skills so that they can re-integrate and become self-sustaining. We didn't get a chance to se that, but it sounds like an interesting idea.
If you are visiting Saigon and would like to help out for a day, or a month, or on a regualr basis, the address of the orphanage is 153 Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Str, Binh Thanh District, HCMC. ph: 08 899 6563. Email: mocoithinghe@vnn.vn
Friday 4 July 2008
Mobile Libraries Project
As mentioned in the previous post, we are back in Vietnam for an exciting new project: delivering Mobile Libraries to schools in Binh Thuan Province.
The Mobile Library concept has been running since 1979 in Thailand. In the last few years, Le Ly Hayslip and the Global Village Foundation have been placing Mobile Libraries in schools in Quang Nam Province in Central Vietnam. We visited some of those schools in April and wrote about the experience here.
Global Village Foundation will now implement the Mobile Library program in Binh Thuan Province, and we'll be there to help!
The Need
Global Village Foundation describes the need on their website:
The Mobile Libraries
The Mobile Library units are simple boxes which hold approximately 250 books each.
Here is a picture of one of the Library units ready to be moved or stored.
And here is a Library unit displaying the books in a classroom.
And here is the Mobile Library in action in the classroom.
Each school in the program is given a Mobile Library Unit at the beginning of the semester, and the children can read the 250 books over the semester (approximately 4 months). At the end of the semester, the Mobile Library Units are rotated through the participating schools, resulting in a fresh batch of 250 books in each school. The rotation program is based on a 2 year cycle, such that each child will have access to nearly 1000 books over the cycle (4 semesters).
The books vary in topic and grade level, and include both Vietnamese and English language titles. The book list is developed in conjunction with the Education department.
Donations
Please consider donating to help us help the Vietnamese children. Donations are tax-deductible.
Contact us at VietnamAnon@yahoo.com, or Le Ly Hayslip at Info@globalvillagefoundation.org
The Mobile Library concept has been running since 1979 in Thailand. In the last few years, Le Ly Hayslip and the Global Village Foundation have been placing Mobile Libraries in schools in Quang Nam Province in Central Vietnam. We visited some of those schools in April and wrote about the experience here.
Global Village Foundation will now implement the Mobile Library program in Binh Thuan Province, and we'll be there to help!
The Need
Global Village Foundation describes the need on their website:
We hope to provide assistance in addressing two major issues that we have identified in Viet Nam, especially in the rural, central region. The first is the literacy problem, and the second is the shortage of books and other reading materials to be used as teaching tools.
[...]
The Vietnamese education system divides primary schools into Main and Subordinate schools. The Main primary schools receive most of the attention and funding, which means that each school is equipped with a library, but not the Subordinate schools. Our aim is, therefore, to provide these Subordinate primary schools with Portable Library Units filled with books so that children attending these schools will not be left behind, educationally speaking.
The Mobile Libraries
The Mobile Library units are simple boxes which hold approximately 250 books each.
Here is a picture of one of the Library units ready to be moved or stored.
And here is a Library unit displaying the books in a classroom.
And here is the Mobile Library in action in the classroom.
Each school in the program is given a Mobile Library Unit at the beginning of the semester, and the children can read the 250 books over the semester (approximately 4 months). At the end of the semester, the Mobile Library Units are rotated through the participating schools, resulting in a fresh batch of 250 books in each school. The rotation program is based on a 2 year cycle, such that each child will have access to nearly 1000 books over the cycle (4 semesters).
The books vary in topic and grade level, and include both Vietnamese and English language titles. The book list is developed in conjunction with the Education department.
Donations
Please consider donating to help us help the Vietnamese children. Donations are tax-deductible.
Contact us at VietnamAnon@yahoo.com, or Le Ly Hayslip at Info@globalvillagefoundation.org
Here is a short clip of two of the libraries in action in a class room from our visit earlier this year. It's pretty simple, and pretty effective, right?
We'll keep you posted as things progress.
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