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In honor of their son who passed away four years ago, my distant relatives have founded a school and fund a few initiatives in Vietnam to help disabled youth who have been affected by Agent Orange in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. While in Vietnam, I had the opportunity to visit the school and spend a day with the Children of Vietnam NGO. A huge thank you goes to Dick Schmitt for making my visits possible!
The Children of Vietnam NGO
The Children of Vietnam NGO “works to change the lives for the better of poor, orphaned, homeless, disabled, and vulnerable children in Vietnam” (COV Mission Statement). In the one short day I spent with COV, I saw two of their six initiatives – the Hope System of Care for Children with Disabilities and the Empowering Foundations for Women and their Children – in action. These are two wraparound initiatives targeting the most vulnerable in their communities.
The Empowering Foundations for Women and their Children works to help single mothers and their children become self-reliant through providing a combination of microloans, education, housing, and healthcare. During my visit, we made one house visit to meet with a woman who single-handedly raises her three children and breeds pigs and ducks to sell as an income-generating project. Unfortunately, we were not able to meet with her as she was very busy making her daily rounds asking neighbors and restaurants for their leftover food scraps to feed her pigs. We were, however, able to talk with her 12-year old son who has taken on many of the roles of the head male figure in the household since his father passed away.
In addition to the house visit, we also visited an orphanage which benefits from the initiative. As it is summer vacation for the children, we found them watching television in the common room, playing chess in the dorm room, and making necklaces, fishing rods, and crowns from the leaves of trees in the courtyard. I played with the children while the COV staff met with those in charge of the orphanage.
The Hope System of Care for Children with Disabilities provides comprehensive care to children with mental and physical disabilities, many of whom have been affected by Agent Orange/dioxin. Around 300 children benefit from this initiative. As the day I visited was International Children’s Day, we attended a ceremony in which the children were provided with large bags filled with nutritious foods, foods to which they may not otherwise have access. Ping, the COV intern who happens to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and I were given the privilege to hand out the bags to the children. After the formal ceremony, Ping and I played with some of the children, putting smiles on all of our faces, while their parents met with COV staff to discuss the comprehensive plan for the children. About every six months, COV meets with each family individually to discuss the needs of the children, including health care, physical check-ups, economic support for the family, education, and nutrition.
Children of Vietnam is an incredible organization with a very hard-working staff and is clearly making a positive impact in the lives of many people in Central Vietnam. Learn more at their website: www.childrenofvietnam.org
At the orphanage - I just did her hair
A child creating a crown from leaves and twigs. Ping is helping!
Families receiving care packages as part of International Children's Day
Me with the children beneficiaries
The children having a great time taking pictures of each other with Ping's phone
The Children of Vietnam staff and me
The Landon Carter Schmitt Residence for Blind and Visually Impaired Children
Built in memory of Landon Carter Schmitt, this residential school is currently home to 28 visually impaired and blind children from the Quang Tri province in Vietnam. This school provides a safe place for the students to grow and learn how to assimilate into mainstream society. The teachers and residential staff are trained in the best methods for working with the visually disabled youth so that the education is most beneficial to the students. The students are taught “braille and mobility and English and computer”…so that they have the “skills that will help them contribute to their families and country in ways no one thought possible when they were born without, or lost, their sight” (The Landon Carter Schmitt Residence e-mail newsletter).
Unfortunately, since I visited during the school holiday, there were no teachers or students at the school. However, Tam from the Global Community Service Foundation and also the owner of Tam’s Café (http://tamscafe.jimdo.com/) in Dong Ha, graciously took me to visit the school. It is truly incredible to see the work that my relatives and the members of the Dong Ha community are doing to improve the lives of these children. It is empowering and inspiring.
The Landon Carter Schmitt Residence for Blind and Visually Impaired Children
Tam and I in front of the LCS Residence dedication plaque
Thank you to all who made this experience possible for me:
Dick Schmitt, my cousin and founder of the LCS Residence for Blind and Visually Impaired Children
Nancy Letteri, the Executive Director of Children of Vietnam
Loung Thi Huong, Country Director of Children of Vietnam
Nguyen Xuan Tam, GCSF staff who gave me a tour of the LCS Residence
Thank you for the work you do.
Nice work thank u all.
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