Charles R. Johnson provided us with some of his favorite pictures from ROW’s recent visit to Vietnam.

Enjoy!

 

The day began with us picking up the folks at the Children of Vietnam organization and heading to the Hoa Vang district. Stopping at a community center, we were met with eager children awaiting new bikes and calculators (a total of 20 each). A representative with DOLISA, who serves as a representative for the children in the district, and the vice chairman in the district, were present to greet ROW and the Children of Vietnam (COV) representatives.

The executive director of COV told the students, “The new calculators will help improve your studies and the new bikes will shorten your transportation to school and help you be able to take your grandmothers to the market.”

In the Hoa Vang district, there are an estimated 10,000 poor children. Simple tools such as a bike and a calculator can set up a child to go a long way in their studies.

Next stop was at a rural home in the Hoa Vang district where ROW will soon build a new home for a struggling family. The family, which used to consist of five members, is now down to just a young mother and her 10-year-old son living in a tiny house that consists of a hard packed dirt floor, one make-shift bed, table, an outside covered area for doing dishes and clothes and a small area out back to cook. This family will soon receive a new home, a bike for the mother’s son and a chair to make the boy’s studying a bit easier as he sits at the table.

A highlight of today was stopping at a kindergarten that COV constructed in 2007. ROW will use this building as an model when it executes plans for construction of a kindergarten in central Vietnam. Special cakes and noise makers were handed out to the children in preparation for celebrating the annual Tet Trung Thu, or mid-Autumn Moon Festival, which takes places the 15th day of the eighth Lunar Month.

After a stop for lunch at a traditional Vietnamese cafe, surrounded by water and lily pads, we headed back to Da Nang. Several members of the team took a stroll through the huge marketplace, which is situated in a large warehouse type building but sprawls out onto the sidewalks. You can buy everything from T-shirts, shoes, an assortment of fruits to pork, fish and everything imaginable!

Until next time, this is ROW’s rowving reporter, Karin M. Clack

Today’s perspective was quite similar, or rather an extension of yesterday’s. Just seeing the partnership between our organization and Children of Vietnam is a refreshing example of how two organizations with similar purposes can unite, pool their resources and talents and accomplish much…ultimately for God.  

Seeing the looks on the children’s faces, as well as on the adults, was very moving. My perspective in general on this trip is quite different than everyone else’s. This isn’t just a short-term mission’s trip for me. It is an opportunity for God to reveal His plan further to me. I have developed a real, genuine love for the people of Vietnam. I have such a desire to go home and delve further into their culture, religion and history as a country. 

Today also stirred within me an excitement of things to come for both ROW and the Children of Vietnam. It’s one thing to spend time planning, organizing and executing a dream or vision, but it is something else to see it unfold. Today, we began to see a part of the overall picture unfold. I look forward to witnessing even more pieces of this vision coming to pass. I do hope that somehow, someway, that I can be a part of ROW’s vision in Vietnam in the years to come. 

Now that I have been on two short-term mission’s trips I can see advantages and disadvantages to these trips. The advantage is igniting a passion within people to go home and stir up the same excitement in others to further the overall mission of ROW. The disadvantage, for me personally, is only being a small part of a much larger plan. I’d like to be able to see a project through from start to finish. 

I praise God for all that was accomplished today and for making a way for both ROW and the Children of Vietnam to maximize its talents, time and resources to better the lives of so many children. 

In Him, Karin Clack

Today may have been one of the most personally satisfying days I’ve ever experienced. We left the hotel at 7:30 this morning and traveled to Danang, picked up the crew from Children of Vietnam, and then proceeded to Dai Loc in Quang Nam Province. I could have never imagined what we were to see. When we pulled up to the orphanage, there were people and bicycles everywhere. There were children of all ages; not only the orphans housed there, but also poor children of Dai Loc with their parents. It was an incredible site. Bags with school supplies, clothing and food that had been purchased by ROW had been delivered prior to our arrival, as well as some new bicycles and calculators for the older children who are beginning to study more advanced math. We were welcomed by the director of the school and introduced to the vice-chairman for the district, who was very gracious in thanking us later. After distributing the clothes to the children, we moved outside to distribute the supplies, the bicycles and the calculators. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a more grateful group of kids anywhere, and their smiles were the best thanks we could have received.

After leaving, we visited several more orphanages in Danang, where the scene described above was repeated. I don’t believe I’ll ever forget the happiness that we brought to the kids we saw today. I hope that I can return to Viet Nam next year and maybe bring Melissa with me.

Charles R. Johnson

Beneath the surface: Interpersonal harmony is a strong cultural value in Vietnam, as in many other Southeast Asian countries. Most people in this country strive to hold in check any potentially unpleasant emotions and information. I’ve admired the self-control of the Vietnamese, yet I’ve also recognized the cultural challenge this poses for ROW and other
well-intentioned westerner NGOs: How do we get accurate information necessary for our partnerships here to succeed? Today, for example, we visited two orphanages and four homes for street children. ROW’s mission is promote the general welfare of these children, but how do we make sure we engage the orphanage directors in honest conversations about the needs of their children? ROW built relationships with contacts in southern Vietnam, but needs this type of on-the-ground presence and knowledge in order to serve more effectively in the central region. Fortunately, this week ROW was able to collaborate with some outstanding people from a local organization, Children of Vietnam (CoV). Together, we have accomplished more during this visit than either organization could have accomplished alone.

Follow up, follow up, follow up: Today we not only strived to address the children’s current and future needs, but we made sure to investigate the results of ROW’s past support. What happened to the washing machine we gave your orphanage? This type of follow-up helps to hold our partners accountable and gives us vital information for future efforts. 

Work-arounds: Inevitably, ROW visited orphanages that were not as competently managed or staffed as others. Although we didn’t want to have ROW’s money squandered or misused, we also didn’t want to leave without trying to help the children at these orphanages. Today we delivered new clothes, food, and educational supplies, and we documented the children receiving these gifts.

Frederick A. Stamp

Map of Vietnam

Today was an exciting and productive one, as the ROW team, consisting of Drew McIlreavy, Freddie Davis, Andy Stamp, Karin Clack and Charles Johnson, traveled to Da Nang to meet with representatives of Children of Vietnam (COV).  Over the past year, Drew has been talking to the founder of Children of Vietnam, Ben Wilson, to better understand the mission of this group.  It became clear that ROW and COV share a common vision in its efforts here, and the purpose of today’s meeting was to discuss where COV and ROW might work together to compliment one another’s efforts.  Joining us at the meeting was Luong Thi Huong, the Country Director of COV.  As a result of today’s meeting, ROW and COV will continue to explore ways in which they might work together in the future.

Also, the team formulated a detailed budget for effective ways to benefit the children that it hopes to serve in Vietnam.  Included in the budget are funds to donate to eight orphanages for food, clothing, school tutoring and other necessities, funds to purchase fifty two bicycles to be distributed to an orphanage and impoverished children in rural areas, calculators for orphans, clothes for 280 impoverished children, and a new water pump for one orphanage.   Other items funded by the budget include two washing machines and two dryers for orphanages, the construction of a day care center in Quang Nam Province, the construction of two homes for poor families with disabled members in the rural area near Danang, and funds for books, toys, clothes and rice, to be distributed on behalf of ROW by the staff of Children of Vietnam. 

Following the meeting with COV, we all had lunch with old friends at Bread of Life, a café run by deaf young people in Danang.  We all received a warm welcome, especially Freddie and Drew, who are old friends with the kids at Bread of Life.  We also traveled to at bike shop with the COV staff and purchased fifty two bikes to be distributed per the budget mentioned previously.

It was quite a day and one that we hope will lead to a better and more productive effort in our work in Viet Nam.  

Charles Johnson

First stop for the day was at the Street Kids in Vietnam, sponsored by NGO, Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, in Hoi An. Assessed the needs, which includes about five sponsorships for kids to attend university or college. Estimated cost per month, per student is around $40 for tuition, equipment and supplies. An additional $17 is needed monthly for food. Also need volunteers to clear area where vegetable garden can be planted. Time permitting, we may take care of this need on this trip.

Second stop was at Hoi An Orphanage. There are about six students who need sponsorships to attend college. Other needs assessed include a dryer to be installed in room with the disabled students and a commercial type blender to crush the rice for the disabled children. Dryer estimated to cost $500. There are 19 disabled children, ages 3-12. The orphanage also needs books and other school supplies. Children survive on 50 cents a day for food from the government; really need at least $1 per child daily.

Additionally, an estimated $1,200 is needed at this orphanage for the water tank system, to include concrete to make the system more secure and a pump to add to the water pressure.

Third stop was at the Blind Center in Da Nang. Brooms are made by the blind adults. There are also two rooms designated at the center for various types of massages. The center was constructed by ROW in 2004 and there are currently 17 adults working at the center who are able to make and sell the brooms, supporting a network of 100 families.

The Blind Center has recently experienced some financial difficulties with rising cost of materials for making the brooms. Three years ago it cost about $500 per ton and currently the cost is around $3,000. The center needs $12,000 for investment in this business and is only able to secure up to a $6,000 loan. The massage business is stable.

Last stop was at Dai Loc Orphan Nourishing Center in Quang Nam Province. The orphanage houses 45 children; the center receives 30 cents a day from the government to feed each child. Needs include bicycles for the kids to travel back and forth to school and sponsorship for kids to attend college. Also need a more dependable pump for their well.

Made a stop in Da Nang to price washers, dryers and blenders.

After a stop at a silk factory to see the process of how silk garments and products are made, we took a relaxing boat ride then had dinner at Cafe Can; excellent dinner! Time to wrap up the day with a devotion and debriefing of today’s events.

Much more to do while we’re here, but thus far, God has been gracious and we’ve been safe, healthy and accomplished much for our first full day.

Until next time, this is Karin Clack from Colorado reporting as ROW’s “rowving” reporter!