Vietnamese Adoptees Give Back At Go Vap Orphanage Care Day

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• published: 09 Nov 2010
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During the 35 year anniversary since the American War in Vietnam ended a few of us adoptees from around the world congregated for a reunion in Vietnam. A Care Day was arranged at Go Vap orphanage on April 10th 2010. We arranged a tour of the orphanage & delivered aid; such as books, toys, stationary, clothes, medical aid, inflatable air beds, vitamins, Sudocrem, toothpaste & toothbrushes for the kids. This was an emotional event for some of us adoptees, some had never returned to Vietnam or had not visited an orphanage before. My personal belief is that when you are an orphan yourself & know you were also in the same situation as these babies; seeing all of them in the steel cots that we would have slept in, then of course it can be emotional & bring a sense of where we all came from. That is exactly how I felt when I first returned to Go Vap in 2007, which is the orphanage I was placed in for the first two months of my life. Words alone cannot express how wonderful it was to see how my fellow adoptees were returning home to help other orphans for that special day. It was definitely a day of 'giving back' but I also think it was one where we all received love & joy from the kids. After the tour of the orphanage we took 40 kids (including healthy, Down's syndrome, disabled & malformed) & 18 members of staff with us for a fun game of bowling to the Diamond Plaza. The kids absolutely love the escalators, something which we take for granted... I must admit I was a bit worried in case they wanted to play on the lifts rather than bowl but once we arrived at the bowling centre, the children were so excited & certainly made up their own bowling rules. (You will be able to see what I mean from the video I created.) There was a variety of other games at the arcade, so the kids could switch depending on what took their fancy. Once the games had ended we headed off for a late lunch to the Majestic Hotel in District 1. I must admit, these children are very well behaved & certainly appeared to enjoy the delicious buffet that was organised for us. A very touching moment was at the end of the meal when the children sang to us, not only in Vietnamese but also in English. When they sang 'I have a dream' by Abba, I certainly became a bit teary eyed... All too soon the day had ended & we had to let the children go back to the orphanage. We said 'tạm biệt' to the kids as they boarded the coaches... I am sure that the memory of that wonderful day will certainly not be forgotten by my fellow adoptees or by the children. A special THANK YOU to the following people & organisations for helping the Vietnam Volunteer Network to make this special event occur:- Go Vap orphanage (Children & staff, especially Mrs Loan) Danone & my colleagues for donating & contributing, especially Saf Begum who helped me with DHL Customs from the UK side Katherine Minh Huynh for helping me to organise the event Trista Goldberg & the Operation Reunite Members Son Michael Pham from Kids Without Borders who assisted suggested the 'I can dream' song as well as Angela Rauscher, Leanne Tran & Mrs Truc for teaching the kids the song & 'thank you' to fellow adoptee Ralf Lofstad who saved the day & played the piano at the Majestic hotel so they could have some backing music. My Vietnam Volunteer Network members Diana Nguyen who helped me with DHL customs on the Vietnamese side Nguyen Thi Thanh Tric; journalist from Tuoi Tre who helped me with DHL on the Vietnamese side The Peoples Committee of Vietnam for the approval of the event & licence Thanh Cong Nguyen & Do Nguyen for their very generous donations Dominic Golding for helping me to pack the goodie bags the night before the event The Majestic Hotel for creating the special buffet menu The Diamond Plaza (top floor arcade & bowling department) for holding the rooms & discount on the games etc The coach operators who gave us a good discounted price for 2 coaches The wholesalers & manufacturer who gave us discounts as well as free samples of Sudocrem And of course; thank you to my family & friends, my fellow Vietnamese adoptees and their family & friends for attending & donating. I hope that you enjoy the video & enjoy all that life has to offer us, for it is in giving back that we truly benefit not only others but also appreciate what we already have. I will be returning to Vietnam 5th-27th December to deliver aid & Christmas presents for 3 orphanages in Vietnam. Please spare a thought for these kids in need who do not have a conventional 'home' or 'family' of their own to celebrate with. Please feel free to donate whatever you can on this site: www.vietnamvolunteernetwork.com Together We Can Make A Difference! Love & light, Kim Founder Vietnam Volunteer Network knb@vietnamvolunteernetwork.com www.vietnamvolunteernetwork.com