For the Children of Vietnam

NGUYEN CUONG TRANG

2012-01-30T09:53:00.005+07:00

I don’t remember how many turns down narrow lanes I had to take before reaching the small, old, dilapidated house where a little boy named Nguyen

Cuong Trang and his mother live. Actually, the place in which they live is not really a house, but rather, just a small detached room of an old house where four other families live together. The entire living space is only around 12 square meters, (approx. 36 sq. feet). The room is dark, with just barely enough space for a bed and a wardrobe – no other furniture.

The boy, Nguyen Cuong Trang, is physically much smaller than he should for his age. He’s so small, so skinny, and so shy, it’s hard not to feel pity for him. Ironically, his name, “Cuong Trang”, means “strong and healthy”, yet, because he’s malnourished his health is not very good and he constantly gets sick.

“Do you love school?” I asked him.

“Yes”, he answered in a very soft, frail voice.

Trang’s father died of sunstroke as he was harvesting rice during a particularly hot harvest day. Since then, the mother has to work even harder to support herself and her little son. She now has to do all the hard farm work on her own. Yet, the amount of rice grown on a small plot of farmland of 400 sq. m., (approx. 1200 sq. feet) is hardly enough to feed the mother and the son for a year. Occasionally she tries to earn extra money by working on construction sites - when work is available. Her job is to mix the mortar, then carry the mortar and bricks to the builders. She only earns $5 per day from this hard labor. However, this meager income is hardy sufficient to pay for all of their living expenses and her son’s school fees.

After working hard all day, she’s exhausted and weary. Her hands are full of calluses, and her face shows the effects of sorrow for her late husband’s death and worries about her only son’s future. Yet, when talking about her son, her eyes light-up with hope. Like mothers everywhere, her son, (Trang) is the greatest love and hope of this poor woman. I just hope and pray there’s someone out there who is willing to help!

Contributions to assist this poor woman and her son can be made online at HSCV’s website at: http://www.hscv.org/. Or, if you prefer, a check can be forwarded to:

HSCV
2965 Spring Lake Road
Prior Lake, MN 55372
USA

Or:

HSCV Vietnam
So 8, 145E Pho Yen Phu
Tay Ho – Hanoi.
Vietnam
Tel.: 84 4 3 715 3673

Money can be transferred to HSCV:

In Vietnam:

ANZ Bank

Account Name: Humanitarian Services for Children of Vietnam

Account Number: 3450059

SWIFT: ANZBVNVX

In US:
US Bank

Account Name: HSCV

Account Number: 104756700993

Routing Number: 091000022

For further information, please feel free to contact us. Thank you very much!

Hanoi, January 16th, 2012

Blogged by Pham Quynh Trang

NGUYEN VAN NHAN

2012-01-18T13:59:00.003+07:00

Mr. Nhan was born in 1967 in Phu Tho, a poor city north of Hanoi. In 2000, while working as a tree-cutter, he suffered a fall and broke his spine. All of his family’s assets were sold to pay for his 20-million VND medical bill, (approx. $1,000 U.S.). The family’s situation went from bad to worse.

His misfortune did not end there. He became hemiplegic and now his every movement needs assistance. Day after day, he relies on catheters and expensive medical equipment to perform daily bodily functions, and requires a lot of help. Ever since the accident, his whole body aches whenever the weather changes. Furthermore, his lower limbs are starting to ulceratebecause of inactivity. He is now in urgent need of an operation to amputate his legs to prevent further ulceration and the resulting infections that accompany ulcers and bed sores.

While Mr. Nhan suffers his disability, his wife was diagnosed with bladder failure, heart disease and breast tumors. In 2007, she had a bladder operation which left her weak and prone to falling down. However, she cannot afford to stop working as she needs to buy medicine for herself and her husband, plusrice and basic necessities for their 3 children.

When talking to the both of them about their children, Mr. and Mrs. Nhan could not hold back their tears. While other children go to school to have a brighter future, their 22-year-old girl has to take temporary jobs while their 18-year-old son works in construction after being forced to quit school out of necessity - to help pay for his parent’s medical bills. Even though both older children are working very hard to help pay the family’s debts, the bills keep increasing day by day. The family’s youngest daughter is still in school, which is a blessing but also a burden, as they find it increasingly hard to pay for her school fees every month. She too is in danger of having to drop out of school out of necessity.

Mr. Nhan and his family are in desperate need of financial help to pay for the mounting medical billsand needed surgery for Mr. Nhan, not to mention just trying to make ends meet. Sitting painfully on his wheelchair, Mr. Nhan said that he hopes that people with a kind heart will donate enough to help pay for his operation so that there will be less medical bills that his wife and children have been working to pay for him for the last 11 years.

Supports to Mr. Nguyen Van Nhan are highly appreciated. You can make a donation online at: http://www.hscv.org/

Or send a check to:

HSCV, 2965 Spring Lake Road, Prior Lake, MN 55372, USA
Or
HSCV Vietnam, So 8, Ngo 145E Pho Yen Phu, Tay Ho, Hanoi, Vietnam. Tel.: 84 4 3 715 3673

Blogged by Tran Thi Minh Thu – HSCV member and Nguyen Minh Trang – HSCV volunteer.

January 18, 2012

Oanh’s Family

2012-01-10T10:14:00.010+07:00

This is the winter season in the north of Vietnam, and Hanoi is very cold. You can feel frozen to the bone with rain and wind. Nobody wants to go outside but, I heard the plea of a poor woman and I felt compelled to go. Despite the cold, I found myself on the way to the second slum of Hanoi – Truong Dinh – Phuong Mai.

Turninginto the tiny lane, the flash and glitter of the lights on the main street disappear. Here in this alley many houses are crowdedtogether, almost on top of each other, and the road itselfis barely wide enough for 2 motorbikes to pass by each other.

I asked some people in the lane where Ms. Oanh’s house is - they showed me the way.One old man took me to the end of village where her house is located. He ran in front of my motorbike barefoot - because he didn’t want to sit behind me on the motorbike!

Oanh’s house is situated on a rubbish-heap, next to a graveyard. Her dilapidated “house” is really nothing more than a shackbuilt with many pieces of scrap wood and discarded junk. The inside of this hovel was as bad as the outside.

Ms. Oanh was born into a very poor family with 12 siblings. Only 5 of the siblings got married. The rest of them are still single and have a strange disease: they grow old and weak at a young age, before their time. Oanh left home when she became pregnant. She had no job, no house, and no money. She ekes out a living by picking up trash and selling it. She’s been pregnant three times and has had to give her first 2 babies away because she couldn't afford to raise them properly.Ms. Oanh’s third child, a girl, stays with her. The daughter is 12 years old now, and her name is Phuong. She has never gone to school. She looks beautiful with wild eyes. She can’t read or write but she answered all my questions very clearly. Her left ear has a puncture wound in it. She told me that she fell down three years ago and a stick pierced her outer ear causing the wound. In addition, her mother has a big ulcer as well,yet, neither has ever been to a hospital to check out these injuries because they have no money.

Oanh and her mother are always hungry because they have so little food. There were two bananas in their house when I was there - the only food to save both of them from starvation in as many days. The daughtertold me sadly that she has never had breakfast. The mother cooks once a day and they only eat a lunch. If there is any rice left over from lunch, they would have the rice for dinner. If not, it meansgoing to bed at night on an empty stomach.

What I found to be even more shocking about their situation: when it rains, the roof of their pitiful hut leaked so much that they were forced to leave the hut and sleep in the graveyard.The neighbors felt sorry for the bot of them, and sometimes they helped Oanh and her daughter with water, some food, and supplies… but the hut still looked like a mess when I got there.

The daughter does not have anyfriends her age, as other kids shun her because she is poor and doesn’t attend school with her peers. She’s athigh risk of being sexually abused or trafficked. In addition, the hut wheretheywere living can be taken away by the government at anytime because they are squatters on public land.If this happens, thenthey will be homeless again.

When I finished my visit, the daughter followed me all the way out of the village. She held my HSCV business card as if it were a precious gift or, more so, as a hope. This made me very sad – to think that this card may be the only thing between her and starvation.

Can you PLEASE help?!Any support you may be able to provide would be greatly appreciated!Contributions to assist this family can be made on-line at HSCV’s website at: www.hscv.org.

Or, if it is more convenient, a check can be forwarded to:

HSCV
2965 Spring Lake Road
Prior Lake, MN 55372
USA

And for those living in Vietnam:

HSCV Vietnam
So 8, 145E Pho Yen Phu,
Tay Ho – Hanoi
Vietnam
Tel.: (84) 4 3 715 3673

Should you have questions or need additional information please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you very much.

Hanoi, January 9^th, 2012

Blogger, Tran Ngoc Lien

DO THI VAN

2012-01-10T09:55:00.008+07:00

After giving birth to her second child, Thanh, Mrs. Do Thi Van was diagnosed with a medical problem with her heart. She cried many nights thinking about the large sum of money that would be needed to buy the life-saving medication. She thought to herself, it was ok to suffer alone in silence with her illness, after all, growing up she was so used to being weak from hunger. But now, she needed to be strong in order to earn enough to bring up her 2 sons, along with her frail husband who has his own medical problems of tuberculosis and gall stones. So with the smiles of her 2 children as her sole motivation, she put up a tenacious fight for life to overcome her own illness.

This husband and wife have worked hard to make ends meet. Despite the leaks in their roof and the freezing nights without any mattress or thick blanket to keep them warm, the family of four lived as happily as they could. Each time her sons brought back high honors from school, people in the village praised the boys for being so obedient and honest; Do Thi Van knew she was blessed to have them.

However, the family’s happiness did not last for very long. Mrs. Van was diagnosed with breast cancer after suffering from severe chest pains. The day she came back from the hospital, she could not walk straight. She thought about her sons Quang and Thanh who are still too young, and about the unaffordable cancer treatments and about the days ahead that her 2 sons would now possibly live without their mother’s care. Her legs went shaky yet she summoned all her strength and managed to walk back home from the hospital by herself.

At the gate of her house, her youngest son, who looks much smaller than his age, greeted her with a hug and said “I miss you Mommy!” while her oldest son was busy preparing lunch for the whole family before he leaves for school. She turned away to dry her tears. Then she thought the thought that has motivated her through all of her treatment,:”Each day that I am still alive is one more day my kids still have their Mom.” This thought has helped her pull through all of her physical pains – so far.

Thanks to the help of her extended family and fellow farmers, she underwent an operation to remove the tumor. However, as her health worsens and the tumors metastasize, her already poverty stricken family has been put in a destitute state. Now there are no warm clothes for the growing kids, no meat on the table, no clean water, only rice for the 2 under-nourished boys. Quang desperately wanted to quit school to earn money to cure his Mom, but luckily the boys were given scholarships from HSCV to stay in school. Other than that, this family is the poorest of the poor.

Sadly, the boys are receiving less and less care and attention from their parents. Mrs. Van spends most of her time in 2 hospitals, treating her heart condition, (which debilitates her condition) and at the same time, receives chemotherapy treatments for her tumors. Her husband, who is physically weak himself, spends days and nights looking after her in the hospitals. The two boys take care of themselves, waiting anxiously for the rare days when she comes back home from the hospital. When asked what they do while waiting for their Mom, Thanh said he often cries because he misses his Mom and he feels insecure and lonely without his mother around, while Quang the older son,confides he sings to ease his sadness and forget his worries. At the moment, Mrs. Van has one tumor on her neck. It is growing dangerously near the vital carotid artery, so it is almost impossible to be removed. At the same time, the family is in serious debt due to her four previous operations. They cannot even afford basic medicine now. Mrs. Van told us in tears, ”Please help me. As long as I live, Quang will still sing. As long as I live, Thanh will still hug me tight despite the smell from my body after chemotherapy treatment. And as long as I live, they will have their mother loving and caring for them.”

Supports to the poor mother are highly appreciated. You can make a donation online at: http://www.hscv.org/

Or send a check to:

HSCV, 2965 Spring Lake Road, Prior Lake, MN 55372, USA
Or
HSCV Vietnam, So 8, Ngo 145E Pho Yen Phu, Tay Ho, Hanoi, Vietnam

Tel.: 84 4 3 715 3673

Blogged by Tran Thi Minh Thu – HSCV member and Nguyen Minh Trang - HSCV volunteer

Hanoi update 11-24-2011

2011-11-28T10:39:00.008+07:00

Hi All,

It has been a few days since my last update. That does not mean we have not been really busy. All HSCV programs have been very active and doing well.

Last Thursday we visited Bac Giang Province, about 80 miles from Ha Noi. We have been supporting an orphanage there for a couple of years.

They care for about 100 children. Earlier this year HSCV donated about 20,000 meals of fortified rice. This is a very poor area and on Thursday we interviewed four families to see if we could include them in our rice distribution program. All were very poor and headed by single mothers and we hope we can figure out how to help them.

On Friday we had a wheelchair distribution in Vinh Phuc Province. HSCV receives the wheelchairs from Free Wheelchair Mission in containers of 550 wheelchairs each. Giving It Back To Kids, another NGO in Vietnam, which works in the central and southern parts of the country, supervises all wheelchair distributions in Vietnam and HSCV handles the distributions in the northern part of the country. To date HSCV has distributed almost 15,000 wheelchairs. A couple pictures of the recipients of the wheelchairs are attached. Usually in the US when we see a person in a wheelchair it is not always immediately evident what their problem is. In Vietnam that is generally not the case.

On Saturday we went to the Quynh Hoa Orphanage. As I think I have mentioned in the past, this orphanage is run by a husband and wife. A few years ago they started a facility to help physically handicapped children in their neighborhood. Now 44 handicapped children and young adults live with them. Upon inquiring, we were advised that none of them had ever been examined by a doctor. HSCV made arrangements for the head of the Orthopedic Department of the National Hospital for Pediatrics to come to the orphanage to examine all the residents. Unfortunately, he advised none of them could be helped with surgery. Most suffered from cerebral palsy. A couple of the older residents might have been helped if they had been treated earlier but it is now too late. HSCV is now in the process of getting a doctor specializing in working with the handicapped to visit the orphanage to determine if braces might provide them with some help.

For the last eight days HSCV was fortunate to have Roxane Svoboda visit us in Ha Noi. She is the Chairman of the HSCV board. She, her husband Gail, and their family members have been wonderful supporters of HSCV over the years. She left to return to the US late last night but wanted to do something special for the girls at the Girls Foster Home before she left. (She had already brought wonderful gifts for them as well as for the HSCV staff members.) I suggested she buy them all a KFC dinner. (I think this is the only US fast food operation in Ha Noi.) Only one of the girls at the home had ever had KFC before and she gave me a high five when I announced what was going to happen.

Huyen, the GFH social worker, volunteered to go pick up the food. We told her to make certain that she got enough so everyone would get as much to eat as they wanted.
There were 12 of us at dinner. Huyen purchased, a three piece chicken dinner, including French fries, a chicken sandwich, a custard tort type desert and a large coke for everyone. Obviously there was a lot of food. I talked to Huyen that there was so much food it could not be eaten in one meal but it could all be warmed up the next day and it would be fine. She said that she knew Roxie and I would leave food some but the rest of them were going to try to eat it all. They didn't, but it was damn close.

I was watching Phuong, the seven year old; eat who weighs about 50 pounds. (Yes, this is the little girl I flicked the rice at. She has forgiven me. After every dinner the girls clean the kitchen, wash the dishes and then we watch the Disney Channel. It is now a bit of a race among the younger girls to see who sits next to me to watch TV. Phuong is not usually an early arrival but she has now determined that her place is sitting on my lap. For me, that is about as good as life can get!) But Phuong ate the three pieces of chicken and the French fries. Then she opened the chicken sandwich and that apparently looked good to her and she took a couple of bites. That did it. A dash to the bathroom. Much laughter from the rest of us. I guess there is just so much food a 50 lb child can consume. She walked around holding her stomach. We continued to laugh. She pretended to be mad at our laughing but I think she enjoyed being the center of attention. She is very, very sweet.

Although this was a very fun and funny night this is not typical at the GFH. HSCV cares deeply about these girls but money is tight. But Roxie just wanted to provide for one "blow out" dinner for these girls who have all suffered much trauma in their lives, and it was a good thing. I believe everyone deserves a blow out something or other every once in a while.

Also, in reply to many inquiries, my Geckos seem to be doing well. However, I think Big Mama might have been dating recently. Tiny is my newest roommate. (Does anyone know how many offspring lizards have at one time? They are really small and semi-cute, but what the hell, I'm a westerner and scare easily.) Advice would be appreciated.

I hope all is well with each of you.

HSCV President, Chuck Devet

Hanoi update 11-13-11

2011-11-14T15:42:00.000+07:00

Hi All,

Today was wedding day. Hau, the nine year old living at the GFH, father got married. Her mother died four months ago of breast cancer. Her father, who is mildly retarded, wanted to remarry and that's what happened. HSCV provided Hau with a very nice present to present as a gift but she was not included in the ceremony, other than one group picture at the end. The newly married couple seems to have little interest in her and in my opinion her best interests will be served if she continues living in the GFH. We love having her there.

This was my first rural Vietnamese marriage ceremony. It was very nice. First, guests met at the grooms home for lunch and, of course, much rice wine. Everyone was very nice. Then it was about a five mile trip to the bride’s home to gather her up. Many more guests were there. The wedding took place there, a few snacks were served, and then everyone back to the groom’s home for dinner. We could not stay long so only wished everyone well and took off.

All eight girls living at the GFH are great. Very polite and friendly. But Hau is very special. She is as sweet a little girl as I have ever met. When a new girl comes to the home she is the first to greet her and give her a hug. She is also very smart, tops in her class at school. I now refer to Hau, Thuy, 10 and Phuong 7 as the three musketeers. When you see one of them you see them all. They all sleep in the same bedroom and go to the same school. I suspect that this is a friendship that will never be broken. I think that's a very good thing. HSCV feels very fortunate to have found them.

And just on a personal note: It was about a 45 minute ride back from the wedding to the GFH. I sat in the middle of the back seat with Hau on one side and Thuy on the other. For those of you that don't know, the Vietnamese are the greatest sleepers in the world. In two minutes they can fall asleep sitting on a rock. But I had these two beautiful little girls snuggle up next to me in the back seat and they were out for the full trip with my arms around them. I was a very happy man.

Hope all is well,

HSCV President, Chuck Devet

Hanoi update 11-7-2011

2011-11-08T12:48:00.005+07:00

Hi All,

Linh, resident girl number eight, moved into the GFH last Wednesday. A very sweet, lovely but sad young lady. Her profile is attached. This will be a new experience for HSCV, as the the first seven girls were really happy to move in. We will have to move cautiously with Linh and if special help is called for we will look for it.

I would also like to extend a big thank you to United Parcel Service. They have an extensive operation in Vietnam and found out about HSCV's work here. They contacted us early this year and today we picked up a significant donation. It will help greatly in our mission to help needy children. Obviously, very caring people.

Last Saturday night was the fund raising gala put on by the Asian Women And Friends In Hanoi (AWFH) organization. (And do these ladies know how to put on a party!) HSCV will be a prime recipient of any funds raised. The event was held in the ballroom of a fancy hotel. I'm not sure how many guests showed up but I would guess in the 300 to 400 range. On a big stage there were dances by children from several different Asian countries. Then a fashion show which included all of the girls from the HSCV GFH. (Picture attached.) Huyen, the HSCV GFH social worker, got all the girls made up. I suspect this was the first time for most of them wearing makeup. You could tell they were feeling very, very good about themselves.

In the lobby was an art exhibit. Waiters walked around with canapes and beverages. The GFH girls would look at me with their expressions saying; "can we take one of these". (However, when they took one they would take a small bite and then hand it to me. This stuff was way off their food consumption chart. But I finished them all. They were great. Not a good night for Mr. Chuck's diet plan.)

There was a huge buffet. Many, many wonderful things to choose from. (No rice. Yea!) Most of our girls had never seen many of food choices, let alone eaten any. Some surprises for them but nobody left hungry.

HSCV also escorted two children from a school for the blind to the event. They had a wonderful time. AWFH also permitted us to escort a few children from the Quynh Hoa orphanage for handicapped children to set up a table to sell their handicrafts. They made some money and their kids also had a wonderful time.

Millet Winters, the coordinator of this event, asked me to say a few words about HSCV. She asked how much time I needed. I said 45 minutes. She said try 5. I said okay.

After the dinner the real action started. The party had a western motief. Great line dancing, children included. Then they switched to rock and roll. Even your faithful reporter got involved with that. (I just hope nobody has any film. And a special note to my wife Patty, yes, I'm taking my heart medicine.)

But it was a wonderful night. I have no doubt that the HSCV girls and staff will remember it for a long time. Me too.

HSCV President, Chuck Devet

Hanoi update 11-3-11

2011-11-04T09:27:00.001+07:00

Hi All,

Again not too much going on but Mr. Chuck has time on his hands and therefore you get an update. This Saturday is the gala being put on by the Asian Women and Friends in Ha Noi. I really don't know much about it other than those that we have met associated with the organization is very nice people. It appears that it will be a sell-out. Girls from the HSCV Girls Foster Home will be models in the fashion show. (They do not have a clue what this is all about. Fashion shows have never been close to being parts of their lives in the past.) HSCV will also make arrangements for some children from a school for the blind to be there as well as making arrangements for a couple of children from an orphanage for physically handicapped children to be there selling some handicrafts, which they do to support their facility. Rehearsal is tomorrow afternoon. Millet Winter is the lady from AWFH in charge of this function. She appears to be very organized and capable of putting this event together. The event celebrates the first anniversary of this organization. HSCV is thrilled to have been selected as one of the benefices. I have been asked to give a short talk regarding HSCV at the event and that is, of course, an honor. However, as some of you know, "short" is a troubling assignment for me when I start talking about HSCV. But I'm going to try really, really hard this time.

But there is also the issue of my new roommates that I reported on in my last update. Many , many people have responded that these lizards are not ca millions but geckos. (Okay, maybe three does not constitute many, many but I did get responses, and this is my email.) I am starting to get attached to them and they to me, not literally I hope. (For those of you who might be starting to get concerned about me please refer to my last update regarding my social life issues.) I have actually started to name them. The sun comes up in Ha Noi about 5:30 AM. "Big Mama" is usually out from behind the air conditioner. (No, I am not sure this is a female but any further anatomical reports will not be forthcoming.) But she has great a great presence. She kind of gives me a look, waits, and then descends about half way back into the air conditioner. (Obviously a female.)

Then there is Speedy. Very small. Always around. Anytime he sees me he runs like hell and oftentimes falls off the wall. (I would think this would be very embarrassing for a Gecko, but he is young.) Kind of reminds me of the football team I played on in high school. But the most impressive member of the group has been Gordon. (I think he might be related to Speedy as the family resemblance is remarkable.) He is middle sized and quite sociable, for a Gecko that is. For those of you that don't know, in Vietnam, at least in the area where I live, the bathrooms have showers. However no shower stalls. So when showering the entire bathroom gets soaked. Not to my taste but Gordon seems to love it. The wooden door to the bathroom is warped, what a surprise, and Gorden makes it in most mornings. Normally, he just sits up in the corner sucking up the humidity. But today when I went back into the bathroom to shave there were two small hands hanging over the mirror. (Gordons' parents and I may be talking adoption soon.)

Also, for those of you not aware, I am particularly attuned to deciphering different languages. Right now I am working on Geckoese. There are occasional clucking noises in the middle of the night in my room. I think I am close to having that language figured out. I think what they are saying is "lets all hang from the ceiling in the middle of the night and drop at the same time on the old, fat ,white guy and scare the crap out of him." Not sure this is totally accurate but it is getting late so I am heading for bed.

If my heart holds out I will report again soon.

HSCV President, Chuck Devet.

Hanoi update 10-31-11

2011-11-04T09:26:00.001+07:00

Hi All,

As I often start these updates; nothing much new here. This time I'm not kidding. It is Monday night and many things on the horizon but not much for now. So, you ask, why the update? The answer, because I have the social life of a garden snail but do have access to a free computer.

So, tonight I will submit the interesting story of my air conditioner. For those of you who do not know, or have not reviewed your notes recently, HSCV rents two nearby houses in Ha Noi. The smaller one, three stories and two bedrooms, houses the HSCV office and a bedroom on the third floor. The room on the second floor is where the HSCV office staff works. Both the office and the bedroom have air conditioners. I, of course, because of the air conditioner, occupy the bedroom on the third floor. Very comfortable. But last spring the air conditioner in my bedroom became infested with mice. I am not a squeamish person but the little buggers were noisy. They did not seem to come down from the air conditioner but made sleeping a bit difficult. Much mice poop on the floor. I advised our landlord, who is a good guy and a good friend, of the issue. He immediately came over and thoroughly cleaned the air conditioner. The mice loved it. Much more activity and poop. When I left last spring I told him the mice had to be eliminated before I came back or we would have to move.

Now he seems to have taken care of the issue/ No more mouse poop on the floor but now I have ca millions in the air conditioner. I think these are really good things. Very helpful creatures that eat bugs. But every once in awhile I hear a clucking sound. I think it is from the ca millions, but not sure. If any of you know please advise if I am correct. If you know something bad please keep silent. I am an old man and need to sleep well.

But one important thing. Today we visited a family where a 13 year old girl lives. Her father is out of the picture and she lives in a filthily 8' by 10' room with her mother and a female friend of her mother. The mother has had a stroke and cannot work. They all share one bed. We have invited her, Linh, to move to the GFH. We also invited her mother to visit but she advised she could not control her bathroom issues and declined to come. But Linh visited today. She is, of course, very scared. But I think she will become girl number eight at the HSCV GFH. I will report further later.

HSCV President, Chuck Devet.

Hanoi update 10-27-2011

2011-10-28T08:51:00.000+07:00

Hi All,

Not much to report. Basically that's good. Things are going well here. Seven girls at the GFH. About 275 kids on scholarship and 118 families getting a monthly supply of rice. One new girl in the hospital getting ready for heart surgery. I will report on that later. But also, we are scheduled to receive another container of 550 wheelchairs next week. Always a big occasion in that that a number of housebound individuals will be able to become mobile. Some of these people have not been able to get around for decades.

John Waugh, and old college friend of mine and his beautiful wife Gracy passed through Ha Noi this week with several friends on a SE Asian vacation. Very nice to see them again. They visited the GFH on Saturday when all the girls were there. I think they were properly impressed. The girls are truly wonderful. Very happy and they love to meet visitors. I think a fun occasion for all.

Yesterday we had two visitors from New Zealand. They had been on a tour to northern Vietnam last year and met a guide who impressed them as being an unusually nice person. He had been an orphan and now supported an orphanage in Lao Cai. (I am almost sure I have misspelled this but am too lazy to check it out. Anyway, it is on the Chinese border.) They decided to see if they could help. The orphanage cares for 96 orphans and about a dozen indigent elderly. Janet Taylor, the lady from NZ and a friend found out what they most needed. It was shoes. (It does snow up there.) After they got back to NZ last year they raised money to buy every one of the orphans and elderly shoes; and coats. They left last night from Ha Noi for a 9 hour train ride to Lao Cai. HSCV staff member Thu Minh accompanyed them. This is not an HSCV operation but these wonderful women are helping those we are trying to help and we are just offering to provide some assistance.

So, another issue. I have passed this story on to some of you but I send out so many emails I forget whose gotten what. But anyway, about two weeks ago we accepted a young lady into the HSCV GFH. It is not important which one. She is 14. Her father was never in her life. Her mother has died. She had been living with a 17 year old aunt. Her aunt was her sole support as well as for her 12 year old sister. In addition, the aunt is supporting her own 13 year old sister and 10 year old brother. They live in a filthy room smaller than a single car garage. Much smaller. The aunt sells tea in a market place at night. She says she wants to continue to do so to keep the spot so that when her mother gets out of prison in February she will have some place to work. But, as I suspect most everybody reading this message suspected, she is selling more than tea. Truly a commendable story for what the aunt is doing to care for these children but also a tragic example of what happens with impoverished females in Vietnam. The aunt says she wants to go to hair dresser school and HSCV is looking for a sponsor.

One more little thing I would like to share with you in this update. As I have explained before, the highlight of each of my days is when I eat supper with the girls at the GFH. Two nights ago I was eating and the girls pointed out that I had a piece of rice on my chin. (I am not the most accomplished user of chop sticks.) I picked it off my face and flicked it with my finger at Phuong who was sitting next to me. It landed on her cheek and stuck. Everybody laughed, except Phuong. She is seven years old and has had a very difficult life. Much degradation. She has been a resident of the GFH for only two weeks. As said, she is seven, beautiful black hair and eyes, beautiful face, very smart, friendly, feisty and very busy. Basically, perfect. She usually tries to sit next to me at supper. (I think the house mother encourages the younger girls to do that because she thinks it makes me feel good. It does.) But I think Phuong was arranging the stools on her own to be next to me. And even "Mr. Chuck" did something that she felt was degrading. She cried. Not loudly, but a few tears came out as she ate. I felt awful and kept drying her eyes. It was a real eye opener for me. Its time for me to quit mentally patting myself on the back for starting this facility and realize that these girls have not been rescued from Ozzie and Harriet's home but have all had great trauma in their young lives. I will be more sensitive in the future. I'm certain that things will get better for the girls the longer they stay at the GFH, but they do have issues that need to be addressed.. (Sometimes a grain of rice can have significant teaching potential. I think it did for me.)

So, that's where we are. Things are generally going well. But I could really, really use a hamburger and fries.

HSCV President, Chuck Devet.

Hanoi update 10- 17-2011

2011-10-27T11:01:00.001+07:00

Hi All.

Another good day at the GFH. Girl number seven moved in. As you will note she is seven years old. Very sweet, very cute but very, very busy. We met her last week at the Blue Dragon. (They do a wonderful job of finding children in real need of help.) By reading her profile, (Blue Dragon's), I'm sure you will agree that no little girl should have had to live through such a troubled past. HSCV is thrilled to have her join our "family" at the GFH. She visited the GFH last Friday and said she wanted to stay then. But there were some procedural matters that had to be attended too. Today she showed up with her grandparents who wanted to check out the house. They thought it was fine. I might have missed it, but I don't think any of them said goodbye when the grandparents left. (As with most of the girls at the GFH this seemed very much like a rescue operation rather than a relocation because of economic issues)

We met Phuong early last week at the Blue Dragon facility. She seemed a bit nervous but very outgoing and very sweet. She went there to play after school each day. Her school is right across the street from the Blue Dragon facility. (Fortunately this is the same school Thuy and Hau, HSCV residents. attend. That will help with the logistics of getting the kids to school each day.)

Just to keep your scorecards straight the lineup a the GFH is: Phuong- 7; Hau - 9; Thuy -10, Huong - 14; Hien - 14, Mai Anh - 15; and Mai - 19.

As reported in the last update we will be visiting Huong's family. Tomorrow. There a 17 year old girl caring for three other younger children. Selling tea and begging on the street. I understand she is waiting for her mother to get out of prison in February to help her. I will report.

Short update today. For those of you really disappointed I will be back soon. (Count on it !)

HSCV President, Chuck Devet

Hanoi update 10- 15- 2011

2011-10-27T10:10:00.007+07:00

Hi All,

Girl number six arrived at the home yesterday. Her profile is attached. She was referred by Blue Dragon and her profile was prepared by them. The English is not perfect but I think the message regarding her life comes through loud and clear. The Blue Dragon, for those of you not aware, is a wonderful organization in Ha Noi working with street children. They do some really "heavy lifting" when it comes to helping children in need in Vietnam.

I was at the GFH when Huong arrived yesterday. The BD social worker brought her. As her profile states she is 14 and two years behind in school. But we are advised she is an enthusiastic student and applies herself well. (It is easy to understand why she would behind in school considering how difficult her life has been.) Huong is a very pretty girl but seemed a bit apprehensive about the GFH. But after a good meal and a shower, maybe her first, she seemed much more relaxed. Today when I went to the GFH for lunch she was helping to cook the meal. I have yet to see her smile, but I suspect that will be coming soon. I will report.

A question for many of you reading Huong's profile, I hope, is what is going to happen with her cousins. HSCV does not have that answer yet but we are going to try to visit them next week and see what we can do. I will report.

On Friday we took Mai, the college student with the severed arm, to two orthopedic facilities to find out what we might do. To say the least, and I usually don't, I got an education. An above the elbow amputation is very difficult to deal with. A cosmetic arm is relatively easy. A functional arm is a different creature. It can be done by a harness across the back which will allow a hand to open or close depending on stretching motions. But the hand has very limited strength, maybe not enough to lift a pencil. We are not sure which option will be chosen, but we will choose one. However, we did get some contact telephone numbers for people that have had both procedures done for Mai to talk to. The decision will be hers. (Although, if she chooses the functional arm it is quite expensive. In the $3000 range. Some of you may be contacted to contribute. And you know who you are. Nobody ever said being on HSCV's mailing list was going to be a picnic.)

Mai also advised me yesterday morning that her grandmother was coming to Ha Noi to visit her yesterday. I thought that was very nice in that it is a nine hour bus ride from Dien Bien. I told Mai her grandmother was welcome to stay the night at the GFH. She thanked me, but said no, in that her grandmother had made other arrangements. At the same time Huong showed up at the GFH so did grandma, and two aunts and a cousin. They were all very much available to stay the night at the GFH. (Welcome to Vietnam.)

The GFH has room but we are quickly running out of beds. (We will be getting two more next week.) But Vietnamese women seem to have no problem with sleeping in the same beds with each other even if they have never met. (I am happy to report that I have no idea if this is also true of Vietnamese men.) Everything seemed to work out fine but I find it best not to fall asleep because something unexpected is always going on. But I don't know if I have ever been happier. This is a wonderful place. (Sometimes, semi-craziness seems good.)

So all is quite well in Ha Noi. But one big problem we do have is getting the girls exercise or keeping them busy on the weekends. The house we have is great, but in an alley. The alley is about six feet wide and nothing green. Just houses side by side, all three, four or five stories. There is no place to play, and no parks nearby. When my wife, Patty, and I had young kids and we went on a long driving trip we would go as far as we could until the kids got really wild. Then it was; find a place were we could "run em". The GFH has no place to "run em". The girls are all really wonderful but this is a concern. And it will also grow as we add more girls. Hopefully, we will find a solution as this is important. I will report.

Thanks for everyone's support,

HSCV President, Chuck Devet

Hanoi update 10-12-11

2011-10-24T12:33:00.000+07:00

Hi All,

You might have heard this before, but there is much going on in Ha Noi. First, the weather changed. Again, hotter than hell. I brought many warm clothes. Some might say "that is just another stupid man thing" but I'm sure not, you, my friends.

First, the GFH is going great. Four very nice girls and young women living there. It truly amazes me how well they all get along. (But the house is set to house 12. That might be a whole lot more interesting.)

Last Friday we had a visit from seven girls from a charitable organization, Project Happy Feet, based in Singapore. This organization has been significant supporters of HSCV for the last several years.We visited two orphanages which care for mentally challenged children. The children were sweet and it was much fun. The girls from PHF bestowed much love on them all and it was a memorable experience. However, with HSCV not being a medical NGO I wonder how much help we can provide to children with these issues. We will try to come up with something, but it might be hard.

Today, Thu and I met with Prosthetic Outreach Foundation. They are based in Seattle but have an office in Ha Noi. We had a couple of issues to discuss with them. First was Mai, the girl living at the GFH with an arm severed above the elbow, and an orphanage caring for physically disabled children and young adults. An appointment was made for Mai with a prosthetic technician. We have great hopes that we will be able to get her a functioning arm, but the cost may be an issue. (We don't know the cost yet but some of you may very well hear from us.)

HSCV recently had a couple of donors visit us whom we took to a home caring for the physically disabled children and young adults. We have not yet been able to determine what their exact problems are or if they can be treated but our donors said they may be able to help. That project will begin next week. It is our plan to take the head of The Association for Orthopedic Surgery in Vietnam to the facility to evaluate them. The head of POF in Ha Noi advised she would try to join us. This ia a whole new, big, project for HSCV but we are very enthused to be moving forward with it.

As for the GFH, things are moving very fast. Mai Anh, the long reported girl number five, is due to arrive tomorrow. Although we have still not gotten all the necessary approvals she is scheduled to start school tomorrow afternoon. (We have been getting a great deal of cooperation from her new school principal which is a great surprise.) If this all comes about I will reproduce her profile tomorrow.

In addition, The Blue Dragon contacted us about two very vulnerable girls today. The BD works with street children. The girls are 7 & 14 years of age. They have had very, very difficult lives. I met the 7 year old this afternoon. Absolutely precious. I wanted to bring her back to the GFH tonight but the social workers, both theirs and ours, did not think that was a good idea. I will deffer to their decision as when the appropriate time might be, up to a point.

(I am old and know there is much awfulness in this world but still have trouble comprehending how people cannot love and care for children. Whether they are their own relatives or not.)

When the new girls who should be coming to the GFH get there I will provide profiles on all three in the next day or two.

(Many personal rewards to be had working with children in Vietnam. But awfulness is present here every day. I know where the 7 year old is tonight but not the 14 year old. I know the type of place she has been staying at for awhile and that scares the hell out of me.)

Probably more tomorrow.

HSCV President, Chuck Devet

Hanoi update 9-23 -2011

2011-10-20T09:48:00.004+07:00

Hi All,

As usual, much going on with HSCV. First, you will find a profile and pictures of a beautiful little girl. She has a heart condition which needs surgery. As I write this message she is in surgery or has just come out. We are waiting for the telephone call. HSCV feels fortunate that this little girl's condition came to our attention as we had not had contact with her commune before. The surgery is expected to cost about $2000. A minimal amount by US standards for such a procedure but a fortune by most Vietnamese family's standards. A portion of the expense of this operation will probably be covered by governmental insurance. However, the Vietnamese insurance program requires that families pay the total expected costs up front and the insurance policies will reimburse them some percentage after the treatment is completed. An impossible obstacle for many families.

Therefore, HSCV has to deposit the hospital this morning to allow them to proceed with the operation. After the operation the hospital will reimburse us for whatever the insurance paid. This is a lot of up-front money for HSCV but fortunately we have some wonderful partners to help us. Both Seal Of Love Foundation and East Meets West Foundation have agreed to participate in covering these costs. Having supporters like these allows HSCV to be much more active in trying to locate children who need help than we could be if we operated solely on our own.

I have been asked on several occasions why there are so many children in Vietnam with heart conditions. As explained to me, it primarily results from in uterus malnutrition. To my knowledge every heart patient child we have assisted, and the total now is about 60, has come from very poor families. Where the mother does hard physical labor and the nutritional level of the family is limited. With a Vietnamese population of about 88 million, and increasing by about a million a year, I don't see this situation improving in the foreseeable future.

The drama for Mai Anh, the 15 year old we are trying to get admitted to the Girls Foster Home that I have written about before, continues to play out. Many, many, many governmental entities have to give their approval. And many of these have their own agendas. Mobility in Vietnam is very restricted. This is not all bad in that there are no "tar paper villages" here as in most other poor countries. But as in most countries economic opportunities are greater in the cities than in the country side. However, some governmental entity knows all about every family and individual in Vietnam and moving cannot happen without governmental approval. But Mai Anh's parents are now both dead, her aged grandmother is her only support, who must also provide for her brother, and the local community is going to tear down their house for a road improvement project. To me, it seems imperative that we get her to the GFH asap and we are pulling out all stops to do so and I think we will get it done. I fully expect that in my next update I will advise that Mai Anh is now resident number five of the GFH.

Stay tuned. These updates might get better.

Chuck DeVet, President

Hanoi update 9-17 -11

2011-09-26T13:27:00.006+07:00

Hi All,

Mai, the fourth resident of the GFH moved in last Thursday. I had discussed her situation in a previous update. She is 19, older than our 18 year old upper limit, but she is such a special young lady we made an exception in her case. You can see from her attached profile that her life has been filled with tragedy but she is still determined to do all she can to help others in need. We invited her to move into the house about a week ago. She confided to one of our staff that that was the happiest day of her life and she did not sleep that night. When I went to the GFH on Friday morning Mai was already on the computer helping Hien with her home work. She will be a wonderful addition to the GFH and I'm certain she will do many outstanding things in her life. We hope her relationship with HSCV will be a long one.

Friday was Lien's last day with HSCV prior to her leave of absence to travel to Florida to visit her fiancee to plan the rest of their lives together. She is scheduled to return about November 1st. She will be returning to HSCV in a senior management position. Fortunately, we were able to hire her replacement on Friday afternoon. Thu is a young lady of 25. A life long resident of Ha Noi and a graduate of Ha Noi University. In addition, she earned her Masters Degree in Developmental Studies in May from Lund University in Sweden. (Sound familiar, anyone.) She comes across as a dynamic, eager to learn young lady and we think she will be an excellent addition to the HSCV staff.

In addition, Trang, who had been serving as the temporary house mother has agreed to stay on with HSCV. She is 24 but was a wonderful house mother, worked very hard, is an excellent cook and the girls really like her. In addition, she has a degree in accounting. Her duties will be to act as the assistant house mother but we will also be assigning her HSCV administrative duties. HSCV will also be sending her to school to learn English which will make her an even more valuable addition to our strengthening staff.

Even though there are many challenges I am truly enjoying my return to Ha Noi. I sometimes eat lunch at the GFH but try to never miss diner. The food is excellent and the girls never seem to stop chattering or laughing. All in all an always joyous occasion. The girls set-up and set the dining table before dinner. After diner they collect the dishes, wash them and clean up the kitchen. I, in my best imitation of a Vietnamese male, go to the TV room and turn the set on to the Disney channel. (For those of you that don't know our landlord gave us a very much below market rental price on the house, left a big refrigerator, a big TV and TV room furniture. This must be the Ritz of foster homes in Vietnam.) After the kitchen is cleaned the two little girls, Thuy 10 and Hau 9, come and snuggle next to me to watch whatever is on Disney. (I had forgotten what a wonderful person Tinkerbell is.) This is really, really precious time for me. Makes me feel like everything HSCV is doing here is both important and very personally worthwhile.

More to come soon. Again, I thank everone for their interest in HSCV.

Chuck DeVet, President

Hanoi update 13-10-11

2011-09-26T12:54:00.011+07:00

Hi All,

You will find attached profiles on the three girls currently living at the Girls Foster Home. Many of you have seen these before but those who have not I'm sure you will be interested. Incidentally, Hien, the girl in the traffic accident on her first day to school is now fine. She missed a couple of days of school but is back and doing well.

Lawrence and his wife Lillian of Seal Of Love are still in down continuing to work their magic. They are like the "good wind" from the south leaving things better after they leave. In addition to what they did previously, on Friday they went to the Ha Cau orphanage and provided each of the 54 children there with back packs. HSCV then escorted them to a nearby private orphanage which cares for physically disabled children. Last year HSCV provide blankets for all of these children and we have donated fortified rice to them. 44 disabled children live there and a couple dozen others drop in on a daily basis.

Lawrence and Lillian were immediately taken by the wonderfulness of these children and bonds of friendships were immediately formed. Lawrence learned that these children basically have nothing to do for recreation. However, they love to sing. So, in typical Seal Of Love fashion, the purchase of a Karaoke system was approved. A very much top-of-the-line system was ordered and installed on Sunday. On Monday L & L joined the children and staff there in a joyous Autumn Moon Festival celebration. A memorable event for all.

I would also like to give a shout out to Dr. Jenny Kapella. She and her husband, who works at the US Embassy, are stationed in Ha Noi for a few years. She is a pediatrician and has shown considerable interest in the GFH. In budgeting for the facility we had overlooked the expense for physical exams for the girls. Jenny has provided funding to cover these costs and reviews the results of the exams. She has also brought the home to the attention of others in Ha Noi and several people have expressed an interest in helping. I think a team of local supporters may be formed which will, of course, be wonderful for the girls.

I am also pleased to advise that HSCV has hired a house mother. She has only been on the job a couple of days but she works hard, has skills and the girls like her. She is 42 and has the background of many women in Vietnam. She was married with a son and daughter and lived in southern Vietnam. The father found a younger women and she was kicked out. Her daughter stayed with her father and Vinh and her son moved to Ha Noi where they had some relatives. However, she could not support them both and the son joined the army even though he was only 17. Vinh seems very happy at the GFH and we hope everything will work out.

Linda Bui left last Saturday to return to Vancouver to finish her last year of college. She will be missed by all but says she will be back when her college is completed. It was particularly hard on the two youngest girls, Thuy and Hau, to see her leave. We all ate lunch together on Saturday. After lunch everyone but the little girls and I left to attend to other matters. The girls asked if they could watch a Tom & Jerry video. I said sure and the girls snuggled up next to me on the couch, one on each side to watch. They laid their heads on my lap. Soon they were both asleep. I found it very touching that these two sweet and beautiful little girls trusted me so much considering they had been through so much and we had only met about a week earlier. They slept for something over a half an hour. However, after the video had recycled for about the sixth time I found myself cheering for the cat to catch that damn mouse and end the thing.

More to come.

Chuck DeVet, President

Hanoi update 9-10-11

2011-09-23T13:07:00.008+07:00

Hi All,

HSCV board members will note that a few others are being copied in on this message. HSCV is doing great work in Vietnam helping children and I want to get our message out to as many people as possible. If you know of others who would like to also be included in getting these updates let me know.

As usual much is going on here. My only issue in reporting to you is trying not to make every update a novelette in length. So I will be brief, kind of.

Representatives of a wonderful organization, Seal Of Love, are now in Ha Noi. Lawrence and Lillian Chan run this organization. They lived and raised a family in San Francisco but now live in Hong Kong. They located HSCV via the Internet last year and visited a couple of times making contributions to our work on every visit. On this visit they advised they would like to make donations to 10 very poor families which HSCV works with. Easy for us to find them and two days ago the gifts were presented to them. Each received a bicycle, 50kg of rice, a bag of cooking supplies, including a gallon of cooking oil, a quilt, laundry soap and related cleaning supplies and a dozen bars of hand soap and related personal sanitary items. Overwhelming gifts for these very poor families. Yesterday Lawrence and Lillian were escorted to the Ha Cau Orphanage where each of the 54 children there received new school back packs.

Lawrence and Lillian have also initiated a post high school scholarship program. It will be called the Seal Of Love/HSCV Scholarship Program. Five students will receive scholarships in this first year. This is of course wonderful but the program has some very unique aspects. The scholarships will only be granted to those students dedicating themselves to helping others. They will be required to volunteer to assist some charity while in school as well as volunteering for two years after graduation. This may, of course, be of great benefit to HSCV. The students considered for these scholarships must be pursuing degrees in a field that will lead to a career in helping others such as social work, medicine or teaching. Lawrence's goal is to leverage these student scholarships into helping others and making this world a better place in the future. (He and his wife are truly inspirational people to be around.)

About thirty young adults showed up to be interviewed for the scholarships. Lien had located them and had them available for Lawrence and Lillian to talk to. All very special and needy and I don't envy Lawrence's chore in selecting the grantees. However, even considering how deserving all of these applicants were, one young lady stood out. Her name is Mai and even in Vietnam where there are many situations where children have been through trying times Mai's story is unique. In fact unique enough that the local newspaper did a full page article about her.

Mai is an ethnic minority who grew up in Dien Bien Province in northwest Vietnam. Her family was very poor and her parents were sickly. Her father had kidney problems and her mother had a heart condition. When she was an infant her two year old brother drowned and losing a son in Vietnam is truly a family tragedy. Her father worked as a carpenter. But when Mai was five she fell into his saw and her right arm was severed above the elbow. Her family struggled for years just to find enough food but things got worse as her parent's ailments became more advanced. The area where she lived is a drug processing center and when Mai was completing 10th grade the family became ever more desperate. To feed his family her father agreed to transport heroin to Ha Noi. On his first trip he was arrested, imprisoned and died a few months later. When in 12th grade her mother was also convicted of involvement in the drug business. She was imprisoned in a jail in Ha Noi. Mai had always been a top student and to be near her mother she applied for a scholarship to a teachers college in Ha Noi. Her scholarship request was granted and she is now a third year student there. Unfortunately her mother died in prison a few months after Mai arrived in Ha Noi.

Mai gets free schooling and lives in a dorm but has little else. Somewhere, and I don't know where, she came up with a large bag of noodles. That's what she lived on for several months, supplementing her meals with greens she picked in the school yard. Mai says her goal is to teach at a school caring for handicapped children. She volunteers at one now.

I have been involved in Vietnam for several years and have learned that some stories that are told about children in need are accurate and some are not. Mai's story is real. In that her story is so heart rendering we decided to adjust the entrance requirement for the HSCV Girls Foster Home. We had decided we could only accept girls up to the age of 18. Mai in 19. But she has been invited to come and live with us and she has accepted. HSCV will not only be providing her with a home and love but she should also obviously be a great inspiration to the younger girls.

One more part to this story. We had invited Mai to come to the GFH for an interview. Linda Bui served as the translator. I asked questions and explained about HSCV and the GFH. I think my comments became shorter and shorter but the conversations between Mai and Linda became longer and longer. Soon I became somewhat ignored. But this was a wonderful experience in that I was seeing two "sister soul mates" connecting for the first time. I'm not certain what the future holds for either of these two special young ladies but I feel quite certain they will stay connected for the rest of their lives. I consider it a privilege to have been present to see this very special bond being formed. Stay tuned. They will each do much good in this troubled world.

I remember reading a columnist's article about the pressures of his job. He said that he just sat in front of his keyboard until blood drops started forming on his forehead. I can't really relate to that in that I have to figure out what to leave out of these updates to make them shorter. I'm obviously not to good at doing that yet and knowing me I'm not that much into those personnel improvement things. Hopefully, you can just hang in there with me as I stumble along.

Thanks for your patience and interest in what HSCV is doing.

Chuck DeVet, President

Hanoi update 9-6-11

2011-09-23T13:05:00.000+07:00

Hi All,

Yesterday was the first day of school. Everything went off without a hitch. Unless you consider it to be a hitch that it was pouring down rain when the girls left the house and that while Hien was riding her bike to school she was hit by a motor bike and ended up in the hospital. It must have been a pretty hard hit but the x-rays showed nothing broken. Just very bruised and sore. She will have to stay home for about three days to recover. Vietnam has an unusual policy in regard to dealing with traffic accidents. Whomever is driving the largest vehicle is at fault. Truck/car the truck pays. Car/motor bike the car pays. Motor bike/bicycle the motor bike pays. So the motor bike driver picked up Hien's hospital expenses. That's one of the reasons there are a lot fewer lawyers in Vietnam than the US.

Thusuong inquired how the other programs were going. Not sure in that I got here on Thursday night and Friday was a holiday. The first working days of each month are rice distribution days so I have not had much opportunity to interact with the staff. However, if there were any major issues I would have been advised. But Linda will be leaving this Saturday and Lien will be leaving 9/20 to be with her fiancee in the US. There contributions will be hard to replace but I'm working on it.

Today Lien and I will be interviewing house mother candidates. This is an important position and I hope we can find someone good. I will keep you updated.

Chuck DeVet, President

Hanoi update 9-4-11

2011-09-23T13:04:00.000+07:00

Hi All,

Yesterday was water park day for the girls at the GFH. They had been there once before but this is a really big deal for them. The four girls, Linda Bui, Trang, the temporary house mother, and I went. I had never been to this water park before and was very pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. There were many different pools and slides for every age. There was even a wave pool. The place was very clean. There were a lot of people there but the facilities handled them very well. There was almost no waiting anyplace. Everybody but me went into the water. I was going to go in but thought it might be too distracting to the young ladies to see my buff body walking around in my Speedos.

Our participants were in the water for almost five hours. Going every second with huge smiles on their faces. Hau, the nine year old, would come up to me every half hour or so and say "very happy" and then run back into the pool. That was precious. Although I was sitting on benches for almost five hours it was not that boring. It was fun watching the girls have a great time and knowing that HSCV was helping to dramatically change their lives. But without a doubt the most entertaining feature was seeing the various swimming attire the Vietnamese people chose to ware. It ranged from street clothes, to pajamas, to under ware, to the occasional bathing suit. Our girls fit in just right. Three wore shorty pajamas and Mia wore caprinos and a tee shirt.

Mia's grandmother went home yesterday. Mia wanted to stay at the home by herself. She says she likes it, which is a good thing in that there is nobody to care for her if you returns home. The other three girls have been wonderful to her. But I keep thinking she must know what Alice felt like when she fell down the rabbit hole. A totally new world. She had never been to Ha Noi even though she only lives a couple of hours away. In fact, her grandmother had never been here either and she is seventy-two. Mia had never used a flush toilet, had a shower or ridden in a car. The culture shock must be overwhelming.

We will now try to make Mia resident number four at the GFH, but it is not easy. First, we have get permission from her local people's committee and police department for her to move. Then we have to get the same permission from both of those parties here. We also have to find a school to admit her. There are nearby schools but they don't have to accept everyone. We had trouble finding schools for the other three girls but finally worked it out. Hopefully, we will do the same for Mia.

Since I have been here and been around the girls they have always been bundles of energy. Anxious and enthusiastic for everything. But as we were exiting the water park their walking was slow. (Although they did accept a sausage on a stick.) (Mn State Fair anyone.) When we got back to the house, about 6:00 PM, your trusted reporter excused himself and retired to his bedroom. Down and out in about five minutes. However, up and about about midnight. I just love this jet lag stuff. If you need me during mid-day in the west I'm your man. I'm likely to be up.

School starts Monday. Should be easy, but this is Vietnam and something tells me it won't be. Stay tuned.

Chuck DeVet, President