From the Beginning

I've been told by many that I should be keeping a journal of some sort and in a way I have been with all of the emails I send. Recently I've been reminded why that's just not good enough. So today I'm starting an online journal, but it's more for Humanitarian Services for Children of Vietnam (HSCV) than it is for me. This blog will provide a small porthole into what a small INGO faces on a daily basis, a way for donors to see how cautiously HSCV moves forward with our programs, be representative of all of the hard work that HSCV-Team members face on a daily basis, and mostly provide the children we are working to assist a voice in this world. It's for the Children.

The story of how HSCV came to be is one of those short long stories. I’ll give you the shorter version today.

HSCV is the dream of one man, Charles F. De Vet, my father. Chuck has always had a passion for needy children throughout the world. He has raised 4 children and is still raising my youngest sister. Three of my siblings are adopted; one from Columbia, one from El Salvador and the most recent from China. One other and I are Chuck’s biological children.

In early 2001, my father and I traveled to Vietnam on a short vacation. It was during this trip that my father fell in-love with Vietnam and its people. We saw so many beautiful places and met so many wonderful people, but it was during the long bus rides from tourist destination to tourist destination that we saw the real Vietnam just pass by. Sure we talked to the people and we asked questions, but we had no idea what to talk about or what to really ask. It was information overload.
In Da Nang we were fortunate to run in to a US Marine named Roy Montgomery. This was Roy’s third trip back to Vietnam since he served two tours of duty as a “tunnel rat” in the Vietnam – American War. Roy was kind enough to take us under his wing and show us more of the real Vietnam. He took us on a tour of places he had been. In one location he was searching for a boy, now a grown man, who gave him cold bottles of coke-a-cola. The only clue he had to the boy’s possible location was a big tree from Roy’s memory. During our search we found that the tree had died and so had the boy shortly after Roy’s tours ended.

I’m getting off point a bit, but it’s easy to do. The little side stories are always the ones you remember and you hold on to. My entire time in Vietnam can only be told by one little story the leads to another. So, please forgive me now and in the future when I get a little off point.
After our short trip to Vietnam in May of 2001, Chuck retired from his profession as a banker. It was during this process he decided to found HSCV. I was told only after our return to Minnesota that he had been stewing over the idea the entire time we were in Vietnam.

Over the next few months I struggled to find a job post College. I came up with a few part-time jobs, but nothing substantial. It was at this point my father asked me if I would like to help with HSCV. I saw this as an opportunity that any 23 year-old would be crazy to turn down.

During 2001, 2002, and 2003 my father and I traveled to Vietnam 6 times. In 2004 we decided we needed someone here to establish an office. I volunteered 6 months of my life, it’s now 2 ½ years later.