I participated in one of the most enjoyable projects of my teaching career last spring of 2007. I was helping teachers a Burke High School in inner-city Charleston. We had a small grant to publish something with a cultural focus. I was able to connect a group of seniors at Burke HS in South Carolina with young children in a technology program in Ha Noi with the Blue Dragon Foundation. Blue Dragon works with Street Children. The Embassy of Ireland had recently funded the creation of a technology room with four or five computers.
The Blue Dragon students suggested the title for the book as "A Chat with New Friends". That's really what the project was. Students emailed each other from 10,000 miles apart. They talked about their lives, their interests and things in which they take pride. Burke sent a You Tube video address so the Vietnamese students could watch their amazing marching band. Vietnamese students find it hard to understand what a band has to do with high school.
Many Burke students can be considered poor. They found themselves wealthy compared to the Ha Noi kids. The exchange was interesting.
The technology person at Blue Dragon did all the interpreting. The final product was the previously mentioned book entitled "A Chat with New Friends". It was published with all stories, both sets of kids, in English and Vietnamese.
The kids in both locations loved the books. I can't believe this simple idea produced such powerful results.
It's a goal of Think About the Children to create lots of cross-cultural projects with students in Viet Nam and America. The learning is real and gets kids engaged like never before.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
The power of a small sacrifice
Many of us feel as though we just struggle to get by. Most Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Debt is at an all time high. If we luckily come into some money with an inheritance, win a lotto ticket or some other unusual circumstance we'll pay our bills and give some away.
Actually, the most powerful thing any of us can do, especially when it comes to poor kids in Viet Nam, is to give a small, a very small amount of money that will not have any effect on our daily lives at all. If you simply donate $1 or $5 or maybe a big donation of $25 and encourage someone else to do the same miracles can happen.
School fees in Viet Nam can be as little as $20.00 twice a year, but millions of children cannot afford school fees because their families do not have enough food to eat. A university education in Viet Nam can cost as little as $150.00 a year. A book can cost as little as a dollar.
Think about it.
Can you afford a small donation? Any small amount? Go to ThinkAboutThe Children.org and make a difference in some child's life.
The education of one family member can stop generational poverty in Viet Nam for that family.
Actually, the most powerful thing any of us can do, especially when it comes to poor kids in Viet Nam, is to give a small, a very small amount of money that will not have any effect on our daily lives at all. If you simply donate $1 or $5 or maybe a big donation of $25 and encourage someone else to do the same miracles can happen.
School fees in Viet Nam can be as little as $20.00 twice a year, but millions of children cannot afford school fees because their families do not have enough food to eat. A university education in Viet Nam can cost as little as $150.00 a year. A book can cost as little as a dollar.
Think about it.
Can you afford a small donation? Any small amount? Go to ThinkAboutThe Children.org and make a difference in some child's life.
The education of one family member can stop generational poverty in Viet Nam for that family.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
The beginning
Think About the Children has been a long time in the making. I served in Viet Nam from October 1969 until June of 1971. I served with the 108th Artillery Group, The Guns of the DMZ. My first nine months were as a Forward Observer. I served with my RECON team as artillery support for the 3/5 Armored Cavalry. We traveled around what was called "The Backyard" in our tanks and armored personnel carriers. We patrolled both north and south of Highway 9 around Cam Lo. Our headquarters was in Dong Ha with bases on places like Con Tien and J. J. Carroll. We were a part of the second occupation of Khe Sanh in February of 1971. That major operation to cut off the Ho Chi Minh Trail was called "Lam Son 719". I still have contact with Sgt. Ed Rutherford, my RECON Sgt. from those days. It took me over 30 years to find him once I got home.
I extended my tour by six months. My last six months were spent in Phu Bai near Hue. I flew out of the airport daily for four hours of target acquisition followed by either bombing with the Air Force or dumping our own 8 inch or 175 Guns on targets. Our targets were always inside the DMZ.
There's a lot to that decision to stay an extra six months, but that's better for a different post. What is important for this post is the fact that during my time in Viet Nam I learned to love these people who worked so hard and were so sacrificial. I met so many people who gave up everything to fight for their country and their freedom. During my time in Viet Nam back in the 60s I saw a lot of kids. I always remember one boy who lost a leg to a mine while he was trying to gather metal to sell as scrap. As soon as he was healed from the amputation at the knee he was right back in the same area risking his life again.
This little boy was not unusual. He did anything to help his family just like so many kids you find in Viet Nam today. Around this time I remember a song by Richie Havens, Think About the Children. The song is no longer available for purchase. It's on his Great Blind Degree Album.
The song asks who thinks about children at a time of war. What a great question? We want to think about those children or maybe their grandchildren now.
I've thought about that song for over 35 years. I returned to Viet Nam in 2005 to present research on engaging at-risk students in education at The Center for Education Research in Ho Chi Minh City. I toured my old bases and taught English for 30 days. I saw how so little money can do so much in Viet Nam. Two key items are a house can be built for as little as $1,200. A one room school can be built for $8,000. That's within the reach of many people.
As a teacher I saw an opportunity to help students explore real issues through their peers eyes around the world and then do something about it. Think About the Children was created to build a school using my own funds. Students and teachers were another way to expand this effort.
Think About the Children is a reality. We've worked through Blue Dragon Foundation to help victims of trafficking in the beach community of Hue. We've sought advice from Project RENEW in Dong Ha Town. We helped a friend near Hue who's home was devastated by a Typhoon. We've helped several orphanges with food and basic needs. We've helped several friends with big hearts and who do a lot of community service.
Now we have a special opportunity. Three College of Charelston students are now living in Hue. What pride I have in these great young people. I'm so confident they will get the school built that's been my dream for so long. We need to get government approval and maybe team up with a more experienced non government organization, but I am so happy to have these former students in Hue. They're working on a library in an orphanage right now.
Funny, they are the same age I was when good old Uncle Sam sent me to Viet Nam. They have a far different mission.
I extended my tour by six months. My last six months were spent in Phu Bai near Hue. I flew out of the airport daily for four hours of target acquisition followed by either bombing with the Air Force or dumping our own 8 inch or 175 Guns on targets. Our targets were always inside the DMZ.
There's a lot to that decision to stay an extra six months, but that's better for a different post. What is important for this post is the fact that during my time in Viet Nam I learned to love these people who worked so hard and were so sacrificial. I met so many people who gave up everything to fight for their country and their freedom. During my time in Viet Nam back in the 60s I saw a lot of kids. I always remember one boy who lost a leg to a mine while he was trying to gather metal to sell as scrap. As soon as he was healed from the amputation at the knee he was right back in the same area risking his life again.
This little boy was not unusual. He did anything to help his family just like so many kids you find in Viet Nam today. Around this time I remember a song by Richie Havens, Think About the Children. The song is no longer available for purchase. It's on his Great Blind Degree Album.
The song asks who thinks about children at a time of war. What a great question? We want to think about those children or maybe their grandchildren now.
I've thought about that song for over 35 years. I returned to Viet Nam in 2005 to present research on engaging at-risk students in education at The Center for Education Research in Ho Chi Minh City. I toured my old bases and taught English for 30 days. I saw how so little money can do so much in Viet Nam. Two key items are a house can be built for as little as $1,200. A one room school can be built for $8,000. That's within the reach of many people.
As a teacher I saw an opportunity to help students explore real issues through their peers eyes around the world and then do something about it. Think About the Children was created to build a school using my own funds. Students and teachers were another way to expand this effort.
Think About the Children is a reality. We've worked through Blue Dragon Foundation to help victims of trafficking in the beach community of Hue. We've sought advice from Project RENEW in Dong Ha Town. We helped a friend near Hue who's home was devastated by a Typhoon. We've helped several orphanges with food and basic needs. We've helped several friends with big hearts and who do a lot of community service.
Now we have a special opportunity. Three College of Charelston students are now living in Hue. What pride I have in these great young people. I'm so confident they will get the school built that's been my dream for so long. We need to get government approval and maybe team up with a more experienced non government organization, but I am so happy to have these former students in Hue. They're working on a library in an orphanage right now.
Funny, they are the same age I was when good old Uncle Sam sent me to Viet Nam. They have a far different mission.
A College of Charleston Success Story
The College of Charleston teamed up with Think About the Children for two International Service Learning trips in December 2007. A group of seventeen traveled to Viet Nam. A total of twenty-two students went to Kenya. A powerful statement about the College of Charleston that a total of 32 undergraduates and three graduates gave up a large portion of their winter break for these orphans.
The girls in Kenya helped to build a health clinic next to an HIV/AIDS orphanage. HIV/AIDS has devastated much of Africa. Malaria is also a very serious challenge for children in this area. The 22 C of C girls joined with local adults and the orphans to lay brick and build walls. There is no running water in the area so the girls helped orphans carry water to the area to mix concrete. The C of C donations purchased bricks, building supplies and malaria kits. The College of Charleston girls left their mark on this village. Both the orphans and C of C the students have memories for a lifetime.
The group that traveled to Hue, Viet Nam focused on two Think About the Children programs. The beach villages of Hanh Phuc, Phu Hai and Thanh My have all been victimized by Child Trafficking. Over thirty children were trafficked to Ho Chi Minh City to work eighteen hour days for the traffickers. Our friends at Blue Dragon Foundation were able to identify these children and return them to their villages and families. Once these trafficed kids were home we supported several of these children with food, school supplies, school fees, water filters, debt reduction and had electricity installed in their home.
The recent flooding in Hue has really challenged these families. Our first visit after the flooding found families that had not eaten in four days. We provided the food, soap, shampoo, tooth paste and tooth brushes they needed.
The College of Charleston girls spent three mornings at the villages and visiting homes. Each family received rice, eggs, milk, cheese and noodles. According to the villagers this food can feed a family for up to six weeks.
Each afternoon the students went to Duc Son orphanage. More information can be found about Duc Son on this site. Prior to our first visit, the children had eaten rice exclusively for three months. We brought rice, chicken, pork, eggs, vegetables and fruit. We also brought a month’s supply of infant formula. At the time, Duc Son had eight babies with four under 90 days old.
The orphans sang to the C of C girls and asked that the girls sing to them. It was such an emotional evening that the girls returned for four straight evenings with more food. The highlight of each evening was several hours of play between the girls and the orphans.
Eventually we left and the orphans talked incessantly about the fun they had with the ladies who spent so much time with them day after day. The weather turned cold for Hue. Think About the Children brought a scarf for each child and returned with a blanket of each child. More food of all types was also provided for the children.
Eva Capozzola, a 2007 graduate of the College of Charleston, is living in Hue and visiting Duc Son each day. She’s documenting life at Duc Son with her camera while she collects oral histories of each nun, child and selected alumni. We hope to publish a book of her work.
The College of Charleston girls have created a special relationship with these orphans and intend to keep that relationship alive for a long time. Eva teamed with Think About the Children to purchase a new pair of shoes (actually sandals) for each child for Tet, the New Year Celebration.
We have a lot of ideas, but no established plans yet as to how we will continue the work of the C of C girls into the future. Things move slowly in Viet Nam. We'll announce the C of C project when it is government approved. Summer trips are in the planning stage. Keep tuned.
The girls in Kenya helped to build a health clinic next to an HIV/AIDS orphanage. HIV/AIDS has devastated much of Africa. Malaria is also a very serious challenge for children in this area. The 22 C of C girls joined with local adults and the orphans to lay brick and build walls. There is no running water in the area so the girls helped orphans carry water to the area to mix concrete. The C of C donations purchased bricks, building supplies and malaria kits. The College of Charleston girls left their mark on this village. Both the orphans and C of C the students have memories for a lifetime.
The group that traveled to Hue, Viet Nam focused on two Think About the Children programs. The beach villages of Hanh Phuc, Phu Hai and Thanh My have all been victimized by Child Trafficking. Over thirty children were trafficked to Ho Chi Minh City to work eighteen hour days for the traffickers. Our friends at Blue Dragon Foundation were able to identify these children and return them to their villages and families. Once these trafficed kids were home we supported several of these children with food, school supplies, school fees, water filters, debt reduction and had electricity installed in their home.
The recent flooding in Hue has really challenged these families. Our first visit after the flooding found families that had not eaten in four days. We provided the food, soap, shampoo, tooth paste and tooth brushes they needed.
The College of Charleston girls spent three mornings at the villages and visiting homes. Each family received rice, eggs, milk, cheese and noodles. According to the villagers this food can feed a family for up to six weeks.
Each afternoon the students went to Duc Son orphanage. More information can be found about Duc Son on this site. Prior to our first visit, the children had eaten rice exclusively for three months. We brought rice, chicken, pork, eggs, vegetables and fruit. We also brought a month’s supply of infant formula. At the time, Duc Son had eight babies with four under 90 days old.
The orphans sang to the C of C girls and asked that the girls sing to them. It was such an emotional evening that the girls returned for four straight evenings with more food. The highlight of each evening was several hours of play between the girls and the orphans.
Eventually we left and the orphans talked incessantly about the fun they had with the ladies who spent so much time with them day after day. The weather turned cold for Hue. Think About the Children brought a scarf for each child and returned with a blanket of each child. More food of all types was also provided for the children.
Eva Capozzola, a 2007 graduate of the College of Charleston, is living in Hue and visiting Duc Son each day. She’s documenting life at Duc Son with her camera while she collects oral histories of each nun, child and selected alumni. We hope to publish a book of her work.
The College of Charleston girls have created a special relationship with these orphans and intend to keep that relationship alive for a long time. Eva teamed with Think About the Children to purchase a new pair of shoes (actually sandals) for each child for Tet, the New Year Celebration.
We have a lot of ideas, but no established plans yet as to how we will continue the work of the C of C girls into the future. Things move slowly in Viet Nam. We'll announce the C of C project when it is government approved. Summer trips are in the planning stage. Keep tuned.
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