Celebrating a Milestone

We have been volunteering at Reaching Out Vietnam since 2008. But long before we crossed the threshold of this amazing social enterprise Mr. Binh and his wife Quyen established the business with three employees and a grand vision.

Last night, along with their now 70 employees we celebrated the 15th Anniversary of Reaching Out.

The gala was catered, but in concert with the core values of the organization, it was catered by a local charity, Ong Van, (Yellow Bee, or Same Same but Different, depending on who is speaking). This is the group who make the arduous journey up into the mountains to build schools for very poor villages.  It was a huge win-win. Reaching Out got a great party and Ong Van raised funds for yet another school.

Our new friend Thanhhuynh Huynh spearheaded the organization of the event. With a crew of about 30 people, they provided the entire setup, seating, food, music and lights (even fireworks at the right moments!) There were dancers and singers and the crowd of about 100 people loved it!

Even Gao, at 3 years old took up his ukelele to perform with a guitarist. How cute was this!

Everyone was honoured, the long term employees, the sales team, the artisans, the teahouse servers, the volunteers (yes, Bruce and I too) There were gifts and surprises galore.

Binh and Quyen chose the occasion to announce some new benefits including a new Child Care Allowance for all employees with children and an Early Retirement package for employees whose health may prevent them from working until age 60 or 65 years old. We all had a few tears, when Quyen, much to Binh's surprise, included him in the small group. He was touched as we all were by the thoughtfulness and recognition that her husband has toiled for many years in his pursuit to provide better lives for people of disability in Hoi An and beyond. His tireless dedication seems daunting and we are in awe of his accomplishments.

Every employee regardless of length of service received a commemorative plate, a gift certificate and a cactus (symbolic of sustainability)

The gift giving was so well orchestrated. Senior employees had all the gifts organized and recipients names appeared on the screen, along with the names of the presenters. This crew was also on hand to help Bruce and I present the gifts graciously. Photos were fast!

A special guest was Hien, who travelled down from Da Nang. We attended Hien's wedding five years ago. A talented painter, whose work is showcased at Reaching Out, he now has two children.

And then the food! What a spread! And the beer flowed with many Mot Hai Ba's...the traditional toast  ( loosely translated...one, two, three drink!)

There were so many photos....these are two of my favourites. The Tea House staff are so very beautiful and gracious and although speech and hearing impaired felt very much a part of all the goings on...every speech and presentation was simultaneously signed....and they too celebrated!

We have learned so much from our Reaching Out family about loving and caring for one another. As the evening wore on and the music lulled into a quiet tune, we just needed to hang on to each other, so...to the amusement of all, we danced on the lawn.

Never did we imagine in 2008 that we would still be working with this wonderful group of people in 2015 and be present for their 15th Anniversary party. 

Donors to Journeys of the Heart through the years have sponsored many of the young people with whom we celebrated last night. They have become skilled artisans, loving people and fully integrated into their communities. Thank you for helping to launch them. 

Heroes in Profile

While travelling with Tours of Peace Vietnam Veterans there are many moments of bravery.

Veterans who have survived a war and perhaps years of rehabilitation and healing confront the memories which they have carried for many years.

Each veteran's story is one of courage, either on the battle field or in revisiting the sites where their youthful innocence was lost.

Jess is the Founder and CEO of TOP. He has provided the opportunity for countless veterans to return to Vietnam over the last twenty years. Each trip is planned so that the veterans under his guidance can  return to the exact site (or close to it) where vivid memories were etched in their young hearts so many years ago. Quiet and contemplative, Jess honours each veteran today as he has for so many trips.

Doug on the left and Elliot on the right have both returned to Vietnam twice with TOP. Both are  kind and sensitive to the experiences of all the men on the trip and openly share their feelings and reactions.

Bruce on the left has travelled with TOP 8 times and is now the expert at map reading, research and navigating for all significant sites. Steve on the right has travelled with TOP 4 years in succession, and is now the "glue" for all of the humanitarian project goods.

This is Chuck, another TOP returnee. As you can see he embodies the goodwill and spirit of our humanitarian projects and is the first man in on the fun at orphanages and care homes. He also is an armchair scholar of the Vietnam war and shares valuable data to help us all understand many of the tactical events of the war.

This is Anh. He is a veteran from the Vietnamese side of the conflict. A survivor, as a child of a New Economic zone and labour as a rice farmer, he has grown from an uneducated rural child to become a university graduate, excellent translator and a "miracle" worker in keeping us on track and on time through some precarious travel. Without Anh's resourcefulness, we would not get through all of the regulatory red tape and find the individuals and communities who benefit from our donations.

Heroes all!

Hen gap lai! (See you again!)

Hearts across the Ocean

It is one of our greatest joys while here in Hoi An to witness the impact of sponsorships through Children's Education Foundation.  As many of you know from reading our blogs and from our stories, the mission of this organization is to keep girls from poor families in school so that "they grow to be women with choices."

Our association with CEF has been two fold. We encourage our donors to Journeys of the Heart to direct their funds to this NGO and we work with Linda and her staff on development and organizational issues.

Over the years we have visited many of the girls whose education has been supported by our friends and family and we are so pleased when we see the progress and maturation of these eager girls and young women who treasure their opportunities to stay in school. They see their futures as full of promise, away from early marriage, the back breaking work of growing rice or servitude of other kinds. They do not comprehend their vulnerability to trafficking, but we do.

So when it is possible we leap at the chance to visit the girls in their homes.

This year, as last, we visited Van and her family who live in the fishing village of Cua Dai near the mouth of the Thu Bon river. Meeting Linda and two of her staff at a hotel, we hopped on motorbikes to get to Van's house. What fun it is to mount up and ride in the breeze behind capable drivers like Thuy and Ngoc.

The lanes in the village were a challenge but eventually we arrived at Van's house. They were expecting us and the tea was ready! We were warmly greeted by Van, her Mom and her sweet Grandma.

What makes this visit special is that Van's sponsor who lives in California always makes a special effort to send to us, well in advance of our departure from Salt Spring Island, a gift for Van, pictures of her family and a letter.

Van could read her sponsor's letter in English which delighted us all.

To add poignancy,  Van's sponsor sent a shell from the beaches of Hawaii. The symbolism of the shell was that it had come from a Pacific shore thousands of miles away. We were all connected over the expanse of this great water. Van and CEF staffers, Ngoc and Thuy were mesmerized to hear the ocean sounds in the shell.

Van's sponsor's parents landed in Hawaii after fleeing Vietnam after the war. Here we were, presenting  a shell from Hawaii to Van, who shares a heritage with her sponsor. I was close to tears.

And, as you can see, I was also suffering the heat!! The wet look hairdo is the style that I sport often here in this humid and hot place.

Thank you to Van's sponsor and all of our friends who have committed to keeping a young Vietnamese girl in school.

Delivering Donations

Yesterday we went off to the Red Cross Centre here in Hoi An to visit our old friends. Miss Hoa is the Director of VAVA (Vietnamese Association for Victims of Agent Orange and her partner is Mr. Thinh). Over the years these two former Viet Cong soldiers have been welcoming and gracious. They have treated us to dinners, lunches and cruises down the Thu Bon River at night with the lanterns floating all around.

 We are now so relaxed with them that Miss Hoa, in talking with our interpreter, pointed a finger at Bruce saying "bang bang" indicating that as a Viet Cong soldier they were on different sides on the war.....then we all hugged.

Our purpose was to deliver the generous donations from Bruce's buddies, veterans who served in the 4th Battalion, 23d Infantry, so many years ago and many of whom also suffer the effects of Agent Orange. These US Army veterans are generally compensated for any illness related to their Agent Orange exposure, but in Vietnam the support, if any, from the government is woefully inadequate.   Nor of course has the US government or the chemical companies responsible for the manufacture of this dioxin stepped forward in any meaningful way to ease the suffering of these victims. There is however now an American funded project to neutralize the areas near Da Nang where Agent orange was stored.

Bruce was ably assisted in his communication by our friend Ni, (right front). Ni works at Reaching Out but volunteered to give us a hand during the meeting. The young woman Thuy (right top) is new to her job and her spoken English is sparse. She is replacing the lovely Phuong who has recently married and no longer works with VAVA. It was primarily Phuong, whose English we relied upon, who stick-handled our negotiations to work with VAVA to set up the idea of a micro-loan program...a "hand up" instead of a "hand out." With Ni's help yesterday, we were able to get agreement that the program will continue with this years' recipients of loans being, among others, a family for whom a cow will make a difference in their lives ensuring fresh milk and the possibility for breeding cattle. Another family will be supported in getting started in the fishing business.

After the formal counting and handing over of the cash and the writing of receipts (this agency does VERY meticulous paper work), Ni also helped us to deepen our relationships with Miss Hoa and Mr. Thinh, enquiring about one another's health and telling stories of our visits through the years. It helps that all of our old pictures are still under glass on the desk and on the walls of the office. Proudly displayed is a picture of one of our donors sporting the scarf made for her by a recipient who started a home based knitting business.

Never wanting to miss out Mr. Nguyet, an 84 years old resident of the Red Cross Centre just marched into the office and took a seat.

Nguyet and his wife are old friends too and right on the spot Miss Hoa shared a few dollars from the donations with him. My reward was a big kiss and we had a good giggle when I told him that he was too old to be my boyfriend.

Nguyet and his wife live at the centre which is frankly quite dismal, with tiny, sparsely furnished rooms. The air circulation on this sweltering day was negligible and the foul orders from the communal bathroom at the end of the hall hung in the air. As always we were invited to their room. You see most of it in this picture.

What we find incredible is that despite the fact that Nguyet served for 65 years in the military on the side of the North, the victors, yet this meagre place with a small stipend is his only benefit. Because of their Agent Orange exposure they have no children to look after them. I think that even Ni was taken aback by their humble circumstances. She was particularly impressed with this photo, stashed under glass on the one small table. Nguyet's medals are impressive on the uniform which hangs still under plastic on one of the walls (you can see it just behind Bruce's ear in the photo above)

There is not an angry, resentful bone is this old, wizened body....still a proud soldier and gracious host.

After tea and cookies we said our good-byes...a very sober trio, Bruce, Ni and I.

Huge thank you hugs to the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry gentleman and their wives who have sent such generous gifts. 

Hello Hoi An

We have been in Hoi An, our "home away from home", for a week! After a couple of days to acclimatize we were immediately immersed in our work with Reaching Out Vietnam.

The first task has been to work with a team of very skookum young folks in tackling the design of a new website. Two design consultants from Singapore were here. We had met Bryan in Singapore where he treated us to a fabulous dinner in the Botanical Garden. We enjoyed great food and the respite of a quiet green sanctuary in the midst of all the frenetic Singapore traffic and the mayhem of 4.5 million people on a tiny island.

Travelling to Vietnam from Singapore was an all day event as we set out from our hotel at 9:30 am and arrived in Da Nang at 7:30 pm ...two flights with a three hour layover in Ho Chi Minh City, where the time passed pleasantly enough as three friends made a special trip out to the airport to have a coffee with us.  We will see Anh again in a few weeks when we link up with the TOP, Tours of Peace Vietnam group.

Although tired, our spirits picked up when we saw our welcoming committee at the Da Nang airport. Sesame is now 11 years old and is almost a tall as his mother, Quyen.

Once home at An Bang beach we set up our offices....any place that was cool and had Internet access. It took us a few days to figure out that the old fashioned modem at our house required a cable which a previous tenant had probably stashed in his/her suitcase. Several days we had to sit in a beach side bistro. What a hardship!

The work on the website was quite overwhelming for us. We were drowning in technological waters with new lingo and magic tricks. But there was no catching up for us, so we took on the task of writing the content. Should be an easy job for two writers, right? But not so...the script needs to be appropriately heartfelt to capture the essence of this social enterprise and yet be clean, crisp and short to appeal to screen readers. Quite a challenge for these two old, verbose story tellers.

This is the office at Binh and Quyen's house and this is how a meeting happens in 2015....no laptop...no communication!!!

 The food on Quyen's table is plentiful, frequent and delicious. We never know what delicacy will appear on the table or when!

Dim Sum and moon cakes 

Banh beo

Fried squid

The next five weeks will be rewardingly busy. We will work with Children's Education Foundation for a couple of days, see Thanhhuynh Huynh to deliver funds for schools for the poor in remote mountain villages, work with VAVA on the micro loan program and scurry around preparing gifts, with Quyen's help, for the humanitarian work with TOP. And of course continue with the variety of tasks which crop up with Reaching Out. A need for some staff training seems to be looming!

We are well and happy.....red ants, searing heat, plugged shower drains, language problems (still after all these years!), beeping, swirling, crazy motor bike drivers and loud wedding music in the neighbourhood aside.

Let us know how you are dear friends and please share our blog on Facebook. We could use a few more "likes"

Last Minute Miracle

Our bags are all packed and ready to zip closed for the next Journey of the Heart and as usual they are overflowing with gifts for the Vietnamese people we serve.

One of the stops that we make annually and will do so again this year, with Tours of Peace Vietnam Veterans, is the Hoi An Home for the Aged and Disabled. In our suitcases are today's last minute miracle for the nursing staff there.

When we think of head lamps here at home, we think of reading in bed, hiking, camping or managing in a black out.

But at the nursing home, these are essential tools. Can you imagine during a power outage trying to care for and feed these dear people in the dark? Floors are slippery during wet weather, many residents are confined to their beds while others are on crutches or using other mobility devices.

 Head lamps for the staff are precious things to have so that they can care for their charges and have two hands free for feeding or lifting.

Today I went to our local hardware store, where Manager KimYoung has been a loyal supporter for years, not only donating from the stock at the store, but also personally.  In response to my plea, I walked away with drastically reduced headlamps and of course some balloons for the kids at our next stop in Hue at the Duc Son Pagoda Orphanage.

So a big "shout out" for Kim and Mouat's Home Hardware, Salt Spring Island!

Such a nice "going away" present for Journeys of the Heart. We are so lucky to be the ones to deliver all this love from Canada and the USA.

Almost There!

Once again we are counting the weeks and days until our departure for Vietnam. This will be our 8th Journey of the Heart, our 10th trip to Vietnam. For Bruce it will be his 18th trip...six with TOP Tours of Peace Vietnam Veterans and then of course two tours of duty during the war. That is a lot of miles travelled!

Funds have been coming in to Journeys of the Heart, by mail and hand delivered...one cheque even etched on the trunk of a friend's car, during one of those typical Salt Spring Island encounters...we were strolling home from our garden plot with our basket of vegetables and she just emerging from a game of bridge at a neighbourhood house. We did trade some fresh chard and basil for a most generous gift for the library at Children's Education Foundation. www.childrenseducationfoundation.org.au. A link for this organization is on the sidebar of this post.

Bruce's retired buddies of the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry have once again donated a goodly sum and we will be able to expand the micro loan program which we initiated with VAVA (Vietnamese Association for Victims of Agent Orange). We look forward to meeting a new liaison at VAVA in Hoi An. Our lovely friend Phuong has recently been married and has retired. We will miss her sunny smile and her co-operation and translating expertise. It was always a treat to work with Phuong.

Miss Hoa is still the director and we look forward to cups of tea again in her tiny office at the Red Cross Centre.

Our new interest is in helping Same Same but Different...a local Vietnamese organization which not only delivers aid to locals in Central Vietnam, but now also builds school in remote mountain villages. We have been able to send funds for these school building projects, thanks to the generosity of retired teachers and Sunday School children in Kenora, Ontario and some dear friends too!

This fund could do with a little more help!!! 

So many of these mountain villages have, as you can see in the photo, dirt floors and the walls and roofing are not weather proof by any means. Below a picture of a finished school, the crew and the mountain of food, clothing and school supplies that were packed up the mountain by the youthful group.

Of course we will be working again with Reaching Out. Look how we have grown. When we started working in 2008 with Reaching Out, a social enterprise providing skill training and meaningful employment for the disabled, the "family" was about a third this size. The new Tea House location has opened up more opportunities for the hearing impaired. There are very clever seamstresses working at the craft shop, so the lovely ladies at the Tea House have fresh new uniforms every couple of months.

We look forward to working with Binh and Quyen and a young consultant from Singapore this year. Bryan has been contracted to update the website and lay out a social media strategy. Facebook and our #1 rating thereon has drawn the attention of thousands of international travellers to the business.

The needs for Reaching out have shifted, but two areas still need some financial assistance. Scholarships for new trainees AND their own charitable foundation, which reaches out to the disabled in the community who are not as fortunate as the Reaching Out crew, could always use an infusion of donor dollars from across the sea. Journeys of the Heart will be happy to deliver your gift to this ground breaking organization which has proven that small, grass roots, self-help groups can show by example that an empowered, independent life IS possible for the disabled in Vietnam where legislative changes and social support are slow in emerging.

So...we are almost there in terms of funding....but of course we would welcome more gifts.

Many, many warm thanks to all who have already contributed to the 2015 Journeys of the Heart fundraising campaign. Your support makes all of our work possible. 

Hopefully we will reach a few more kind folks before our departure in mid-September. 

WE ARE ALMOST THERE!

Annual Appeal

Journeys of the Heart Annual Appeal 2015

Once again we are planning our return to Vietnam. Since 2006, with financial help from many friends and family we have been able to change the lives of a few of the thousands of disenfranchised still recovering from the war and the critical conditions after that war.

Schools for Remote Villages

The children in remote villages in the central mountains of Vietnam are often hungry when our friends from the Ong Van group, known as "Same Same but Different", travel the arduous trails through the jungle to visit them.

Their schools, if there are any, are no more than shacks and books and supplies are meagre. But, not only does SSBD climb the trails to bring food and warm clothing they also haul in the materials to build new classrooms. 

Thanks to generous donors, a retired teachers association and a church school class in Ontario and kind friends of Journeys of the Heart has been able to put funds into the hands of the builders. We hope to do the same again when we go to Vietnam in September. Schools and school supplies bring hope to the destitute for a better future.

School Tuition for Girls from Poor Families

We have worked with the Children's Education Foundation for many years. the mission of this grassroots NGO is to provide school fees (and additional support for their families such as medicine,bicycles and a mobile library) so that girls can remain in school and have more choices as they grow. The threat of child trafficking is real for girls who end do not stay in school. 

When in Vietnam, we visit these children on behalf of their sponsors and we are privileged to receive their appreciative smiles and to see them prosper despite the conditions under which they live.

Micro-Loans for Victims of Agent Orange

Friends of Journeys of the Heart, including Bruce's fellow veterans of the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry, have annually contributed funds to seed a new micro-loan program with VAVA (Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange. This loan program allows victims and their families to develop a home based business and through independence gain self-worth.

A woman who used her loan to start a home based knitting company, showed her gratitude by knitting scarves for our donors. 

The payback rate of the loans is high and as we had hoped the program is becoming self-sustaining. However, There is still a long list of loan applications and we would love to be able to help them start a business too.

Reaching Out, a Social Enterprise

We began our volunteer work in Vietnam with Reaching Out in 2008. Since then it has grown to more than 70 disabled staff in two locations, a craft shop and a tea house where speech any hearing impaired staff serve in silence in an ancient house in Old Town, Hoi An.

Our work has evolved into roles as advisors on business matters, however we still support the trainee scholarship program so that more people of disability can join this successful team as empowered and  integrated individuals. 

Your contributions have been and will be delivered directly to the people and or groups who are "on the ground" in Vietnam. We love and trust the people who year after year have welcomed us and are so appreciative of your gifts. 

Cheques can be sent to:

Journeys of the Heart

#10-115 Upper Ganges Road

Salt Spring Island, BC

V8K 2Y3

Canada

Cam On! Thank You!