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Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE October 17, 2007
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| October 2, 2007 |
Da Nang, Viet Nam – Visiting the Da Nang Street Children Programme and Vocational Training Programme |
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| Peace Boat participants are met with a lively traditional Vietnamese dance |
Peace Boat was welcomed to Da Nang, Viet Nam with a lively traditional dance performance by women donning long, flowing silk ao zai (traditional dress) and the famous Vietnamese cone-shaped hat, nonh. One group of participants moved ashore and traveled into Da Nang city, Viet Nam’s forth largest with a population of 1.1 million, to visit the Street Children Programme (SCP) and its offshoot, the Vocational Training Programme. |
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| Participants teach string games to the girls at the Vocational Training Center |
Located near the 17th parallel, the official border between former North and South Viet Nam, Da Nang has historically been a significant city for strategic purposes. During the Viet Nam-US War, the people and environment suffered great losses. Dependent on a mostly agricultural economy, the locals in the surrounding area live in dire conditions, exacerbated by the lingering effects of Agent Orange. The most vulnerable to these conditions are children who have no access to education and are caught in the vicious cycle of poverty. At a young age, they become street children and, at best, they survive by begging and selling goods; at worst they become involved with crime, drugs and prostitution.
There is hope, however, in the form of the Street Children Programme. Founded in 1991, and funded by organizations in Japan, France and the United States, the SCP is an NGO that has continued to grow and now houses 150 children in five dormitory-style homes each comprised of 30 children aged between four and 17. The children live with adults who act as surrogate parents and are clothed, fed, educated and when they reach the age of seventeen, can go on to university or undertake vocational training. |
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| Girls at the Street Children Programme house get a crash course in basic Japanese |
The first stop on the tour was to the Vocational Training Centre, a large traditional-style building that was built with funding from a construction company in the United States. Here the children undertake sewing, embroidery, computer, carpentry, mechanics and electronics classes. After graduating from here, the centre works in collaboration with companies, factories and other organizations to find the children suitable employment where they can become self-sufficient. The sewing class, comprised of twenty girls and one boy, were more than happy to join Peace Boat participants in unloading the bags of stationary brought to the center from the ship as gifts. Although there wasn’t much verbal communication due to the language barrier, clapping, laughter and smiling is universally understood. The few who did speak English said they wanted to go on to open and manage their own tailoring businesses. |
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| The teenage girls prepare watermelon for lunch |
The group then moved on to visit the homes of the street children. Upon arrival, Peace Boat participants were met by a dozen children eagerly waiting at the gate. The first activity to break the ice was an informal and somewhat cacophonic language exchange as
both the children and participants were given a sheet of basic Vietnamese terms with the Japanese translation. |
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| The Children set the tables in anticipation of lunch with their new friends |
The teenage girls at the centre prepared a traditional Vietnamese feast for lunch consisting of fried spring rolls, roast chicken, grilled fish, salad and coconut curry. During lunch, the children were very polite and hospitable, filling up cups with orange soda and loading the guests’ plates full of spring rolls and meat, ensuring their plates were never bare. |
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| The boys give an impromptu Tet dragon dance |
After lunch, the Peace Boat participants worked with the children to teach them origami, calligraphy, streamer making and other games. At first, the children were well-behaved and attentive, but as the day wore on, it slowly became evident that children are children anywhere in the world and soon origami cranes were drowning in puddles and ink was spilling on the floor as they dragged participants away to show them their toys in their dormitory-style bedrooms. For the mother of the house, Hue Le Dang Kim, taking care of thirty children is a labor of love. ‘It’s very hard to take care of so many children, but rewarding,’ she said. An, a 19 year old university student who has spent most of her life at the house said ‘We [the children] fight and argue a lot over chores and things, but I like living here.’ |
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| Participants and children pose for a photo together before it’s time to say goodbye |
The boys then treated the guests to an impromptu performance of drumming and the Chinese dragon dance usually performed at Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year), using a make-do dragon mask made from papier-mâché. Little girls led their new friends to wild gardens to pick flowers to adorn their hair and their nonh. All too soon, it was time to leave. Reluctantly, the participants headed back to the bus, hand in hand with a gaggle of children. The children took the farewell in their stride, but tears were shed on the side of the participants who will always remember their new friends and the adversity they have faced and overcome at such a young age. |
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