Vietnam

Wow, amazing energy in this place. Buddhist nuns and other staff take care of a little over 167 orphans in a beautiful part of the outskirts of Hue. Majority of the children range in age from a few months old to 17 years old. If they are disabled, they can stay their entire lives. We were able to sit with the head nun who answered our questions about how the children got there and how that has changed over the years. During the American war and later in the Chinese war, the majority came to them because they lost their families either from fighting in the wars or at home in bombings. Several are from losing families in floods, which apparently are common with heavy seasonal monsoons. More recently, children have come to them from unwed mothers whose families cannot afford to take care of them. When we asked about adoption, the Vietnamese have a very different take on this topic. Once children arrive at the orphanage, they are part of a family. They take care of each other, which is how only 23 total staff take care of so many kids, as the older ones are assigned responsibility to help look after, feed, and bathe younger children. They become educated, go to school, start working, and become self-sufficient adults. They shared many stories of those that go on to become doctors and lawyers or simply go on to marry and start their own families and have a successful life. Some even come back to the orphanage as workers or volunteers. One of the nuns had a radiant smile the entire time, and after talking with her, she shared that she herself came to the orphanage as a small child and ended up staying, finishing her studies to become a Buddhist nun with three ordination scars on her head. Several young girls around 7 years old came out to greet us, freshly showered, and immediately grabbed all the ladies who had an Apple watch and started taking pictures, pressing buttons, it was the cutest thing ever. Two of the little girls followed the shortest lady in the group for another 10 minutes as we walk through the the compound. They absolutely would not let go of her arm. One latched on to me, but I don't have a watch so not quite sure what was going on there. I came away from this experience, thinking of what a beautiful concept this is.... and thought about adoption placement in other orphanages being a point of friction, jealousy, envy with other kids as children are adopted around them. The kids all seemed happy, communally eating, very clean, sleeping quarters, and beautiful, and simple grounds. Definitely a place that if I lived there, would want to do more to contribute and support their cause.Leia mais