Vietnam Women Union:
Prior to our Mekong Delta excursion, we were guests at a Women's Conference with members of the Vietnam Women Union and delegates from Washington State. The first half of the day we attended a riveting discussion on woman in Vietnam and what is expected of them. Vietnam's constitution states gender equality, but many of the women expressed their frustration with gender roles in Vietnam; they say there are not enough women are in the political or business sectors. Generally speaking, men don't want a wife who has obtained a higher education. So do women chose a family or a career? One of the representatives at the conference told me that in Vietnam every three days a woman dies from domestic violence. In rural areas many issues arise due to heavy drinking from the men. Shocking.
The second half of the day we attended a forum. This wasn't quite as interesting as our morning session. I think part of it was attributed to the fact that everything had to be translated from Vietnamese to English or vice versa so it was a little drawn out. But the positives definitely outweighed the negatives, I left the conference feeling much more educated on gender inequality in Vietnam and grateful to be an American woman and have such a strong role model back home– love ya Mom!
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| at the conference |
Orphanage for Handicapped Children:
This was an unplanned visit while we were in the Mekong Delta. One of the girls on my program really wanted to visit an orphanage that is named after her father so Co Thanh located, what we think, was the correct orphanage. This was an experience that I am never going to forget. Walking through the doors I was unaware that the orphanage was for handicapped children, many of the handicaps are attributed to Agent Orange, so I was not prepared for what I saw. There were children lying on the concrete floors crying, yelling, and just making noises with only a few attendants in each room. It was a really hard sight to take in. Although they don't have much, the children are under constant supervision, aren't living on the streets or with negligent parents, and are overall in a positive environment. They are fed, sheltered, and have some amenities. I am not trying to be patronizing in any way when I say that in American standards, this orphanage would not be acceptable. But I guess that is just one of the stark differences between developed and developing countries.
ADAPT– Prevention of Human Trafficking:
Human trafficking is a huge problem in the border regions of Vietnam, especially the Chinese and Cambodian borders. We met with ADAPT, which is a Pacific Links Organization that aims to alleviate the numbers of trafficked victims through educating individuals and communities. ADAPT helps prevent human trafficking by granting scholarships for high school students that covers their tuition, school supplies, uniform, etc. ADAPT also trains young girls in vocational skills– this increases their chances of finding a good job. Many of the girls that end up in the sex trafficking trade have been deceived, they are promised a job in a factory or restaurant but really they are smuggled across the border and sold to a brothel. The false promise of employment is all it takes to change a girls life forever. ADAPT prevention programs gives girls the vocational skills they need to secure a real job, which in turn decreases the chance that they would ever be tempted by the idea of a "job" in a faraway city. Every year thousands of girls are trafficked for both sex and labor. The following is a story that a representative of ADAPT read aloud to us.
Xiu's home is nestled deep in the green mountains of northern Vietnam, more than 120 kilometers from the nearest city, Lao Cai. Her family raises pigs and chickens and grows just enough rice, corn, yams, and other vegetables to feed Xiu, her five siblings, parents, and grandfather. If the season is poor, there are days where the family goes without food. When she was 17, an acquaintance of Xiu's sister offered Xiu a job in a noodle restaurant for 1,000,000 VND/month (roughly $50). The generous offer was much more appealing than the dicey return of rice paddy labor, and it would be Xiu's chance to visit the "big city" for the first time. She and her family agreed. In the dark morning hours, the traffickers led Xiu first onto a bus, then a boat, to cross into what Xiu would later find out was China, followed by another long bus ride. Xiu was sold into a brothel more than 450 kilometers from Lao Cai. For the next two months, Xiu was forced to serve seven to eight clients a day, as well as overnight clinets outside of the brothel. Most of her clients refused to wear condoms. She was never paid. She began suffereing from acute headaches and a loss of appetite. She thought often of giving up but held up her hope with memories of her family. One night, Xiu was taken to a hotel to meet a client who was called away before his allotted time was up. Unguarded, Xiu snuck out from the hotel and began running. She ran up to a woman with a kind face and pleaded for help. By an amazing stroke of luck, the woman understood Vietnamese, so she led Xiu to the Chinese police, who arranged for her return to Vietnam. Currently, Xiu is living at the Compassion House and diligently working towards her high school diploma.
School for the Deaf:
Last Thursday I had the opportunity to interview and observe at a HCMC private school. This particular school is for children with severe hearing impairments, but not completely deaf. There are currently 157 students enrolled from pre-kindergarten to 9th grade. Right now the school is faced with many financial problems. Although it only costs 1,000,000 dong/month (a little under $50) many families can't afford to send their children there. The school offers some grants and scholarships, but their funds are running low. To keep the school running teachers' salaries have been reduced and the administrators now find the school understaffed with no applicants willing to accept the low salary. Any school is expensive to run, but there are additional costs in running a school for deaf children. The children need to be in a silent environment so they can hear every syllable, sound, etc. Windows and doors remain shut in order to block out the commotion from the streets, which means they solely rely on air conditioners and fans to keep the rooms cool resulting in extremely high electricity bills. There also needs to be a low student to teacher ratio (10:1) to ensure that students are getting the attention they need. Additionally, because the students' handicaps, teachers rely on sign language and must speak very slowly in order for students to hear correctly. This means that the teachers need more days to teach the curriculum identical to the government run state schools. The typical five year track of elementary school has been extended to ten.
When I completed my interview I played charades with the middle school students. It was so fun. I love education.
So all of this– it's why I need to be a millionaire.
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