A day to remember

After some administrative difficulties, permission was finally obtained from the district and the province to hold the opening ceremony for the kindergarten in the presence of foreigners. On the morning of the 8th of August 2009, the village women, who had been working for days to prepare for the feast, awoke early with the sense of anticipation that comes with exceptional events.






The VVCF team, dressed in their finest suits and traditional ao dai, arrived in Luong Tam around 7:00, where the tantalizing scent of fine Vietnamese cooking rising from the back of the kindergarten whet the appetite. In the courtyard of the new school children were blowing up balloons, men were trying to work out the sound system and a big fat roast pig had been prepared on the central table.






The official ceremony started at 8:00 with a dragon dance, followed by an elegant children dance. There were several speeches by important government officials and representatives of the parents. Laura made an improvised speech which attracted much applause. Then, in front of the local police and officials, the red ribbon was cut and the kindergarten declared open. The charity then proceeded to distribute the computers purchased with the generous donations from Singapore to the representatives of the main schools in Luong Tam. A few victims of Agent Orange were able to come to the Opening Ceremony and they were given parcels containing patchwork quilt blankets and instant noodle soup packages.




The official ceremony ended with a succulent Vietnamese lunch, prepared with care by Laura's relatives. The food was exquisite, and there was much feasting and drinking to the traditional salutation of "chuc suc khoe". Our newly arrived Princeton-in-Asia's teachers became something of a local legend by their ability to speak Vietnamese and their talent for celebration. The official ceremony was followed by a ceremony for relatives and friends, where many traditional love songs were sung, which could be heard far and wide in the hamlet thanks to the power of the amplifier.

As it was summer time, we couldn't distributed the gifts of notebooks, pens and pencils, school bags, toys, toothpaste and brushes... purchased with the support of the Spanish Speaking Women's Association of Singapore and the Monoprix department. All the gilts were kept in a locked room until the classes began in late August.

While the feast continued, singing by children and the adults went on, until late afternoon.




The day ended on a peaceful walk through Laura's home village, and a visit to her old house. All in all, it was day to remember.