Visiting Bo De Temple in Long Bien, Ha Noi

November 24. After my meeting with Madame Binh, Dr. Thao and his staff gave me a farewell lunch at a sea food restaurant. We had an enjoyable time but I felt sad leaving Ha Noi and all the dear people behind. In the afternoon I went to the Bo De temple with Dung. We spent an entire afternoon with the orphans and the head nun, Su Thay, a soft spoken women in her late 50's. She had just completed her Master's degree. Dung said Su Thay is a dedicated nun and the public donations have been well used. She offered us jasmine tea and some fresh fruits. Dung and I each made our own donation towards the care of the children.

Upon our arrival, we also met two Australian ladies who were visiting the temple and looking after the babies. They were teaching the children English. Since they were leaving Viet Nam, they worried that the English lessons would be discontinued after their departure.

I was surprised to learn that the temple had to pay the school fees for school age children at the same rate set for those supported by their own parents.

With more more than 60 orphans living in the temple, there is a shortage of proper facilities such as bedrooms and toilet facilities. One of the youngest babies had been abandoned by her mother when she was only a few days old. The child was beaten by a dog and lost her left leg. She also lost most of her toes and fingers. When Su Thay showed us the fragile baby, it was hard to control one's emotion. Dung took some photos of her in the head nun's arms. Then the children gathered for the photo session. We found them incredibly well behaved.

The head nun told me that the temple had already acquired a piece of land, and she is waiting for more donations to build some huts for the children. I asked her about construction costs and she said it would cost about 3000 USD to build each hut. While at the temple, I told the nun that our charity would try to provide some financial assistance to the orphans.

My own desire to assist these children is very strong. We know that potential donors would like to have a choice of where to donate money. Some donors would help with the AO project in Thai Binh. Other donors may wish to help these orphans.

Meeting with Madame Nguyen Thi Binh

On my last day in Ha Noi, I had a good meeting with Madame Nguyen Thi Binh, at her office. We talked mostly about victims of Agent Orange.

Earlier, our plan was to build a Therapy and Skill Center for the victims in Vinh Vien village. However, due to the police harassment and the lack of cooperation from the provincial authorities in Hau Giang, we now shift our efforts to Thai Binh province.

Madame Binh is an honorable president for the government's program which currently provides limited care to the severe cases of Thai Binh. She said she would speak to the head of that program and inform him about our plan. I myself had talked to a few people from Thai Binh, who were most excited to get help.

My interest in Thai Binh came during the second week in Ha Noi, when I learned that Thai Binh, with the highest number of young men going South during the war, now has 40,000 victims of AO (including victims of the third generation). With limited time, my visit to the province has to be postponed until the spring 2010.

When I showed her the architectural plan for the Center, Madame Binh said it was a bit too fancy and suggested that we "stretch out" our financial resources in order to accommodate more victims. She wanted to meet me again to discuss more, when I visit Ha Noi next time. Madame Binh is well respected in the country. During the war, she had represented the Nationalist forces in South Viet Nam at the Paris Peace Talk with Henry Kissinger. After the war, she became Vice President, then Minister of Education.

First World Conference for Overseas Vietnamese

I was invited to attend the first world conference for overseas Vietnamese in Ha Noi. The event was held during the weekend of November 21-23, with over 900 overseas Vietnamese from 52 countries. As an official guest, my expenses was paid for by the government. Mr. Bui Manh Hai asked me to give a presentation at the conference.

The President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam was traveling a great deal. On the first day of the conference I was able to meet him briefly and gave him a copy of my book. His speech was compelling and it received the warmest feedback from the overseas Vietnamese.


The conference was held at the national conference in My Dinh, outside of Ha Noi. Every time we went and came back we were accompanied by police cars with siren. With the siren, we were traveling at a high speed, passing through all the red lights.

On the second day, a trip to Viet Nam's Women Union was also arranged. After lunch they took us women to the Women's War Museum and that was very impressive. At the Union's building we watched some documentary films. Vietnamese women shared their experiences and also joined the local women to sing patriotic songs. We were invited to a buffet dinner and that was most delicious. At dinner I sat with the two women in charge of the Union's affairs and talked to them about the VVCF. They were very interested in providing us assistance. Viet Nam's Women Union had been created during the French War by women leaders and it continues to have its strong influence in the society.

On the third day, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Doan, who is the current Vice President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, gave a touching speech. The overseas women felt immediately connected with her. We had a photo session with her on stage.



I had met Madame Nguyen Thi Binh in Paris two years earlier and was happy to see her again at the conference. After a nice chat, we had some photographs with her.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, had given a few speeches before. This time he made some jokes after his speech, as I was standing behind him.


In the evening we had a banquet dinner at the conference center. I met Mr. Son again and had a nice chat with him. He said he would be more than happy to assist me and the charity. I gave him a copy of my book.

The great conference ended with a lively concert. The performers were both local and overseas singers and dancers.

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Meeting with lawyers in Ha Noi

I arrived at Noi Bai airport at 6:30 am on Tuesday, November 3. Autumn season had arrived and the weather was cool and pleasant. Tony Eccles, our lawyer in Hong Kong, telephoned me, saying he was taking an afternoon flight and would join me at the Sofitel Metropole in the evening. That was a nice surprise. Mr. Eccles said he planned to accompany me to all meetings in Ha Noi (except the meeting with President Nguyen Minh Triet). I was told the President's office had sent a request to Hau Giang, asking them to consider granting the VVCF a new Decision.

Arriving late in the evening, Mr. Eccles preferred a quiet time to catch up with things. We had a light dinner at the hotel. The hotel accommodation was superior. My room was very beautiful. Every morning, around 4am, after a light exercise, I stuffed myself with the available fresh fruits and mineral water. When I went to breakfast, sometimes with Tony Eccles, I didn't eat much. Most mornings I sat at the same table facing the garden.


Wednesday morning. I met with Mr. Bui Manh Hai, former Deputy Minister of Science and Industry. We talked about the continued harassment by the police in Hau Giang and the difficulty in dealing with the officials there. He offered me very good advice, saying that he would give me full support, and, as president of the Overseas Vietnamese Association, he would endorse the VVCF. He thought I might apply for a Decision with the Ministry of Interior and he offered to introduce me to them. After the meeting we were invited to lunch with Dr. Thao, president of Invenco law firm, and his staff, at a very nice restaurant.

I was told President Nguyen Minh Triet's office had sent another request to the Deputy Minister of Interior, asking him to contact the Secretary of the Communist Party in Hau Giang. They wanted to arrange a visit for Dr. Thao, me, and a senior member of Mr. Pham Quoc Anh's administration to Hau Giang. Mr. Anh, as president of Viet Nam's Lawyers Association, had already sent two letters to Hau Giang in October (one to the Chairman of Hau Giang and one to the Lawyers Association of Hau Giang). The purpose of this trip was to sort out the charity's new registration. I had been told the Decision granted by the District of Long My last May was not valid -- because of the presence of foreigners in the charity.



Thursday afternoon. Mr. Pham Quoc Anh was attending the National Assembly meeting but had agreed to give me an appointment at 3:00 pm. When I arrived at the conference building with Dr. Thao and Mr. Tony Eccles, Mr. Anh greeted me, "I wish I could receive you at a more hospitable setting." Dr. Thao began the meeting by telling Mr. Anh that my father had been given a revolutionary award by Prime Minister Do Muoi. I talked briefly about my father's intelligent activities in the Mekong Delta during the French War and the American War. Then we discussed the problems concerning the VVCF. We had some photos taken before Mr. Anh returned to the National Assembly meeting. It was an honor to be photographed with my three dedicated legal advisors.

Friday morning. While shopping at the silk market, I received a phone call to come to Invenco for a meeting with Mr. Dang Quoc Toan (from Mr. Anh's office). We had a long discussion and Dung, a young lawyer of Invenco, finalized the arrangement for our trip to Hau Giang. He confirmed our air tickets, transportation, and hotel reservation. Dung had prepared the agenda for Hau Giang. Our top priority was to push through a request to Hau Giang, for Dale Watkins and Jenni Cochran to start teaching English ASAP.

Before leaving for lunch, Dr. Thao telephoned Hau Giang for a final confirmation of the visit. He was surprised to learn that the officials in Hau Giang wouldn't receive us. The reason: they were busy planning a big conference to celebrate the Communist Party. We were all annoyed.

Meanwhile, I received a request from Long My's Office of the Ministry of Education. They would like the VVCF to hand the kindergarten over to them, which was a fair request. I agreed and asked them to send their request in writing. I also told them we could arrange a simple handover ceremony while I was still in the country. The next day I learned that it would be impossible to give the kindergarten to the Ministry of Education as that would require a signature from the Chairman of Hau Giang, who had taken side with the district's police and he was against the charity.

At Invenco, we talked about various possibilities. We thought of registering the VVCF with the Ministry of Interior. Mr. Bui Manh Hai, my supporter, knew this Ministry well. However, we learned on the same day that I wouldn't be allowed to run a charity with registration in Viet Nam without having a Vietnamese citizenship.

I spent Saturday with Dung. As I admired West Lake, we went there and sat at a bench to admire its beauty. It was cool and the lake's view was misty. We had lunch at a restaurant facing Truc Bach Lake. There, we had a table at the edge of the lake and we sat for some hours. One of the places we visited in the afternoon was the ancient Imperial City of Thang Long, being destroyed by the French at the beginning of their invasion. I felt a sense of profound resentment towards the French colonists. Next year the Vietnamese will mark Thang Long's one thousand years of history.

I moved into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' guest house Sunday morning. This was an office building with some rooms for guests, at a low rate. Despite being simple, I fell in love with the place. The food was authentic, simple, and good. My table always had a fresh rose, where I also held meetings and interviews with the press. They gave me a glass of fresh passion fruit drink for every meal. The color wasn't red or brown but yellow and it was most delicious. Of all the places I had stayed, including five-star hotels, this was where I received the warmest welcome and consistent hospitality.




Monday morning I met with Professor Tran Thai Binh, a prominent historian and writer. Prof. Binh had written a biography of General Vo Nguyen Giap and he signed a copy for me. I gave him a copy of Late Blossom. He said he enjoyed reading it very much.

I had a few days on my own and went shopping and visited a tailor. I was told to move into the Thang Loi hotel one day before the conference. It was a nice place with charming lake views where Catherine Deneuve had stay during the filming of "Indochine". I shared the room with Kim Nguyet, a Vietnamese from Canada. Our room's wide window was overlooking the beautiful and tranquil lake.

Mr. Bui Manh Hai had recommended a position for me within the government. This has to do with policy making concerning future investment and other projects submitted to Viet Nam by overseas Vietnamese. This recommendation must be approved by senior people in the Ministries. If this goes smoothly, a Vietnamese citizenship for me may follow.

Completion of Kindergarten

All construction works on the kindergarten building were finally completed! The first class for children at age 5 has begun, with 45 students! We are hoping for some donations to buy furniture for the remaining two classrooms, for children ages 3 and 4. We are also hoping to buy a new computer for the office. We have been told it's extremely difficult to bring merchandises into the country. For new or used computers, the immigration department requires the payment of taxation at the same rate.







(Meaning of sign in English: Gift of Kindergarten from the Children Fund to Luong Tam village with Great Affection)

Gifts to victims of Agent Orange

On August 13, 2009, family members representing 55 victims of Agent Orange were invited to the VVCF's guest house in Vinh Vien to receive their gifts of patchwork quilted blankets and food. Given their handicap and inability to travel, the victims were represented by their mothers, sisters, grandmothers, fathers, brothers, and grandfathers.


At this gathering, seven local officials were also present. They helped with record keeping and distribution of the parcels. Two officials gave speeches to thank the VVCF for the charity's continued support of the victims' families.

Laura and her family donate patchwork quilted blankets and food to the AO victims between two and four times each year. Jenni and Dale were with us at this event. Jenni was the photographer for the day. Our thanks to Jenni for the photos in this post.

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.