Twelve years have passed since I started NPO activities in Vietnam. For the first six year we supported children born with HIV positive and now our work has shifted to support poor children of ethnic minorities in the mountains. This new work has continued for six years now. I would like to report here that we were able to deliver a lot of donations from all of you directly to the children this year again.

This year, the policy changed slightly. In the past we have focused on the distribution of learning tools and the provision of health checkups during our visits to a few elementary schools. This year we concentrated on one small elementary school and completed one large construction project that was expensive and time-consuming. I am happy to report that we were able to build a toilet building with three type of toilets inside. We also built a small playground for the students.

Activity progress report;

Day 1: (November 22) Two Japanese stayed overnight in Hanoi  

                                     after flying from Taipei.

Day 2: (November 23) Arrived to Hue in central Vietnam from

           Hanoi by domestic flight. At Hue Airport, two Japanese were

           greeted by Nhat who has been my friend for over 12 years

           and his son Bin who is 6 years old.

           (Hue is a city that was once a capital city and today it has a

           population of 460,000. Also Hue has a World Heritage site   

           and it looks like Kyoto of Japan.)

           We traveled to Dong Ha, about 100km north, by Nhat’s car.

           (Dong Ha is a provincial capital with a population of 94,000.   

           Southern Vietnam's northernmost and frontmost town in the

           Vietnam war era.)

           After visiting the grave of the Nhat family, we met five

           volunteers who came up from Hanoi. Two Japanese stayed

           at the hotel in town. The Hanoi group stays at Nhat's house.

Day 3: (November 24th) All supporters left Nhat’s house at 7:00am

            by chartered 12-seater wagon. The total number of

            members was 14. (10 adults and 4 children) It took about

            two hours to get to the elementary school at the summit.

            It was a clear sunny day after two weeks of rain at the end

            of the rainy season. Proceeding on a one-lane road in the  

            mountains, we all arrived at the elementary school that was

            close to the summit after crossing many mountains.

            First, we had to get an army check by waiting three

            soldiers, then we were  greeted by the principal and

            teachers. The Japanese team received a passport check

            from the military. Due to the close proximity to the Laos  

            boarder, there was very strict security. For example, three

            months before our visit Nhat had to apply for permission for

            two Japanese to enter the village.

            Construction of the bathroom building started two months  

            before our visit, but was delayed due to the rainy season.

            The exterior was almost completed when we arrived. We

            were happy to learn that the parents and teachers also

            provided the labor power for the project.

            There was no playground equipment at the school ground,

            but this time, 2 sets of swings, slides and walking

            equipment were presented and carried in advance.

            However, they were not painted at all. Therefore, we had to

            work as painters. Also, the mural on the wall next to the

            central stairs of the school already had a white chalk

            outline. We painted in the mural, which was a drawing of

            happily playing children. Our work was to complete painting

            that.

            We were separated into three groups, which were toilet

            exterior painting group, playground equipment painting

            group and upstairs side wall painting group.

            First, we worked until 12:00 noon.

            Two female teachers were making lunch for everyone in the

            classroom from the beginning of the morning, which was for

            22 people including soldiers. The lunch material cost was

            US$95.

            The rest of the work was resumed after a fun lunch party,

            and it was over after 2:30pm.

            After the exchange of farewell messages we presented the

            principal and teachers handmade gifts from Japan. Then it 

            was time to make our way back home.

            After arriving at Nhat’s home, Japanese group took a short

            nap. Hanoi group left Nhat’s home for Hanoi by the

            midnight highway bus.

            The Japanese group headed to Hue at 5:00pm with Nhat

            and stayed overnight in Hue.

Day 4: (November 25th) Moved to Hanoi from Hue by domestic

            flight and stayed overnight in Hanoi.

Day 5: (November 26th) We went back to home from Hanoi via

            Taipei.

The average age of Vietnamese citizens is 35, and the whole country is full of vibrancy with active young people.

The modernization of the city is stunning and cannot be completely imagined from the mountain tribe.

It seemed to have evolved with a gap of more than 60-70 years.

It seemed that the 70 years old Japanese couple who worked with the young people under the hot weather impressed volunteers a lot. All the volunteers said they would love to join the project next year, too.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you who donated a lot this year.

I would like to send special thanks to the Airbnb social impact team who generously supported me by introducing my calligraphy experience classes to guests around the world. I am also grateful for the fund-raising support from over 800 foreign tourists from 61 countries.

I hope to continue my charity work next year, emphasizing the “For You Spirit” that focuses on what we can do for others. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Click on “Daily Landscape of Children in the visited area” is to see the current situation by the video image.

This film was made by Nhat and his friend Tung, who is working for NGO and participated from Hanoi this time.

(December 3, 2019, Shinichi Ito)

                 The principal and teachers with two Japanese.

You can see many photos report when you click ‘PHOTOS’ here.