The orphanage

While we were in Hanoi, we visited a temple (chua Bo De) which operates as an orphanage. We brought two hockey bags and a suitcase fuil of clothes and toys donated by acquaintances in Ottawa. In addition, Queenie had held fund-raisers and used the money to buy essentials such as boxes of cans of condensed milk, and bread. She also donated some of the money directly. I had been given $100 to donate from someone in Ottawa who heard about our plans to visit the orphanage with donations and wanted to contribute.
We had so much to carry we took a cab the few kilometers to the orphanage. It gave me a chance to see the Pink river and outlying areas, which we didn’t see coming in from the airport since we arrived after dark. The street where the orphanage is located was even busier and smaller than what we had seen in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. I wondered how on earth they would fit an orphanage on that street, and was pleased to see the wide open space of the temple beside the river. It is a lovely location.


The first thing we saw on arrival was a bundle of puppies and their mother. Then a group of kids clustered around a cage of 3 cats. I was pleased to see the animals and to see that they were in good shape. I had noticed the lack of stray dogs in Hanoi. Queenie explained that there are dog catchers who gather up strays and put them down. The few dogs we did see were all well taken care of and with their owners. One Chihuahua-type was wearing a sweater and getting on the front of a motorbike with her owner.

We unloaded the donations and took some photos of us with them, then went inside for tea with the nun, where she told us the history of the orphanage, including stats and plans for the future. We were thanked profusely and told of opportunities to help with fund raising in the future. We were invited to meet the kids and tour the grounds, which we did. We handed out loaves of bread and took photos.

There were a lot of very young kids (even new-borns), including a couple with severe disabilities (one boy was missing both legs, one boy had brain damage - Ron thinks possibly hydrocephalic? In any case, he is very low functioning). The living quarters were crowded with many people per room. This was not dissimilar to what we saw in Hanoi in general, but it did support the head nun’s plans to expand to a location she had found kilometers away that could support many new buildings (housing for the inhabitants and also for volunteers). She mentioned that she was looking for donors for buildings. A donor from India had donated $3000 for a building and that building was named “India” in his honour. I got the impression that the $3000 covered the cost of the building.


We were invited for lunch but declined and returned to the Old Quarter. It was a very humbling visit. Ron is typing up a report to GVI, in case they are interested in establishing a volunteer program in partnership with the temple.

We know GVI are interested in having programs in Vietnam. I suspect the biggest single factor that will impact whether they pursue this particular partnership will be whether there is an individual in Vietnam who is willing to make it happen. We are hoping GVI can find someone to champion this cause. I am convinced it needs to be someone who is passionate about the cause, but who also knows the language and understands the formal and informal political and power structures.