The orphanage in Ha Tinh

It is hard to describe how memorable our two days were at the orphanage.

Back in August before we even arrived in Vietnam, Libby was invited to come to the orphanage in H Tinh by a Fulbrighter who just returned from Vietnam.  She was affiliated with Brittany's Hope, a group that helps adopt orphans from other countries, especially those with special needs.  Libby contacted many people both in the U.S. and in Vietnam to try and make a visit happen, and when our kids had a break from school, we decided to go for it and make a visit happen.

The director of Làng Trè SOS orphanage, Duong Qui Dao, is a very caring man, full of joy and enthusiasm for the children and the orphanage.  Despite not speaking any English, he made us feel so welcome.   He has given up promotion opportunities in his career just so he could stay at the orphanage.  We also learned later in the day that he lost part of his leg in an injury suffered in the Vietnam War and was walking on a prosthetic leg.  Despite his war injury, he (like most Vietnamese) showed no ill will toward us about the war.

These are the bunk beds in the girls dorm provided by Brittany's Hope.  There are no mattresses on the beds, only sleeping mats, but many Vietnamese are used to sleeping like this:

Our plan was to spend the first day playing with the kids: doing soccer, passing out art kits, and doing some computer classes and English classes.  Really we just wanted the kids to have a fun day.

At the orphanage, Finn got to live out his dream of cutting bananas from a tree.  Unfortunately they were not ripe and only good for soup.  Still, the staff at the orphanage got a kick out of watching Finn.

On day two at the orphanage, Libby spent several hours painting murals in the sports room.  They turned out great, and the kids and director seemed really pleased.

One of my favorite kids at the orphanage....but they were all sweet:

This orphanage receives $50 per month per child (less than $2 a day) from the government to feed, clothe, and take care of these kids.  They are doing an amazing job with the limited resources they have, but it is great that there are organizations like Brittany's Hope that helps.  We were lucky enough to see it first hand.