by Minh Thu
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Building a future: A group of Americans who donated money to build libraries and kindergartens in the central province of Quang Tri visit a kindergarten in the province. — VNS Photo Minh Thu |
QUANG TRI — Doan Thi My Lien, a young teacher, feels a rush of excitement as she prepares her first lessons at a new kindergarten in Khe Da Village in the central province of Quang Tri.
This kindergarten is one of four built by Americans from the non-governmental organisation Peace Trees Viet Nam in the 15 years it has worked in the country to reverse the impacts of war.
The land where cruel battles once launched has become a place for kindergartens, libraries, friendship villages and gardens.
The achievements are the fruits of labour of many people from the US who directly or indirectly suffered from the war in Viet Nam.
The story began when Jerilyn Brusseau lost her young brother, Daniel Cheney, in Viet Nam. Brusseau and her mother decided to turn sorrow into service.
They gathered like-minded people who were against the war and wanted to heal the scars in the country with Peace Trees Viet Nam. They quickly received support from many people, but their journey to the country on the opposite side of the Earth didn't start until 1990 when Viet Nam and the US normalised relations.
A group of American activists led by Brusseau recently visited Peace Trees' newest kindergarten and the Mothers' Peace Library in Khe Da Village.
Children's laughter greeted the group. The youngsters, barefoot and wearing dirty clothes, seemed to be everywhere, including on the new football field, swings and other playground equipment which Peace Trees donors also funded.
Next to the playground stands the new library, a single room with wooden tables, chairs, and a grey shelf already filled with books.
A slightly larger structure is home to the completed kindergarten with its own small kitchen and bathroom, as well as plastic chairs and tables ready to welcome about 30 youngsters.
"Peace Trees projects are really meaningful for the people here," says Ho Thi Loi, the head of the regional Women's Union. "This new school is dedicated to the children of Khe Da Village and neighbouring Ka Tang Village because prior to this, there was no kindergarten here."
Lien, 26, has taught for four years and just returned to work after maternity leave. She is very eager to take over a new class.
"I have spent weeks preparing lesson plans, making toys for the children and decorating the classroom," she says.
Lien lives in the town, 4km away from the school but she is currently staying with some villagers in order to get to know the children and the parents.
"In the past, children under the age of six didn't have a chance to go to kindergarten before entering primary school. Now they will thanks to support from the local authorities and foreign sponsors," she says.
"Because the villagers are very poor, they can't afford to send their children to school, so I'm staying with them and trying to persuade them to do good things for their kids."
David Hansen is one of the US donors visiting the new kindergarten. He plays with the children, gives them toys and smiles with them. He came to Viet Nam for the first time in 1970 to follow orders as a US soldier but now he is in Viet Nam to be a friend to the Vietnamese people.
Tran Thi Hong Van at the Friendship Village Kindergarten in Dong Ha City, began working here the day the kindergarten was inaugurated in 2002.
"Parents here are very poor and they have to work hard, so teachers here have to work harder than other kindergarten teachers," Van says.
"We arrive early to welcome children and leave late when the parents finish their work and pick up their children."
At first the children were shy and afraid of strangers, especially foreigners, but now they get on well with American visitors, Van says.
"The US donors visit the kindergarten several times a year and bring toys and presents for the children whenever they come. Now when they see them, my kids express their joy and friendliness," Van says.
Building libraries and kindergartens on land cleared of bombs is very good work, says Hansen.
"Children are the owners of the future; we should close the past and open the future by giving them the best things we can," he says.
"There is nothing more meaningful than these constructions. We came to destroy the land in the past and now we have come back to contribute to building a bright future for Vietnamese children." — VNS