Rotary In Viet Nam

October 26 & 27, 2010
Day 9 & 10 of the HumaniTour: we traveled from Danang to Dalat, a city in the highland area used to be called Little Paris. Our team visited the Rose School managed by Catholic nuns. The school was built with funds from several Rotary clubs with the largest support from the Spring Valley Club (New York) and STEP (Schools To End Poverty).

Agent Orange - What You Can Do

October 25, 2010
Day 8 of the HumaniTour:

Agent Orange - What You Can Do

- Visit http://www.makeagentorangehistory.org/ to learn how you can help support the people of Viet Nam with cleanup and public health efforts there.

- Spread the word so that this hidden issue becomes more widely known, by talking about it with friends, hosting dialogues, writing op-eds and blogging.

- Publicly pledge your support for the U.S-Viet Nam Dialogue Group's Plan of Action.

- Donate moeny to NGOs that are providing services and opportunities to people with disabilities and their families in Viet Nam.

- Volunteer time with these NGOs.

Rotarians in our traveling group will bring this issue back to their home and engage Rotary International with this humanitarian concern.

Agent Orange - The Opportunity

October 25, 2010
Day 8 of the HumaniTour:

Agent Orange - The Opportunity

- This is a humanitarian concern we CAN do something about.

- Recent progress has created a window of opportunity for the U.S. to itensify its effort in a shared commitment to reduce the public health impact in Viet Nam.

- The U.S. government is providing benefits to affected U.S. Vietnam Veterans and their families, but more needs to be done for them, and for those affected in Viet Nam.

- Advances in technology and knowhow make it possible to clean up the hotspots and assist people who have affected.

- In spring 2010, the U.S.-Viet Nam Dialogue Group released a 10-year Plan of Action that would clean up all of the toxic hotspots and expand humanitarain services in Viet Nam.

- Addressing the impact in Viet Nam will support and affirm the dignity of people there, and can help us identify new ways to enhance support for American veterans and their families who also still struggle with this legacy.

Agent Orange - The Concern

October 25, 2010

Day 8 of the HumaniTour: after the tour of the Danang Airbase 'hotspot', we visited the children in VAVA Dioxin Center. All of the children cared for by this center have various physical or mental disabilities linked to Agent Orange. We were greeted with songs and dances by the children, and in return we presented them with our gifts.

Agent Orange - The Concern

- Decade after the war in Viet Nam, the harmful effects of Agent Orange / Dioxin are still being felt by millions of Vietnamese families, as well as U.S. veterans.

- According to the Viet Nam Red Cross, approximately three million Vietnamese have been affected by Agent Orange, including 150,000 of today's children who were born with serious birth defects.

- Dioxin is still found in high concentrations in over 25 "hotspots" in southern Viet Nam. It can poison the local food chain. And studies have linked dioxin to birth defects in children and grandchildren of those exposed.

Legacy of Agent Orange

October 25, 2010

Day 8 of the HumaniTour: this afternoon our group got an 'upclose and personal' look at Agent Orange (AO). Dr. Charles Bailey with the Ford Foundation met up with our group in Danang. After a briefing on AO over lunch, we boarded the bus for the Danang Airbase. More than forty years ago, this military airbase was the busiest airport in the world. Today, Danang Airbase is one of the three major 'hotspots' in Viet Nam. Dioxin is still found in high concentrations on some areas within this airport. Our bus made a brief stop on the way to the airbase, where each of us bought temporary footwear, since we would be walking on contaminated soil.

About Agent Orange:

- Agent Orange was an herbicide used by the U.S. military to defoliate trees and shrubs during the war in Viet Nam. It was named after the orange-striped barrels in which it was shipped.

- It was contaminated with dioxin, a highly toxic chemical linked to a dozen of medical conditions including cancers, nerve and heart diseases, and birth defects in offspring.

- Some 12 million gallonsof Agent Orange were sprayed at up to 50 times the concentration recommended for killing weeds.

- About 5 million acres of forests and crops were destroyed - an area the size of Massachusetts.

- An estimated 4.5 million Vietnamese and hundreds of thousands of American soldiers were exposed.

Rotary Wheelchair Distribution

October 25, 2010
Day 8 of the HumaniTour: our team participated in a wheelchair distribution at a center for disabled children in Hoi An. The wheelchairs were funded by the Rotary Club of Spring Valley (New York). We also handed over our donation of children clothes.

China Beach in Danang

October 24, 2010

Day 7 of the HumaniTour: travel day today. This morning we bid farewell to Hai Phong and the orphans of the Hoa Phuong Orphanage and took a one hour flight to Danang.

Ha Long Bay

October 23, 2010
Day 6 of the HumaniTour: a day of relaxation. We enjoy the beauty of Ha Long Bay on a private charter boat. After a stop to visit a spectacular natural cave, we got back on our boat to a delicious lunch of fresh seafood. Several of the Teach Me To Fish orphans joined us today on this visit to paradise.