Kids Without Borders Night Benefit Concert

Kids Without Borders - Rotary HumaniTour
Day 6 - May 13, 2012


In spite of the heavy rainstorm, the benefit concert raised more than VND10,000,000 for the "Loving Bridge Project" by the Viet Horizon Club charity organization.


THANK YOU to all of the musicians and performing artists: Tran The Hien, Thuy Vu, Khuong Ngoc, Phan Ngoc Luan, Ly Mai Trang, Minh Dao, KATA group, ... for donating your time and talent.


THANK YOU to Tina Thien-Nga Nguyen, owner of the Faifoo Boutique Hotel (www.FaifooHotel.com)and her staff for donating the use of the hotel and volunteer the staff.


THANK YOU to the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation(www.asiainjury.org) staff for their generous donation of VND2,000,000.


And THANK YOU to Minh Huynh, founder of Viet Horizon Club, and all of her volunteers.

Reunion of the Teach Me To Fish Program Alumni

May 13, 2012
Day 6 of the Kids Without Borders - Rotary HumaniTour Viet Nam

Tonight's Kids Without Borders "Loving Bridge Project" benefit concert is also a reunion for the orphans involved in KWB Teach Me To Fish program. In spite of the heavy rainstorm, more than 40 of these orphans (and some of their families) gathered at the Faifoo Boutique Hotel for the dinner prior to the concert.

After a brief delay due to power outage, the show went on with beautiful music performed by many famous musicians and singers.

Viet Horizon Club "Loving Bridge Project"

May 13, 2012
Day 6 of the Kids Without Borders - Rotary HumaniTour Viet Nam

Tonight a concert is organized on behalf of Kids Without Borders to raise funds for the "Loving Bridge Project". This project by our partner Viet Nam based charity organization Viet Horizon Club is to fund for a replacement bridge in the central area of Viet Nam. The Bong Lai hamlet is located in Hung Trach Commune (Bo Trach District) in Quang Binh Province. The small wooden bridge over the Bung River was destroyed during one of the many typhoons and for the last two years the river divided this hamlet in two. Half of the population of 1,200 (270 households) live on one side of the river across from the other half. In order to visit the market, go to school, ... one has to walk or swim across the Bung River.

All proceed from the concert will go to support the construction of a replacement bridge for the people of Bong Lai. All musicians and performers donate their time and talent to this concert.
Also in attendance beside our HumaniTour team are our friends Roni and Laurens Wildeboer from Artists for Orphans (Australia), and members and families of KWB Teach Me To Fish program.

Saigon - May 2012

May 13, 2012
Day 6 of the Kids Without Borders & Rotary HumaniTour

Our team left Hue City early this morning and took a flight to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). It's coming home for Son Michael, back to the city where he was born and then left some 37 years ago at the end of the Viet Nam war.

Rotary brings clean water to Dong Son Commune

May 12, 2012

Day 5 of the Kids Without Borders (KWB) - Rotary HumaniTour

There are currently 284 families living in the Dong Son Commune. Half of the population living in Dong Son used to live directly on the former A So base and were relocated to the village in 2000 when it was determined that the former air base still had elevated levels of dioxin from Agent Orange on the base.

Thanks to the Rotary Foundation, the U.S - Viet Nam Dialogue Group, and the Aspen Institute, the families in the Dong Son Commune now have clean water. After the dedication ceremony, our goup visited some of the families and distributed gifts to children in the commune.

More photos: Rotary brings clean water to Dong Son Commune

A Luoi Valley in central Viet Nam

May 12, 2012
Day 5 of the  Kids Without Borders (KWB) - Rotary HumaniTour

7am in the morning, our group of 20 traveled by bus to the A Luoi Valley. We visited Dong Son Commune in A Luoi back in October 2011 on the previous KWB - Rotary HumaniTour. Dong Son Commune is located near the Laos border and is considered an Agent Orange hotspot. For background information on this area, visit:
A Luoi Valley & Agent Orange
Joining us on this visit are Rotarian Bill Boyd, Chair of Trustee of the Rotary Foundation; Rotarians from Australia, California, and Washington; Charles Bailey Aspen Insitute Director of Agent Orange / Dioxin Viet Nam program; and members of the U.S - Viet Nam Dialogue Group on Agent Orange / Dioxin.

Hue City

May 11, 2012
Day 4 of Kids Without Borders / Rotary HumaniTour

Today we travel to Hue City in the central area of Viet Nam.

Kids Without Borders Teach Me To Fish (TM2F) Program

May 1, 2012
Day 3 of the 16th Kids Without Borders / Rotary HumaniTour

Tonight we organized a reunion dinner with most of the Teach Me To Fish orphans from the Hoa Phuong Orphanage in Hai Phong. It was a chance for them to visit with each other, share latest news in their lives, and just some good old fun time and great food.

Hoa Phuong Orphanage in Hai Phong

May 10, 2012 - Day 3 of the Rotary-Kids Without Borders HumaniTour

This morning we traveled by car from Hanoi to Hai Phong, a 3-hour car ride. Joining us are Thao and Mo, of the Teach Me To Fish (TM2F) program, going back to visit their home and families (the Hoa Phuong Orphanage and the orphans). Also on this trip are Thuy and Nga, with Buffalo Tours Volunteer & Educational Travel, to learn about volunteer opportunities in Hai Phong for their clients.

View more photos:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150882499267560.428357.272855577559&type=1

Vietnamese Miracle Baby

May 10, 2012
Day 3 of the Rotary HumaniTour

This morning we met with the Greig Craft, President of the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIPF), Ms. Na Huong, Deputy General Director of Protec, and Mai Anh and her son Thien Nhan. Two main connections between all of these extraordinary people and Kids Without Borders Founder Son Michael Pham. One is the collaborated work and support on making roads safe especially for children (in developing countries). The other is their involvement in the life of Thien Nhan, known worldwide as Vietnamese Miracle Baby.

To learn more about the work of the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation, please visit: www.asiainjury.org

About Vietnamese Miracle Baby, please visit:
http://www.help-thien-nhan.blogspot.com/ (english)
http://www.thiennhan.info/vn/news/nhat-ky-thien-nhan.aspx (vietnamese)

A fun reunion between Thien Nhan and Uncle Son Michael

Agent Orange Peace Center in Hanoi

Wednesday May 9, 2012
Our team, joined by Thuy and Dien from Buffalo Tours Volunteer & Educational Travel, visited the Thanh Xuan Peace Village this morning. We met two volunteers, one from Wisconsin and another from New York, teaching the classes for the children. It was a warm sunny day and the classrooms were very warm and uncomfortable. We will look into the possibility of funding for celing fans and/or air conditioning (for the living quarter of the children). This rehabilitation and care canter for disabled children related to Agent Orange serves an average of 120 kids.

In Hanoi

Day 1 - May 8, 2012: after 25 hours since we left our home (Sunday night), two hours delayed in Taipei due to mechanical problems with our aircraft, we arrived in Hanoi just after noon on Tuesday.

The 16th Rotary HumaniTour Viet Nam

Departing Seattle on May 7, our small team will eventually connect in Viet Nam with friends and colleagues from California, Washington, New York, Australia, New Zealand, ...

As usual, lots of luggage filled with donations for

the children in Viet Nam

The Next Rotary HumaniTour

The 16th Rotary HumaniTour Viet Nam: May 7 - 16, 2012

For more information, contact info@kidswithnoborders.org