Saturday – Day 7:
Our final day of this trip, and a special one packed with last minute activities.
Coming home:
Her birth name is Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa, born in September 1974. She was known as Kim Hoa Vermeire Lang when she died in March 2008. Just before the fall of Saigon, Kim left the Go Vap Orphanage to join her adoptive parents, Joe and Ann Vermeire, in Moline, Illinois. Josh Lang left his orphanage just south of Saigon two weeks later for his adoptive family in the U.S. They eventually met and married each other.
Today marked the exact anniversary, 34 years ago, of the tragic beginning to Operation Babylift. This operation brought orphans to the U.S. as the war in Viet Nam escalated. On April 4, 1975, a U.S. Air Force C-5A cargo plane packed with hundreds of Vietnamese orphans, crashed shortly after takeoff from Saigon (176 lived and 154 died).The evacuation efforts did continue and eventually 2,700 children were flown to the U.S, with 1,300 being flown to Canada, Europe, and Australia.
This morning, we met Josh Lang and Ann Vermeire for the first time. The family contacted Son Michael shortly after Kim died and wanted to visit the Go Vap Orphanage where Kim came from. Ann and Josh arrived the day before and Ann’s son was coming from Washington State the next day. In the car on our way to the orphanage, Ann shared with us old photos and news articles she brought along of Kim and her adoption. Josh told us stories of himself and his wife, and the wonderful memories the two families have shared. They brought with them vitamins and gifts for the children. More gifts would come tomorrow when Marc, Ann’s son, arrived. Marc is a teacher and his students donated supplies and money they collected to the orphanage. As we took them on a tour of the orphanage, Ann and Josh reached out and touched almost every baby or child they came across.
Thirty four years ago on this day marked the beginning of a new life for thousands of orphans from Viet Nam. Kim left on a flight shortly before the one that crashed, and Josh left on the first flight after the crash. How ironic that we all gathered here at Go Vap exactly 34 years later with one of the Operation Babylift children and adoptive mothers bringing, his wife-- and her daughter, back ‘home’.
The party:
It was our last night in Viet Nam and we organized our usual ‘dinner party’ for the Teach Me To Fish (TM2F) Saigon Chapter. The twenty six TM2F kids got to the restaurant early and they were anxiously waiting for us. Many of them just got off work and had to catch two or more buses to get to the restaurant in the city center. Joining us tonight were many of our KWB volunteers (from Australia and the U.S) and friends, the management of the Go Vap Orphanage, and Ann Vermeire and Josh Lang. The group grew so large that the 56 of us took up most of the restaurant!
The dinner party was a reunion for the orphans in the TM2F program. These kids grew up together and lived together in the orphanage until beginning their adult lives. Now they are scattered around this large metropolitan area and rarely have time or opportunity to see each other. The sumptuous all-you-can-eat buffet only happens when Chu (Uncle) Son comes to Saigon. While resting between meals, they engaged in conversation in English with our volunteers and guests. Some gathered around Son Michael for advice or solutions to all sorts of issues and problems. However, for all the years KWB has been involved in their lives, these kids have always found their own solutions and answers. Just with a little help, a little encouragement, and a little love, they are able to make it on their own.
Our final day of this trip, and a special one packed with last minute activities.
Coming home:
Her birth name is Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa, born in September 1974. She was known as Kim Hoa Vermeire Lang when she died in March 2008. Just before the fall of Saigon, Kim left the Go Vap Orphanage to join her adoptive parents, Joe and Ann Vermeire, in Moline, Illinois. Josh Lang left his orphanage just south of Saigon two weeks later for his adoptive family in the U.S. They eventually met and married each other.
Today marked the exact anniversary, 34 years ago, of the tragic beginning to Operation Babylift. This operation brought orphans to the U.S. as the war in Viet Nam escalated. On April 4, 1975, a U.S. Air Force C-5A cargo plane packed with hundreds of Vietnamese orphans, crashed shortly after takeoff from Saigon (176 lived and 154 died).The evacuation efforts did continue and eventually 2,700 children were flown to the U.S, with 1,300 being flown to Canada, Europe, and Australia.
This morning, we met Josh Lang and Ann Vermeire for the first time. The family contacted Son Michael shortly after Kim died and wanted to visit the Go Vap Orphanage where Kim came from. Ann and Josh arrived the day before and Ann’s son was coming from Washington State the next day. In the car on our way to the orphanage, Ann shared with us old photos and news articles she brought along of Kim and her adoption. Josh told us stories of himself and his wife, and the wonderful memories the two families have shared. They brought with them vitamins and gifts for the children. More gifts would come tomorrow when Marc, Ann’s son, arrived. Marc is a teacher and his students donated supplies and money they collected to the orphanage. As we took them on a tour of the orphanage, Ann and Josh reached out and touched almost every baby or child they came across.
Thirty four years ago on this day marked the beginning of a new life for thousands of orphans from Viet Nam. Kim left on a flight shortly before the one that crashed, and Josh left on the first flight after the crash. How ironic that we all gathered here at Go Vap exactly 34 years later with one of the Operation Babylift children and adoptive mothers bringing, his wife-- and her daughter, back ‘home’.
The party:
It was our last night in Viet Nam and we organized our usual ‘dinner party’ for the Teach Me To Fish (TM2F) Saigon Chapter. The twenty six TM2F kids got to the restaurant early and they were anxiously waiting for us. Many of them just got off work and had to catch two or more buses to get to the restaurant in the city center. Joining us tonight were many of our KWB volunteers (from Australia and the U.S) and friends, the management of the Go Vap Orphanage, and Ann Vermeire and Josh Lang. The group grew so large that the 56 of us took up most of the restaurant!
The dinner party was a reunion for the orphans in the TM2F program. These kids grew up together and lived together in the orphanage until beginning their adult lives. Now they are scattered around this large metropolitan area and rarely have time or opportunity to see each other. The sumptuous all-you-can-eat buffet only happens when Chu (Uncle) Son comes to Saigon. While resting between meals, they engaged in conversation in English with our volunteers and guests. Some gathered around Son Michael for advice or solutions to all sorts of issues and problems. However, for all the years KWB has been involved in their lives, these kids have always found their own solutions and answers. Just with a little help, a little encouragement, and a little love, they are able to make it on their own.
Ann Vermeire and an orphan.
Josh Lang and one of the children at the Go Vap Orphanage.
Chu (Uncle) Son and the kids in the Teach Me To Fish Program - Saigon.
Some of KWB volunteers from Australia and the U.S.
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