Wednesday – Day 4:
At breakfast this morning, the General Manager of the Harborview Hotel (who we know quite well from our frequent visits to Hai Phong) introduced us to a woman who is interested in supporting the Hoa Phuong Orphanage. Son Michael embraced the golden opportunity and had a lengthy conversation with the University Professor from Oslo (Norway) who, with her husband, lives and works in Hai Phong.
We then spent three hours in the car traveling to Hanoi City. After we checked into our hotel and had a quick lunch, we went to the Sofitel Plaza Hotel to visit one of the orphans in the Teach Me To Fish (TM2F) program. Nineteen years old Dien is currently working at this five-star hotel as an intern in the housekeeping department. Dien moved out of the Hoa Phuong Orphanage last summer and enrolled in the hospitality training program run by the Hoa Sua School in Hanoi (an international nonprofit organization). Dien greeted us with a beaming smile and was wearing her hotel uniform proudly! She introduced us to her manager, who praised her for being a friendly and hard-working member of his staff.
Later on in the afternoon, we reunited with three more TM2F young women (all came from Hoa Phuong Orphanage, now work, live, or study in Hanoi). And yet another reunion happened tonight-- Thien Nhan (the Miracle Baby, more information at http://help-thien-nhan.blogspot.com), his adoptive parents and two older brothers, all joined us for dinner. The kids had so much fun with each other that the adults spent most of our time over dinner watching and laughing with them. We still had the next day in Hanoi to talk about many important issues.
At breakfast this morning, the General Manager of the Harborview Hotel (who we know quite well from our frequent visits to Hai Phong) introduced us to a woman who is interested in supporting the Hoa Phuong Orphanage. Son Michael embraced the golden opportunity and had a lengthy conversation with the University Professor from Oslo (Norway) who, with her husband, lives and works in Hai Phong.
We then spent three hours in the car traveling to Hanoi City. After we checked into our hotel and had a quick lunch, we went to the Sofitel Plaza Hotel to visit one of the orphans in the Teach Me To Fish (TM2F) program. Nineteen years old Dien is currently working at this five-star hotel as an intern in the housekeeping department. Dien moved out of the Hoa Phuong Orphanage last summer and enrolled in the hospitality training program run by the Hoa Sua School in Hanoi (an international nonprofit organization). Dien greeted us with a beaming smile and was wearing her hotel uniform proudly! She introduced us to her manager, who praised her for being a friendly and hard-working member of his staff.
Later on in the afternoon, we reunited with three more TM2F young women (all came from Hoa Phuong Orphanage, now work, live, or study in Hanoi). And yet another reunion happened tonight-- Thien Nhan (the Miracle Baby, more information at http://help-thien-nhan.blogspot.com), his adoptive parents and two older brothers, all joined us for dinner. The kids had so much fun with each other that the adults spent most of our time over dinner watching and laughing with them. We still had the next day in Hanoi to talk about many important issues.
Meet some of the orphans in the Teach Me To Fish Program: Dien, Giang, and Mo. These young women are currently living, working, and studying in Hanoi. They are sponsored by Rotarians from New York and Washington State.
From left to right: Judy Pham, Mai Anh (adoptive mother of Thien Nhan), Son Michael Pham, and Thien Nhan - the Miracle Baby.
Dien standing proud in her uniform in the Sofitel Plaze Hotel in Hanoi, where she is working as an intern in the Housekeeping Department.
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