Deep in the countryside of Vietnam, many medical clinics lack adequate equipment and supplies.  One of which is Que Xuan’s medical clinic in Quang Nam Province.  On June 5th, 2009, Global Village staff along representatives from the Rotary Club of Osaka, Japan visited Que Xuan’s medical clinic to donate medical supplies and equipment.  Dr. Hiramoto, whom has worked with clinics and hospitals in Vietnam’s central region for over ten years, Dr. Shimizu, Dr. Tomita, and Nurse Yukiko from Japan generously donated much needed equipment to Que Xuan’s clinic.

Prior to the donations, Que Xuan’s clinic used equipment perhaps decades old and worn down from over-use.  With such outdated, and even non-existent supplies and equipment, difficulties arise in assisting patients within the community.  Through the generous donation of the Rotary Club of Osaka, Que Xuan now has five new beds, two stretchers, several sets of blood pressure kits, and a brand new dentist examination chair.  With these new supplies, the access to higher quality medical services can now be realized within Que Xuan’s community.

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On May 25th, 2009, Global Village Foundation staff and volunteers visited the recently constructed home for a family of three in Duy Vinh Village, built through the generous donations of Lynn Harris, Dolores Dally, Krista Cowley, and Katie Harris.  As a single parent working as a farmer and a traditional mat weaver to raise her two middle school-aged children, it was difficult to make ends meet in this rural community, let alone have the financial capacity to afford adequate shelter for her family.  Previously, this family was living in a house made of sheet metal with compacted dirt floors and walls constructed from straw mats.

Now with a place they can call home, this family is moving forward with their lives.  The children are ecstatic to have a home to return to after school, and their mother has the largest smile of any person in Duy Vinh Village.

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On May 15th, 2009, Global Village Foundation, through the generous donations of Guy and Kathy (two GoPhilanthropic volunteers from Montreal), distributed two Portable Mobile Library book boxes to two primary schools in Binh Dinh Bac and Binh Minh Villages in Thanh Binh District.  With us that day was our GlobeAware volunteer, Harrison from Rice University, who taught the children how to sing such classics as the “I Love You” children’s song.

There was an air of excitement as the children rushed out of their classrooms to greet us at the first school.  After running around in circles together, and the children singing a few songs to welcome us, Guy gave a wonderful speech on the importance of reading as a way of gaining knowledge and as a means to explore the world to a crowd of spectators eagerly awaiting to get their hands on the books.  Bidding farewell, and with some time for mutual reflection on all we had just witnessed, we were off to the second school to deliver the next Portable Mobile Library book box.

At the second school, the children greeted our volunteers with equal, if not more, enthuisiasm.  More songs were sung, our staff and volunteers engaged the children in some games, and an elderly community member even stopped in to browse through the new library.

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On April 8th, 2009, the GVF staff, aboard a fifteen seater van, entered through the gates of Nam Hai Resort to meet two generous donors from the United States.  Peter Joseph and Marcy Levine, a couple from the Bay Area, California, were on the last leg of their trip through South East Asia.  Not the typical tourists Peter and Marcy; they just came from working with a non-profit based in Phnom Penh assisting children living in garbage dumps.  As they’ve put smiles on the faces and warmth in the hearts of the youth in Phnom Penh, likewise would be done for the young students at a rural elementary school in Quang Nam Province–lacking many resources–with their donation of GVF’s mobile library.

After a forty-five minute ride through what would seem to be an environmentalist’s haven–acres upon acres of greenery–we arrived at the school.  In the trunk laid a box full of two-hundred and fifty books, which would soon change the education environment of many of these school-aged youth.  Little did the students know, they would be presented with so many choices, so many stories, something that they’ve lacked throughout their education.  As I stood behind Peter and Marcy as they gracefully lugged the heavy box towards the school, I noticed the rising curiosity of the students as they peeked their heads out the window.  Was it curiosity because of two Westerners coming into their school, or perhaps of the giant yellow box nearing them by the second?  Looking at their faces, it might have been both.

The most heartfelt part of this donation process was the response from the youthful students.  As Peter and Marcy presented them with two-hundred and fifty brand new books, their eyes lit up, giant smiles grew, and roars of excitement erupted.  The students, like competitors in an Olympic 100-meter race, were ready to bolt towards the prize.  And soon they did.

Many schools in Quang Nam Province still lack basic education amenities such as books.  Thanks to generous donors such as Peter Joseph and Marcy Levine, small steps are taken towards an eradication of such insufficiences.

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