By Shu Zhen Chen
On May 18, 2005, I, along with eleven other students, visited
the S.O.S. Children’s Village of Hanoi. When we arrived at the
site, we were introduced to the Village Director of Hanoi, Mr.
Nguyen Tien Dung, M.A. Mr. Dung explained the vision Hermann
Gmeiner had when he established the S.O.S. in Vietnam in1975, and
told us that the Hanoi village is all the way in his heart. Mr.
Gmeiner was an orphan and knew the importance of a mother and
family in a child’s life. He wanted to give orphans a chance to be
part of a family and be given opportunities in society; and in
every family in the S.O.S. Village, this is present. Each family
has a mother figure that raises around nine to ten orphans, ranging
in various age groups. These children attend public schools and are
taught about the roles each play in society. Boys are taught
engineering and carpentry and girls are taught the role of
housewife - cooking and cleaning. This operation also follows four
principles, which are: the mother, brother and sister, family
households, and community.
We were also given a tour of the village and stopped by the
Kindergarten. It was amazing to see how happy and excited these 3-6
year olds were to see us. I, for one, love children and was
ecstatic to see and interact with them. They sang to us and took a
group picture where I held this little girl on my lap. The rush of
energy from these kids was overwhelming but I enjoyed every minute.
It was sad to leave but we had to finish the tour of the village.
Our next stop was to one of the family houses. I learned that each
house is named after a flower so we stopped by the “Lily”
household. The mother of this household has been working in this
village for sixteen years and has seen the children she raised get
married and start new lives. The greeting we received was so warm
and loving. She served us tea and offered us food. Even though
we couldn’t communicate to each other verbally, we communicated
through the pictures. I was lucky enough to take a picture with her
and to stand next to this amazing woman. You could see the love for
these children in her eyes and it was like she was raising her own
children.
While we were leaving the orphanage, the elementary school kids
were returning from class. Each one had a smile on their face and
greeted us as we passed by. To experience this was the greatest
feeling. To see these children and see how they acted toward each
other and strangers was unbelievable. This was a once in a lifetime
opportunity and words cannot describe it.