Past Cultural Events

Mission Trip 2007

Vietnam: A Journey into the lives of Children in the Orphanages and Handicapped Centers

by Dave and Peggy Soule

Beautiful children, loving families, caring staff, wonderful people – all were part of the January 2007 Mission Trip for the Degenhardt Foundation. We were touched by the incredible work being done throughout the country by people who truly cared about the children with disabilities.

As part of our trip we had the privilege of working with Samaritan’s Purse and distributing the shoe boxes, prepared by church groups in Australia, filled with unique gifts for the children. For the first time boxes were packed specifically for the blind and hearing impaired. It is impossible to describe the joy and pleasure the children received when a stuffed animal was cuddled to their face or they discovered how to play the various flutes or harmonicas in their special boxes. One reward was watching the families of some of the children take delight in seeing their children receive such special attention.

It was also our pleasure to give the Sunflower duffel bags provided by Brittany's Hope (filled with some clothes and personal items) to the youths leaving the orphanages because they were too old to remain. The young adults were happy to have something to call their own as they went out into the world. A small gift but filled with love and good wishes.

It was difficult to see many of the children with unshunted hydrocephalus, knowing they could be treated in the US. They were loved and cared for but we knew their lives could have been normal had they been shunted soon after birth.

Two children we met will forever be with us. One was a little girl with Treacher Collins syndrome, an inherited condition characterized by underdeveloped facial bones and malformed ears. She had no ear canals or external ears, so she is at least partially deaf. She needs specialized testing and is a candidate for high-tech implanted hearing aids not available in Vietnam. Now, the challenge is to get her legally free, adopted and brought to a country where she can receive the latest medical treatment. Another baby girl had no right arm or leg and a very stunted left arm and leg but was active wiggling about in her crib and finding her two fused fingers to suck on like any other alert baby. We can only hope a family finds her soon and will give her a permanent home so she can grow and learn to live a full live in spite of her disability. We will never forget these children and will watch and wait for them both to be adopted.

We were overwhelmed with the beauty of Vietnam, the friendliness of the people, the streets teeming with motorbikes and bicycles, and the best seafood we have ever eaten. Our small group of volunteers was a great group led by Dawn and her daughter Joy and Joy’s two-year-old daughter Belle. Belle was good at giving out sweets to the children at the orphanages as long as she got a few pieces for herself at the end.

We enjoyed Ha Long Bay and only wished we had more time to take in the beauty of the country. Wherever we were we learned from everyone around us. We swam in the China Sea, bought unique clothes, found bargains galore and made new friends with both Americans and Vietnamese.

Dave and Peggy Soule

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