March 24 Cam Lo School For The Blind

Vietnamese people try to create conditions and facilities so that the blind people can be productive citizens. To this end a small workshop had been started in the Cam Lo district of Quang Tri Province.It was a shabby little facility, where blind people were trying to eek out a living making toothpicks, brooms and chopsticks.

Also pictured here are a number of the blind workers counting, sorting and packaging toothpicks. They are very proud of their work and also use this as a social time together.

The large bundles of straw they fashion into brooms, also pictured here.

A very generous Rotarian, Mark Sathe, being legally blind himself, heard of this facility and wanted to help. He, his friends and the D.O.V.E. Fund together financed the construction of a $30,000 facility which was completed in May 2007. Sadly, Mark was never able to travel to Vietnam to see his dream come true as he died of cancer in October 2007.

Our visit to the Cam Lo School For The Blind on this day was very special, as we had traveling with us Mark's widow, Jinny Sathe. She brought along her sister to help her celebrate seeing Mark's initial dream come true. You will see in them posed by the dedication plaque in these photos.

Note that their machinery by our standards are very basic...but for their purposed it all works.

Another part of Mark Sathe's dream was to bring to these workers computers and braille equipment. While we were there these arrangements were also put into motion through generous donations and networking.

They definitely enjoy this spacious work space which doubles as a meeting hall for community activities. We were pleased to have them entertain us with song and music before we left.

For more information and a very heart warming video on Mark Sathe...visit the DOVE fund video gallery
http://www.dovefund.org/video-gallery.html
and watch "The Story Of Mark Sathe"

March 24 An interesting lunch experience in Dong Ha

Lest you think we spend the time over here living on our free breakfasts at 5 star hotels and not truly "tasting" the culture...I wanted to share with you pictures of one lunch we had in Dong Ha.

This was in the middle of a busy day of site visits and we were definitely hungry. We try to be polite and experience things as they come. But I was suspicious of the soup and not surprised once we "fished" out the main protein in it. I could swear he was staring at me!

I opted for the "sticky" rice and Gary was happy to find a warm Coca Cola.

The orange plastic stools were taller than the typical 14 inch high ones we often see...but that did not help me once I fell backwards off mine. The mess on the floor in the adjoining dining room was not from our meal but rather the two dogs who were tussling with each other while we ate.

March 24 Hai An Medical Station under construction

This was an old medical station which was seriously degraded and could no longer be maintained. Also with just 2 rooms and 6 patient beds, it could not meet the health care needs of the local people.


DOVE approved funding for a new building which you see in the pictures. It will soon be finished.

On our visit, everyone was very leery of the dangerous conditions for Gary...with uneven ground, mud, gravel and piles of building materials. I knew he could negotiate all that...but was more worried about keeping him away from the concrete mixer.

Note the rough sticks that they use for scaffolding...don't let L & I see that!

March 24 Hai Lang High School

No warm pictures to share on this school but heart warming details just the same. At this school, the D.O.V. E. Fund provides scholarships for exceptionally good and needy students. This program was implemented 3 years ago and since then DOVE has provided 165 scholarships. This year we are providing 90 more ongoing scholarships.


Upon meeting with these bright students this year, they provided numerous thank you notes to their DOVE sponsors...all carefully and perfectly written in ENGLISH of course.

This is a very good school in Quang Tri Province. They have over 1,000 students and 77 teachers.

For just $100 you too can provide a scholarship for another needy student.

These students cannot just take their education for granted and the need is great. If they qualify to go on to University study, that cost rises to $600 per year.

March 23 Special Entertainment at Hue School for the Blind

We are learning to "expect the unexpected". Everywhere we go they love to entertain us...usually with song and dance.
Now you would not expect blind children to dance for you but we were in for a big surprise.

This involved 5 little boys. Each one had a duck hat on and carried a letter...D,U,C,K,S

Well the C was upside down but we still got the point.

They were singing a song about little ducks on a pond and how they went from one side to the other.
So they danced from one side of the room to the other circling around momma duck and acting out the song.

We had a professional photographer with us that day and of course they could not see him as they rushed head long toward him...driving him backward into a wall.

It was all hilarious and we gave them lots of laughter and applause for their performance. These young men will go far in life with that sort of determination and lack of fear....we loved i

Here are some of the girls in another part of the performance as well.

March 23 Hue School for the Blind

This is a boarding school for blind children and currently has 83 students.

DOVE has been responsible for enriching this school by providing a computer lab and a braille printer.

Gary had a great time interacting with them...as you can see from the pictures.

The young gal in the wheel chair is using the specialized software for the blind.  When you type on the internet it reads it back to you.  They normally work with a headset on but this day she was just demonstrating it for us.

We were happy to see the braille printer as it provides them a way to convert books to braille for them to read and study.

When we arrived for this visit and realized that their computers needed upgrading and it would only cost $600 to accomplish the upgrade, generous pockets opened so quickly that we were able to hand deliver the funds to them just days after their request.

March 23 Resettlement water project for "boat people"

What a heart jerker this one was.  We visited a "resettlement camp" along the banks of one of the Perfume River's tributaries.  These people used to live in boats on the river.  In order to "clean up" the river, the government took away their boats and put them in small shacks along the side of the river...but with no fresh water.  They had been living off the river water for quite a time until DOVE came along and funded a water system for them.  They had it piped into each dwelling.  They are so very proud of their water and were pleased to turn on the taps in the alley to show us they worked.

This was a DOVE project that certainly made an enormous difference in the quality of life and health for 60 families.  The attached pictures show that they are still living in poverty but at least they are rich in the fact that they have clean water.

Note the man weaving the large basket who pulls it aside to show his deformed leg.

The women who are cooking are preparing food to sell to their neighbors.

March 23 Quang Thanh Daycare

This is an existing school where 80 children currently attend in very cramped quarters.  There are 220 kids in the area that are of the age to attend, so if the school was enlarged by an additional 6 rooms another 140 children could attend.  You will see that this is one of the facilities where they serve lunch to the needy children attending.  My attached pictures give you a much better idea of these children and how much they appreciate having a school to attend here.  

Note the legos in one picture of toys...they are obviously the universal toy.

Note also their chart of daily activities...sweet!