Sharing The Love Vietnam

On my first day in Hanoi my friend and right hand woman, Dung (Zung) took me straight to Bo De, where she runs a clinic with some traditional Vietnamese doctors. Elderly and sick travel for miles to come for this free medical care.

Bo De is one of Hanoi's ancient Buddhist temple pagodas, built by a river in the early 18th Century.

It is also home to 54 orphans, that have all been abandoned as babies at the pagoda gates. The head monk 'Lan' is an educated woman with a big heart and opens the pagoda doors to anyone in need , including quite a few homeless of all ages. .

Lan strongly believes that educating the orphans is the key to giving them a good future, but sending them to school is costly. With no government support, Bo De survives on veggies grown on site and a few small donations from local visitors to the temple.

The orphans live in three rooms, where they eat, sleep & play. One room is for the over 5's, one for the under 5's and one for the babies. Each room has a 'big sister' to care for them. The school age children go to a local school and get ferried there by motorbike a few at a time and the little ones get some lessons at the orphanage from a volunteer. The children have nothing to call their own, even their clothes are in a communal pile.

Bo De has become like a second home to me. Hardly anyone speaks English only Vietnamese which makes communication difficult, but I have been accepted here as someone who cares and helps in a practical way. The language of love is universal and these children are craving attention and to be loved. It's important to our team that the children learn to be kind, share and look after each other.

Child trafficking is a big problem in Vietnam and the orphans are made cautious of visitors and playing outside. The babies carer is with them 24/7 and she sees to their basic needs, but like all these children they get no individual attention and the babies never leave their room. I purchased two double pushchairs, hoping this would encourage getting them outside into the fresh air!

As often as possible Dung, myself and any willing volunteers, purchase ingredients very early at a market and use the Bo De kitchen to cook and feed the orphans and homeless residents . We also go out at night on motorbikes to deliver meals to many other homeless, who we find on the streets of Hanoi.