The many faces of Agent Orange

Center for victims of Agent Orange

The first time I travelled to Vietnam with GVN, I was first exposed to the longterm repercussions of Agent Orange and the mark it has left on this country. There are various centers, primarily in central Da Nang where I am working, that are government run and offer support to the victims, but when it comes down to it, without additional aid, research, and empowerment, the people effected will remain victims and there will not be much progress. The mutations resulting from the dioxin can be extreme, and while there are conditions that would be at least livable in the United States with our sophisticated medical system, many of the effects remain undiagnosed since there is not the technology here, at least not for these people, to give them a proper diagnoses.

On Tuesday I went back to the center we worked at with GVN. I was thrilled to see many familiar

faces and was impressed by the vocational skills that many of the more abled students were learning, such as print making and sewing. We sang and ran around for a while, had a treat, and spent some time communicating any way we could. The kids at this center have incredible energy and an obvious desire to learn, but the one thing this center is lacking is an academic education like the abled children in Vietnam are getting in the public schools. Their desire to learn was demonstrated when a line of children came up to me counting '1,2,3' in English and then looking at me hopeful that I could help them count higher. The physical traits of these children are unlike anything I have seen before. Skin discoloration, underdeveloped ears, noses and appendages, webbed fingers, severe growth stunts, and many other extreme attributes. I don't personally experience the shock factor anymore like I did on my first trip, but it definitely is distressful.

There is one seemingly very abled boy name Hong who is a pupil at this center. He looks about 5 and has a very sharp mind, he was repeating everything I said back and trying hard to comprehend things that I said in English. He has no clear physical disabilities when you look at him and his manner is incredibly sweet with a tiny bit of naughtiness that you would expect from a 5 year old.

However, he is 12 and he can not walk. He has little control over his legs, seemingly no reflexes, and his upper body strength is dismal. I did not realize this for about an hour, because I sat across from him playing and laughing and did not see him being carried from place to place until we moved the group

into a circle to play a game. His father has disappeared and his mother is no longer around so he is being cared for by his elderly grandparents, his grandfather a veteran of the war who spent most of his time in Da Nang. Hong really shook me. All I wanted to do was hold onto him and rub his back and sit with him, but he clearly is aware of his condition and understandably not a fan of being pitied. When his grandfather came to pick him up, Mr.T and Oanh spent time questioning him about Hong's condition, trying to find out if there is an actual diagnosis and if anyone knows exactly why Hong's strength is so low. When we asked Hong to tell us about it, all he said was 'when I turned 2, I could not walk. Now I am 12 and I can not walk.' His grandfather has taken him to the doctor many times, but because they have very little money they can not have any real testing done, not even an x-ray or a catscan, and his grandparents worry about what will happen to Hong after they pass. This happens a lot here to the poor families who have children seemingly sick from the residual effects of Agent Orange. With little research and little resources, there is hardly anything that can be done aside from getting stamped as disabled from Agent Orange and sent to a government run center that just sustains their baseline of life without the opportunities for improvement. There are some, very limited, opportunities here and there, but as of right now there is not a consistent care center that works with the specific disabilities, empowering the victims and setting them up to live a better standard of life. They are trying to get Hong into a new center in Da Nang that boards children who are disabled. Next week we're going to take Hong to the nice hospital in Da Nang and have a full set of tests done to see if there's a treatment plan I can leave the funding for and hopefully begin to execute while I am here. Tomorrow I head to Tam Ky to see the Agent Orange victims center there.

In exciting news, thanks to Anne Stuart, I got in touch with an American veteran living in Da Nang who is working in advocacy with victims as well as with the clean up project that is happening near the airport where most of the dioxin was mixed. I will hopefully meet with him in the next few days. I've also been in touch with a biologist at the University who specializes in Dioxin. I'm eager to learn more and find out about other projects currently happening in Da Nang.

I spent some more time with the sweethearts at the Red Cross Orphanage and this afternoon we're taking the older disabled kids from Social Support to the beach. There is one little guy at the Red Cross who I couldn't put down on Wednesday. His name is Thui and he 3 years old. He has severe Cerebral Palsy and an additional spinal injury that I couldn't understand in translation and he is so clearly uncomfortable most of the time. His cries break my heart because his face is so small and defined that you can see the pain in every inch of his face. He settled down to rest after a while and seemed to calm down, but I am eager to see him again tomorrow morning. 

I'm not completely sure how I feel right now. I am really glad to be here but am already starting to feel the nervousness I do about leaving and figuring out what my next step is that will be most beneficial for what the needs are here. I want to be bring everyone over here to see what an incredible city this is and to also see how much can be done with little money and some motivation. I am also so grateful for the people I've met over the last few years who are making this experience possible and helping me so much while I am here. Without the connections that were provided to me through GVN, there is no way I could be here doing what I am doing right now. Mr.T and Mr.Phuc as well as Mr.Viet are essential and I really feel so glad to know them. My Vietnamese and western friends here area also incredible, supporting me unconditionally and sharing their friendship and passions with me.

Here is a link with a brief description of Agent Orange: Short overview of Dioxin mutation. 

I will write more soon.

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