Project Vietnam (Hanoi) 2010

SEALNet Project Vietnam 2010

“Actions for Agent Orange Victims”

Project Descriptions

 

Project Email: pv10.AgentOrange ‘at’ sealnetonline.org

 

Project Leaders

Jasmine Nguyen (jasmine.nguyen ‘at’ sealnetonline.org)

Pak Hin Lee (lee.pakhin ‘at’ seatnetonline.org)

 

Dates: Thursday August 19 – Saturday September 4, 2010

Location: Ha Noi, Vietnam

 

Stake: “Actions for Agent Orange Victims”

 

 

Executive summary

 

During the Vietnam War, over a nine year period, 20% of South Vietnam’s jungles were sprayed with Agent Orange, a type of chemical defoliants that destroyed the environment and caused cancer in the lungs, larynx, and prostate, (>500,000 children were born with) birth defects, serious skin diseases, mental disabilities, hernias, cleft palate, as well as other health problems.

 

Project Vietnam 2010 - “Actions for Agent Orange Victims” aims to raise awareness and actions for the young Agent Orange victims housed and raised at the non-profit Peace Village Thanh Xuan in Hanoi, Vietnam. By collaborating with local students, we seek: (1) to improve the institution’s financial ability by putting up marketing campaigns and fundraising events to raise awareness and donations; (2) to inspire, empower, and equip local students with the necessary leadership skills to carry out their own projects in the future; (3) to outreach for a potential business partner to aid the Peace Village’s small business; and finally, (4) to give love and inspiration to AO victims.

 

 

Community Challenge

 

Agent Orange is a defoliant herbicide mixture used during the Vietnam War. The United States sprayed 20 million gallons of Agent Orange over forests in Vietnam as part of a defoliant program. According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects. The affected residents are living in sub-standard conditions with many genetic diseases. The use of Agent Orange still has serious effects on the citizens of Vietnam, poisoning their food chain and creating concerns about its effects on human beings. This chemical has been reported to cause serious skin diseases as well as a vast variety of cancers in the lungs, larynx, and prostate. Children in the areas where Agent Orange was used have been affected and have multiple health problems including cleft palate, mental disabilities, hernias, and extra fingers and toes. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange; http://www.lewispublishing.com/orange.htm)

 

Currently there are a certain number of Vietnamese public and private institutions hospitalizing these war victims (including veterans and children of veterans affected by Agent Orange) but most of these institutions do not have enough equipment and financial support to provide their residents with adequate services and acceptable life conditions. In addition, there is a lack of public and international awareness about Agent Orange as well as its aftermath effects. We realize that this is a serious social issue affecting a large portion of the working-class communities, especially the often-forgotten communities of disabled youths and veterans, in Vietnam.

 

 

Objectives

 

-          To raise public awareness about the issue of Agent Orange

-          To improve the Peace Village’s financial ability by putting up marketing campaigns and fundraising events

-          To outreach for a business partner to aid the Peace Village’s small business

-          To inspire, empower, and equip local students with the necessary leadership skills to carry out their own projects in the future

-          To create a marketing campaign for Peace Village that will be sustained by the local students in the future

-          To give love and inspiration to Agent Orange victims

 

 

 

Local Partner

 

Peace Village Thanh Xuan in Ha Noi, founded in 1991 by a German non-profit organization, is a specialist school and medical center providing relief to the child victims who are suffering from mental and physical disabilities caused by Agent Orange. The institution provides care, treatment and vocational training to disabled children who were born to parents exposed to Agent Orange. Our goal is to help improve their financial ability and sustainability, as well as raising public awareness about the Agent Orange and its after-war effects.

 

Approaches

Service for Peace Village

-          Connect the residents at the Peace Village with local students and team members through bonding activities and inspiring lessons

-          Provide inspiration, empathy, love, and motivation for the children at the Village

-          Contribute necessary facilities to Peace Village as an effort to help their business grow

Raising public awareness

-          Raise public awareness about the issue of Agent Orange and the needs for financial support from local and international communities.

-          Improve the Peace Village’s financial ability by putting up marketing campaigns and fundraising events

-          Assist the institution in selling products hand-made by their residents, and seek for a potential business partner/market for these products.

Leadership training

-          Empower high school students with leadership skills through workshops and activities

-          Assist them in planning and organizing their own public fundraising event for the Peace Village

-          Inspire them to take actions once at a time and turn their short-term activities into long-term projects to contribute to their communities

 

 

Team Member Responsibilities

 

-          Participate in and contribute to all aspects of the project

-          Brainstorm on fundraising activities and marketing campaigns for Peace Village

-          Promote awareness about the issue of Agent Orange and its after-war effects

-          Design and teach leadership workshops to local students

-          Inspire local students to “pay back” to their community

 

 

Skills Required

 

-          A passion for community service

-          Interest in youth empowerment

-          Strong communication and management skills

-          Strong sense of commitment

-          Motivation for self-development

-          A positive attitude

-          Problem-solving skills

-          A responsible and supportive team player

-          An open mind!

 

Notes

 

As project leaders, we both aim to create a fun, educational, inspiring, and rich experience for our team members. We hope that our members will come out of this project with long lasting friendship, useful leadership skills, and a memorable time on the ground. As members of Project Vietnam 2010 - “Actions for Agent Orange Victims”, you will have a chance to experience, explore, and live in the spirit of “pay it forward,” while also having fun doing what you love.