Thursday, March 17, 2011

Volunteer Visits CPI Staff & Programs in Vietnam

Vietnam staff by Sandy.JPG

This posting is by Clear Path volunteer Sandy Schubach who recently visited our staff and programs in Vietnam.

The Clear Path team in Dong Ha, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, is truly inspirational. It has been so heartwarming to see them in action, both in the office and at the homes of the beneficiaries. Chi, Duc, Nhi, Phuong, and Tam are compassionate, attentive, and very respectful. I was happy to learn that Clear Path is well-known here in Quang Tri, and 95% of the time they respond to an accident within 24 hours, even on weekends. It was also nice to see the Clear Path logo on display in restaurants and museums. The locals know they can count on CPI to help them if needed for victim assistance.

Besides providing direct assistance to UXO (unexploded ordnance) victims in the form of reimbursement for medical costs, CPI also helps them in other areas. An accident can leave a family without a breadwinner, a devastating loss. Only children living below the poverty level here (about $2800 annual income per family) are allowed to go to school for free, so Clear Path helps with scholarships for those children that need them. Grants can also be made to help a family get back on their feet after an accident. The economic impact of a UXO accident is dramatic. Besides medical expenses, the time spent in the hospital is time away from farming or working. If a child is in the hospital, a parent is usually with them as well, or the transportation costs to get continued medical care are steep.

Some people request a grant to use the money to purchase chickens, piglets, cows, or other farm animals which can generate income and provide a food source. Clear Path takes care to learn the specific needs of accident victims.

The staff here has also started a program to get accident victims in touch with each other to provide caring and support. A recent victim can get inspiration and affirmation from one who has overcome his disability. Groups are taken on field trips, a very special event here. They also participate in the Vietnamese version of special olympics, a wonderful program.

It's sad to think that more than 40 years after the war accidents still happen from UXOs, ruining lives and families. CPI Vietnam provides stellar services in victim assistance here, and I salute them.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Visiting Beneficiaries in Vietnam

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CPI Southeast Asia Program Director Melody Mociulski has been visiting staff and beneficiaries in Vietnam and Cambodia with volunteer Sandy Schubach and CPI Board Chairman Laurie Miller.

We've spent two and a half days here in Dong Ha with the CPI team: Chi, Phuong, Nhi, and Duc. It is wonderful to see them again - like coming home. They have all worked for CPI for several years, Chi and Duc since the beginning, when CPI started in 2000. I am so very proud of their efforts to provide quality and thoughtful victim assistance to UXO survivors and their families in 14 provinces of Vietnam.

Today we visited two beneficiaries: an 11-year-old boy, Binh, whose left eye was severely damaged when he found a bomb ignitor on the street and tried to plug the red wires into an electrical outlet. He was lucky his injuries were not worse. Nevertheless, the accident has had a major impact to his family, both economically and emotionally.

And we met Kha and his wife. He lost a leg many years ago in a UXO accident, and is unable to shoulder the responsibilities of providing for his wife, three children, and two elderly parents. CPI provided them with a pig - one very large mama pig - to raise. Future piglets will be sold to generate income for the family.

We also visited some of the DMZ monuments and museums, conducted performance evaluations and learned more about life and culture in Vietnam.

Tomorrow Duc will drive us to Hue, a UN heritage city, and we will start our trek home via a night in Bangkok.



Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Courage and Dedication in Lao PDR


Sandy photo from Lao.jpg


Longtime CPI volunteer Sandy Schubach is traveling with Southeast Asia Program Director Melody Mociulski and videotaping some of our programs there. This week, they are in Lao PDR where Clear Path is establishing a micro-credit program in an area heavily impacted by mines.

Yesterday and today I met so many amazing, dedicated, courageous people: a woman with a disability who opened up her home to help other women with disabilities and now runs a sustainable educational center to teach those women with disabilities skills and independence; an 18-year-old student in that center who has learned to weave with one hand; women who run a nation-wide union of Laos women; a man who has lived in SE Asia for over 20 years and is dedicated to helping clear the area of unexploded ordnance; volunteers who help run a shop to build and deliver wheelchairs to those in need of them; and people determined to set up clinics in the provinces to provide the most basic of heath care.

Traveling and meeting with other non-governmental agencies gives such an insight into the people and culture of a country, and truly makes me appreciate how much I have, and realize how some live with so little. While it's difficult to learn how much some of the local agencies are struggling to fulfill basic needs, it's encouraging to see their optimism and determination to provide services.

On a different note, Vientiane is an interesting city, with exotic smells, crowded streets, temples, heat and humidity. We made an early morning visit to a stupa and enjoyed walking around watching the city come to life. Tomorrow we leave this capital and head north to Luang Prabang.