vietnamese children

I visited Vietnam in the summer of 2000. I stayed in a small hamlet outside of Da Nang. The families are very poor materially. The children were generally in good health in spite of a lack of medicines, doctors, and hospitals. They were gregarious and very light-hearted and happy. They made games and toys from the simplest things, using their imagination. It reminded me of America 100 yrs. ago. They were innocent and young and enjoying childhood. I found them inspiring. They are also very generous, caring, and unselfish. They were kind and affectionate. If you want to make a difference, they are mainly cash poor for things like: hygiene products, medicines (where available), and other things which must be bought. A small amount of money makes a big difference because of the incredible difference in the exchange rate. Find a way to send a small amount of money - make sure it gets to the people you intend it for because there is a lot of theft of money in the mail. I will be visiting there again. It was a great experience. Manny Martin