It is 7AM and the wave of mopeds have already begun to wash by our hotel. Entire families riding on a single scooter heading out for the day, all with colorful masks decorating their nose and mouth to protect them from the fumes that hang over Saigon. First we have breakfast which consists of an egg and loaf of french bread with soy sauce, lime, salt and pepper. It's delicious. Then our coffee is set down before us, its a strong shot of equal part coffee and condensed milk. After breakfast Vanessa arrives and we pile into the mini-van with all bags and equipment in toe, heading for Cu Chi and Thao.
Cu Chi is a suburban district of Ho Chi Minh City. It is famous for the Cu Chi tunnels, constructed during the Vietnam war and serving as headquarters for the Vietnamese soldiers. Within this area much fighting took place between the Americans and Vietnamese. Cu Chi was also an area hit hard with the chemical known as Agent Orange. There are people in Cu Chi who have never seen a white person before or the last white person they saw was during the War. Heading further into the country side, we see less and less cars and more bicycles. From Vietnamese cityscape to the rural landscape, it is very new and exciting to me, so different a reality than my own.
Thao has suggested that we stay at a place which is right next to her house. The place has a website and looks to be a convalescent home. We have no idea what to expect. Not quite sure what we are walking into to, we arrive at the hotel which is several small structures surrounded by beautiful gardens, ponds, statues, benches and tree lined walkways. It is a serene setting, extremely peaceful. We cannot believe our good fortune. What are the odds that this oasis with full ELECTRICAL POWER (needed throughout the day to download footage) would be right next to Thao's home?!? The nearest hotel is at least an hour away, outside of her village. Feeling very comfortable and grateful at this point the team and I unload our suitcases and make our way over to Thao's house.
I anxiously round the corner to Thao's, wheeling my suitcase filled with books (many donated by YOU!) and make my way down the driveway. I'm not quite sure what is waiting for me at the end of the drive and how I'm going to react. I have been talking to this young woman via email for months now, looking at her pictures, traveling 6,000 miles but have never actually met her face to face! She's been a huge figure in my mind but to actually see her, meet her in person, I start to feel intimidated by the situation. What if this is just crazy? What if she thinks I'm nuts for coming all this way? What if she doesn't want my help? Then I see this beautiful sweet angelic young woman sitting in a wheelchair behind the frame of her house. She looks at me and a huge smile comes across her face as does mine. In this moment I know that "all is good" and this is where I'm meant to be, right here and now. I open my arms to Thao and so it begins.
Thao leads us through her home that she shares with her mother, father, sister and 100 year old grandfather. Her family is incredibly loving and welcomes us all. We travel through the front area of the house which contains the grandfather and Thao's day beds, through the kitchen and out the back. This is where the family keeps their chickens and pigs. A whole lot of pigs, pig squeels will quickly become the soundtrack to our days spent at the home. From huge pigs to a litter of little piglets jumping over one another fighting for their mother's milk, pigs are everywhere. Thao's family also has a garden area where they grow their own greens along with a spicket for washing dishes and a shack where they cook over an open flame. Several children can be seen hiding around the perimeter of Thao's home, peeking in on this foreign camera crew. Giggling at my feeble attempts to speak Vietnamese, only a word here and there, we are greeted by all with kindness and warm laughter.
Getting used to talking via a translator takes some adjustment and luckily Vanessa and Thao have already become friends prior to this meeting. The two are completely comfortable and at ease with one another. The team and I are so grateful for their connection. It makes communication so much easier.
The family is preparing an unexpected lunch for us. Soon we are sitting down to a feast of chicken, beef, rice, morning glory accompanied by yummy and delicious spices and sauces. Paper is a very expensive luxury in rural Vietnam, I didn't realize till that moment how dependent I am on napkins as my fingers are instantaneously coated in the divine sticky sauce. After lunch Thao shows me photo albums and reads some of her poetry (which I will be sharing with you later on). We then proceeded to the library.
I discover the library is a separate structure from the home. Upon entering the structure we meet a strong odor and identify the smell with the large bags of fertilizer and pig feed that is housed within the structure as well. The ingredients on the bags, though in Vietnamese, contain words such as TOXIC and NITRO. This is not an environment where Thao along with the children should be, breathing in the air 6 hours a day everyday of the week.
***ON A VERY IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: We almost missed our flight upon arrival in the US on our way back from HCM. Extremely high levels of NITROGEN were found on Stephen's camera (co-founder of Weyo and a member of our crew). Nitrogen is an ingredient used in bomb making and is also found in fertilizer. Just from being in the library a few hours a day for 4 days, the air was rich enough in toxic particles containing Nitrogen that particles attached themselves to the camera at levels high enough to set off airport security detectors and possibly withhold us from air travel. JUST IMAGINE WHAT THIS IS DOING TO THAO'S LUNGS (which are already severely compromised) and the children who come to the library to learn and use the space as a refuge. EVERYDAY THAT WE ARE NOT THERE BUILDING A SHED TO HOUSE THE FEED AND FERTILIZER AND REWORKING THE EXISTING STRUCTURE IS ANOTHER DAY THAO AND THOSE CHILDREN'S HEALTH ARE AT RISK. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE.
You wouldn't know it to look at Thao's face, which almost always has a smile on it, but she is in extreme pain. Thao was born with severe birth defects as a result of Agent Orange. Agent Orange is the code name for a chemical defoliant used by the US military during the Vietnam War. The object was to spray the fields of Vietnam, removing the plants and trees that were camouflaging the Vietnamese soldiers, exposing the enemy. As a result both the Vietnamese people and US soldiers were exposed to high levels of this very dangerous potent chemical resulting in serious skin diseases, cancers, mental disabilities, severe birth defects and death. Despite the numerous deaths and health problems on both sides, little is known about Agent Orange and how it has come to be passed down genetically through generations. Is the water supply of Vietnam still tainted with this highly toxic chemical? We do not know.
One of Thao's arms is significantly longer than the other. She cannot touch her face with one of her hands. There is a large lump on the front portion of her head. Her lungs are up by her throat and bulging out of her chest. She takes short quick breaths, almost gasping for air at times. She has very very short legs, almost non-existing. One leg has no feeling, the other has a sharp growth coming out of it that when touched sends piercing shooting pain throughout Thao's body. Her bones are very soft. I can feel how malleable they are. A sudden move or any sort of fall results in several broken bones. All of her broken bones throughout Thao's life have not healed properly and feel like squishy cartilage just under the skin. No one in Cu Chi knows what to do for Thao. Thao sees no doctor and takes no medicine for her condition. The only time Thao goes to the hospital is when the pain gets so bad that she looses her vision.
Maybe something can be done to help her live a longer more comfortable life. We don't know?
Despite all of the pain Thao feels, she tells me she is blessed, she is lucky. I see she is a champion for the children and under privileged of her community. Later in the week she will take us to an orphanage where she volunteers her time for children who suffer from severe Agent Orange birth defects and mental disabilities whose families can no longer care for them or who have been abandoned.
I go home that first night after meeting Thao, a million thoughts swirl through my head.
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