By Jason He
Back in the states I was never proactive when it came to charity
work and the like. Here in Hanoi, Vietnam, the Study Abroad Program
had setup a cultural exchange program involving the S.O.S. village
and the study abroad students. The S.O.S. village is an orphanage
in Hanoi that carefully selects prospects who show prime potential
for social development and integration into society.
The S.O.S. village’s main emphasis is two aspects of a child’s
life: family and community. Each village household has a parent,
either a S.O.S. mother or S.O.S. father. When the children are
young they are assigned a mother. Each mother takes in six or seven
children and assumes the role of the mother. These children are of
various ages and gender. When the boys hit puberty they are
separated from the girls. They are then assigned to another
household that is run by a S.O.S. father. That way the boys will
have both a mother and father figure in their lives and in their
development towards becoming a man. Both boys and girls will be
raised at the village until they are of age to be integrated into
society. They will be well educated in gender specific roles and
learn how to be capable men and women.
When we went to the village the director talked to us about the
information above and insisted that the best way for cultural
exchange would be interaction, through classroom learning and
playing, with the children themselves. We met with the children for
three consecutive days and bonded with them extremely well. I
remember being hesitant at first because I was never good with kids
but after seeing them express such happiness when we visited them
soften my heart. The kids especially liked Sean and Ken because
they are so tall; they loved being picked up by them. When we said
goodbye during the last day at the village, the kids were really
sad to see us go and we reciprocated the feeling. We ended up being
late for our next activity because we couldn’t part with them.
Right before we left, the director of the village spoke with us and
shared his feelings on the short exchange we had. I remember the
interpreter saying something along the lines of, “from this
exchange we can hope for the continuation of the ties between the
orphans and the students, St. John’s University and the S.O.S.
village, and between Vietnam and the United States.”