Rebuilding. Again and again and again…
As many of you know I have now been to Vietnam twice. First as a musician following his mentor around, ending up playing for orphans. (Too many orphans. I like big crowds, but it’s more than a little disturbing that there was so many to play for.) Second as a businessman scouting out opportunities for a UK based company.
Both trips it was almost impossible to escape the sense of rebuilding in Vietnam.
Obviously in the scant 40 (ish) years since what we call “The Vietnam War” there was plenty of stuff dismantled in a less than civil manner – we’re talking lives, families, infrastructure, the very earth- that needs to be put back together.
Less obvious are the forces of nature, or acts of God if you will, that continue to ravish the country side. Particularly TYPHOONS.
I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a house (read: shack) made of stuff scrounged from the dump, but I can assure you they don’t really look like the most solid structures in the world. Like, if the wolf walked by and happened to sneeze he would definitely blow it down.
Typhoon Ketsana has ravaged central Vietnam over the last three days. It huffed and puffed and ripped apart those little shacks like my little (almost) nephew batters my other (almost) nephew’s carefully stacked block tower.
I’ve seen the remnants of other typhoons – even years after they pass through. It’s not pretty.
Anyways, when my friend who runs a non-profit in Vietnam (who I inadvertently ended up traveling with in Vietnam) sent me an update on the current situation I thought I should pass it on to you. Their organization helps rebuild homes, provide cows and chickens to make the people self-sustaining and even connects young people with badly needed heart surgeries. Now they’re just trying to help any way they can.
You can see pictures of the typhoon here: http://bit.ly/2skjQb
And read about what my friend (Giving It Back to Kids) is doing: http://bit.ly/YBDPh
Or read about his NGO here: www.gibtk.org
I’ve tried donating money to them through their website before, but it hasn’t worked. Maybe it can’t take Canadian cash? Anyways, if nothing else – please pray for them and especially they people they are trying to help.
