I recently did Voluntary work for 2 Months at
Ky Quang Orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam.
Ky Quang is a place where people with special needs are sent to. It ranged from children (and I believe some adults) who were blind to
weak-sighted, mentally-handicapped to physically-handicapped, and so on and so forth.
Ky Quang is run by a small group of monks who live at Ky Quangs- Pagoda (temple). The monks have a say in everything, however spend very little time with the orphans, and are rarely seen and their
living quarters are out of bounds. During my time at Ky Quang I became friends with the younger Monks aging from aroung 6-17 (Amazing to think that a 6-year old orphan has "decided" on life as a monk). These young monks showed me around where they live and it became apparent why they didnt want the outside world to see. Their rooms had air conditioning, a Tv, a Fridge and many other Luxuries that the orphans could only dream off. This seemed to be the case throughout the orphanage. The Monks seemed to be treated better and would often be seen eating huge quantites of food. This was a harsh contrast to the lives of the Orphans. All of the Children and Adults at Ky Quang are orphan's, They have no Parents, No Money, No Jobs, No Education and very poor Standards of Living. In Ky Quang there are 3 Floors,
Floor one- This floor has around 8 seperate rooms, Each room has around
8-10 Children and Adults living/eating and Sleeping in it. The first two rooms have the older Orphans, Most of these are blind. They are treated like Animals, They are fed very little and it tends to be to a very poor standard( even by Vietnamese Standards), They are often chained/tied up to their beds ( which is more like a metal cage, with no mattress and very little bedding) and will reguarly get beatings from either a wooden stick or a hand. They are hardly ever taken outside and will spend most of the day lying in the same position usually with soiled clothing on, from where the 'carer's' have decided not to change them.
On one occasion i witnessed a young man in his early 20's who was blind, get beaten by a male member of staff. This was because he kept getting up, to use the toilet, however could never find it due to him being blind and would stumble into things. After several attempts the Male member of staff stripped him naked made him use the toilet and then threw him back onto his wooden bed, This 20 year old man was then left naked on the bed crying.
Many of the People living in these rooms were Severly Disabled and Dying, mainly due to Agent Orange :
One little boy aged around 12, was suffering badly from hydrosephilis, He was severly deformed and could not move, for the whole 2 months of working at the orphanage i never once saw him in a different position. He was very rarely changed and was often fed lying down, this would make him choke and throw it back up, however the 'carer's' just carried on forcing the food down.
In the other rooms very other Special Needs Children, all of them in t
he same dire situation. They had very little 'care' and almost no hope for the future, In one of the rooms was a small baby who could be no older then 2, he would often be tied up by a rope, which would cut him as he tries to move, Several occasions i would undo the Rope and take him out for a walk, and to see the Sun. His face would light up, and he would cry as he got taken back.
The end room of floor one was the biggest, It had around 20 Young Children with Special Needs in it, They were confined to One room and One Outdoor playing area, which was covered. They had one cupboard full of toys, But these were almost permantly locked away. This Room was Run by around 7 'Female Staff', all who seemed to have no interest in any of the children. They simply would get them out of bed ( they had 4 metal 'Cots' and the rest was 2 matrasses which were put on the floor, and around 9 children to One Matrass) Put half of the children in Chairs, which they wer
e locked into and then would feed them, 3 times, and then put them to bed. This went on Everyday. The children were given no Individual attention and allmost no special care to provide for their dissabilities.
There was one boy who was called 'FrogMan' by the staff, he was covered in Cancer from head to foot, he was severly underweight and no bigger then 1 Ft. The orphanage can not afford to treat him, so he has pretty much been left to die. He would be left all day to sit in a chair which was nothing more then a bean bag, he would often have his legs strapped up to stop him from moving, If you would pick him up he would start crying from all the pain due to his whole body being riddled with cancer.
Floor 2- On the 2nd floor was One room around a quarter of the size of a tennis Court. This room was '
home' to around 25 Men aged from 17-30. All of the men in this room are blind, or visually impared. They come to ky quang to live for 4 years to learn the art of Japanese Massage. ( this is because in Vietnam the only Job a blind person can get is in Massage, They are usually exploited and get paid very little, on Average around 5p an hour) Most of these guys have been sent to Ky Quang from orphanages all around Vietnam. There living conditions were terrible, it tended to be 3 people to a bed, once again the beds were wooden with only one bed having a mattress, they were rarely given toiletries, there was one toilet with no door, there were cockroachs everywhere. No one helped the men to tidy up, clean or even walk. They were on their own, and only had each other for company.
They rarely would leave the orphanage, on a few occasions, I took a group of lads out to get Beer/Coffee. They were highly grateful for this as they could not afford to buy this for themselves ( coffee was around 15p and beer was no more then 30p) and would have no one to lead them across the busy roads. Most of these guys had very little possessions, they had around 2 outfits each, and normally one small bag, with toiletries, personal items etc.... However on many occasions, children would come into the orphanage and steal from the blind. I spent most of my time with these guys
helping them to learn english. They were so grateful to just have someone to sit down and speak to them. I did my best when i was there to buy them things, i would often buy them gifts from my trips and on the last day handed over nearly half of my clothes that i had brought with me! To me this was nothing, but to them this was incredible.
3rd Floor- On the third floor was a room for the Blind and Visually Impared
Girls, there was around 15 of them and they too were living in the same conditons as the boys (although they somehow managed to keep their room tidy!!) On one occasion i was told of how a male member of staff had came into the girls room and 'Kicked' two of the girls in the bathroom. Their was nothing they could do but cry. Later on in that day i was chatting to them and they told me how it happens regulary. This form of abuse was shocking, but was something that i had come across lots of times at my stay at the orphanage.
I will be returning to Ho Chi Minh City In february 2009 to teach English and to also work part time at the Orphanage. However before i leave i would like to raise money, so that i am able to buy these children things that would help to improve or simply brighten up their life.
I have been in close contact with RNIB(royal National Institute for the Blind) and will be looking to buy items such as Talking Watch's, Braille Pads, Braille Pens, Books and other items for the blind.
I will also like to buy;
-Suitable bedding for the Younger children who sleep on a matt on the Floor.
- Stationary items for the Orphans, to help them at school.
Toiletries such as soap and shampoo ect.
- Towels
-Clothing
-Food
-ect
If i can raise enough money i would like to put it towards getting a new play frame/area for the children in the bigger room. I would also like to try and get builders in to do minor work, such as fitting a door with a lock onto the boys bathroom, and painting their room and fixing lightbulbs ...ect...
I understand that i will not be able to buy all of these in great quantites, But every little bit will go a long way. I have set up a Pay Pal account for anyone who would like to help me and Donate money toward this. (if pay pal does not work for you, please contact me) I am extremly gratefull for every penny given. Once in Vietnam i will get pictures of the Children and Adults recieving these items and will post them up on here for everyone to see.
