Dear friends
A note to let you all know that four of us – Vicki Montgomery, Tony Brown, Ian Thurstans and myself – are flying to Vietnam on Tuesday to hand over the latest, and last, herd of 32 cows for which we raised money.
The handover takes place on Thursday at Quang Loi commune in Quang Dien district, north of Hue in central Vietnam. Many of you are more likely to have heard of nearby Quang Tri, the scene of several fierce battles during the American war (as the Vietnamese insist on calling it).
The exchange rate was in our favour this time so we were able to increase our herd purchase from the planned 25 to 32. Once again, our colleagues at the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations of Thua Thien Hue province have been really helpful in organising to buy the cows and to work with the people’s commune at Quang Loi to determine which AO-affected families should each receive a cow. If we have time, we will go to the village that we assisted in 2008, Phong Dien, to see how their cows are getting on.
We have also been generously assisted by the Vietnamese Ambassador in Canberra and his splendid staff.
This will be the last fund-raising effort by the Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange Trust. It gets more difficult each time and I don’t like keep asking the same people to contribute. However, I intend to maintain my relationship with our contacts in Vietnam and do what I can to help in the future. I am leaving the website up at the moment but not taking any more donations.
There will be a small amount left in the bank – about $120 – and we have decided to donate that to Ron and Ailsa Vernon’s Hoi Mi Pre School program at Vung Tau for underprivileged children. We are meeting Ron and Ailsa in Saigon on the way home.
Thank you all, once again, for your help and generosity.
I shall send some pix to you from the handover ceremony as soon as I find a wi-fi hot spot!
www.agentorange.org.au
Bruce Montgomery. Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange Trust
