Tea Farm Visit

Last week, I got invited to visit the tea farm run, owned, and staffed by the orphanage, and gladly accepted the offer. As instructed, I showed up at 5:30am the next morning, ready to go but not exactly sure what to expect. I certainly didn't expect a 3 1/2 hour bus ride there... Oh well...on the way I got to talk to one of the nuns who works at the orphanage and speaks a little bit of English. She explained to me the purpose of the tea farm and how it works. Basically, when the children at the orphanage turn 16, they have one of two options: A. If they're able to walk, follow directions, and be productive, they move to the tea farm to work the fields, or B. If they're unable to walk, have behavioral difficulties or medical issues, or aren't fit for the farm, they move to the "alternative center about 30 minutes outside of Saigon.

When we (2 other girls from the orphanage and I) arrived at the tea farm, we only had about 2 hours there before we had to begin our 3 1/2 hour bus ride home, so our time was short and sweet but we had a nice tour and visit. We saw the vegetable gardes, fruit gardens, and coffee and tea farms. When the kids move to the farm, they can be put in the main lodge or one of 4 independent living houses. The main lodge has about 40-50 kids, and each of the group homes have 7 people. I was particularly impressed by the indepenedent living homes....the houses have a small plot of land and a simple house frame. When the kids move in, they are given options of what to grow and how to arrange their houses. When they sell what they've grown, they keep the profits and decide, as a group, how to spend it (food, house decorations, fun stuff, etc). They are taught all the basic life skills, and when they need help with something (how to cook, clean, grow things, etc), they have to walk about 1/2 a mile to the main lodge to ask one of the nuns. The independence seems pretty well established and protected! Some of the 'kids' have been living there for over 10 years and have grown up, gotten married, had kids, and moved into their own houses (on the farm property).

At lunch time, we talked with the nuns about the orpahange, the children there, adoption processes, etc. I teared up and admitted how badly I wanted to adopt about 25 of the kids...every time I see the nuns in the orphanage now they say "you ready to take kids home???" I think they're more excited for me to leave hoping I might slip a few kids in my suitcase than they are to have me there volunteering :) But in all seriousness, I became extrememly upset to hear about the future of these children after they turn 16 if they aren't able to move to the farm. The "alternative center" they're put in has 1000 people with 80 staff and is for disabled people, drug addicts, street people, and any one else who doesn't have a proper home and requires care. The nuns told me that the drug addicts are typically given responsibilities and end up taking care of those who are bed-ridden. The whole scene literally gives me nightmares. I honstly can't imagine how miserable that would be living in a cot for the rest of your life if you're NEVER taken out (even for the bathroom, eating, bathing, etc).

When I returned to the orphanage, I realized how heartbroken I was to play with the kids there and know how many of them will end up in the center in just a few years. BUT I learned how easy the adoption process is for the kids with disabilities... Adopting a child without a disability from Phu My takes about 18 months from start to finish and costs around $20,000 USD while a child with a disability can typically be adopted in 1-2 months and is free. Now that I know that, sorry Mom, but I really am brining them all home.

Sorry this post is so heavy...I didn't intend for it to come off that way, but this new info I learned on my tea farm visit has been sitting really heavy on my heart for several days. Today was my last day at the orphanage (i'll refrain from going into details about how tramatic leaving was), but I think it's a really good thing there are other wonderful volunteers there so I know I'm leaving my little ones in good hands. On that note - if anyone is every looking for an international volunteer opportunity....the Phu My is by far the best place to be for a few weeks or even a day or two!!!!