Meeting some Vietnamese students

I've been enjoying reading The Quiet American today. Jessica has prepared a reading list of ten books for me. As a part of my project I will write reviews of twenty books, of which ten will be put forward by Jessica and ten to be chosen by me. So I imagine that The Quiet American will be my first to critique, and I will post my review on this blog. I wanted to go swimming this morning but when I arrived the pool was closed, so I cycled back home again. Lots of things seem to be closed on a Monday and this is not the first time I've been caught out. Even so, I love riding the bike. I find it relaxing and a good way to take in the scenery. I feel very safe cycling around Phu My Hung despite the high volume of motorbikes and the 'semi-optional' nature of traffic laws that applies everywhere. Riding the bike makes me feel like I belong in the city, although I'm sure Phu My Hung is the only place I'd feel comfortable cycling as it is relatively quiet and less densely populated.

There was a power-cut around midday and we lost our water, electricity and internet connection. I remembered how, only on Saturday, Jessica had been praising Phu My Hung to her friends who live in district two as somewhere that never has power-cuts as it has its own power station. Without access to the internet I settled in bed with my book until I felt sleepy and dozed off for about four hours, to the comforting sound of the rain outside...

When I woke up it was dark and Jessica had returned home. We had a special appointment this evening, a visit to some students that Jessica sponsors to allow them to study at university. We travelled by taxi into district seven, to a busy road beside the river with small cafes and workshops. Residential houses run along back passages that stem from small, dark alleys which enter onto this main road. Each alleyway is numbered by the first house on the corner, such as 951, and so along the alleyway the houses will be numbered 951/16, 951/17, etc. Or at least that's as far as I can tell. This meant we had difficulty finding the right alley along this busy road. Luckily, we soon found Nguyet, the friend of Jessica's who co-ordinates the sponsorship of students, and has arranged this visit today. We were meeting a young man who Jessica has sponsored for his first years at university, as well as two others who she will soon begin sponsoring. We met at the house of one of these students, Tu, who is disabled and cannot travel easily. Nguyet met us with this boy's mother to show us to the house. Inside we met Tu, and Vy, another student who Jessica will be sponsoring. The house was one small room partitioned at the back, where there was a kitchen area. In the main room there was a single bed, a motorbike and a few plastic seats. Behind the wall partition I could see a step ladder leading to the attic room upstairs. Here lived Trung, another disabled boy and a classmate of Tu. Trung is an orphan and lives in the upstairs of the house with his grandfather, who supports him with his pension. He was helped down the stairs and onto a chair to meet us. His English was very good and he told us that he had done well in his exams at school. After meeting him Jessica told him she would sponsor him to continue his education like his classmate Tu. 

Later two more students arrived. Firstly, Huy, who Jessica has been sponsoring for two years. He has written her letters before but this was the first time they had met. Also, Phuoc. He is another student being sponsored by one of the two alumni who were also present. These two had been sponsored to attend university  and had gone on to be successful and to sponsor other students themselves. They helped to translate as the young students told Jessica about themselves. Vy told her about an illness she has suffered from for several years, although no diagnosis has yet been found. She has had problems with her bones and kidneys and is taking medication daily to keep her well. Although she looked very healthy today, she told us that she had once been paralysed from the waist up, could not eat and missed out on her education for a long time. Even today she never knows when she will become ill again. She is effected by elevators, easily tired and can not read for a long time as she risks going blind. All that had been confirmed is that it is a biological illness. 

Jessica had brought Chinese dumplings and vegetables to provide dinner for the students, which Thuy had cooked earlier. There was no table in the house so Tu's mother visited the neighbours' houses to collect enough chairs for everyone, plus one to serve the food from. While we ate Jessica interrogated each of the students, asking how many hours they studied every day, what time they got up in the morning, and so on. I felt humbled by how much more hard-working they all seemed to be than me, yet I have had everything so much easier in my life. Most of them had long-term illnesses or disabilities and lived in poverty, and would not have been able to afford to go to university without the support of sponsors such as Jessica. In the taxi on the way home Jessica told me the amount that she contributes to each of these students: living costs of 600,000d a month (about £18), about as much as we'd spend on a meal out or taxi fares for a week, but it can make a huge impact when given to someone who really deserves it. I was impressed by the good work that Nguyet does in co-ordinating the sponsorship of these students. I will include her email address for anybody who would like to find out more about her work or to contribute to the cause, perhaps even to sponsor a student in Ho Chi Minh City themselves. Thu Nguyet can be contacted at: mrs.moon54@gmail.com

Back: Tu
 Front, L-R: Huy, Vy, me

03.10.12: Please see http://ayearinindochina.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/feedback-from-our-meeting-with-students.html for my follow-up post from this meeting, including more photographs and a letter sent by Vy