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October 5, 2009: Kon Tum and the Central Highlands
This is an excerpt from an unpublished report by Dorinda Cavanaugh, describing a 2008 trip to Vietnam. It is printed here to provide background on the region and individuals currently trying to recover from Typhoon Ketsana, which struck a week ago.

To reach Kontum, we took a plane to Ho Chi Minh City and then to Pleiku, where we rented a car to take us to Kontum (about an hour's drive). We spent 2 days here, visiting the 5 orphanages run by the sisters. Two of the orphanages are in the city of Kontum, each one with about 200 children living there, and three others, with a total of 100 more children, are further into the countryside.

Kontum is a province where mostly ethnic minority peoples live (the Banar, primarily), and is largely Catholic. Its most important product is the mountain-grown coffee. The provinces in the Central Highlands are perceived to have sided with the Americans during the war, and are still regarded with suspicion, to say the least. A large number of minority peoples migrated to Cambodia or other countries, including France and the US, and there is a perceived or real effort, including funding, from expatriate Vietnamese to encourage the Central Highlands to separate from the rest of Vietnam. For this reason, there is a great deal of government watchfulness and control over the governments of these provinces, which may translate into severe financial measures against those who are perceived as able to mobilize people against the present government. Although the Catholic Church in Vietnam is probably not perceived as such, this is perhaps one reason that has made it difficult for the orphanages run by the sisters to become accredited by the state.

The actual situation is that since March 1, 2007, Vietnamese law has decreed that private orphanages are not permitted to place children for adoption. Before this time, children went from Kontum to Italy and to France - not in large numbers, but nonetheless there were adoptions. About a year ago, after the new decree was issued, the sisters made application to the People's Committee of Kontum to be accredited as a public child-placing institution. All necessary documents were presented, and the sisters wait still for an answer. In fact a member of the People's Committee came to visit the orphanage recently, and indicated that she had no problem with accrediting the orphanage, but it was not her decision alone. We have in fact approached a few well-connected persons in Vietnam to ask their advice and assistance, and we hope that one day these efforts will bear fruit.

The orphanages themselves are very well run, with many abandoned children living there. There is a joy among the children not often seen in orphanages. Because of the openness of the sisters to receive visitors and help, there are often groups of interested foreigners, or US veterans, or aid organizations of various sorts who come to lend a hand. In one orphanage we visited, when we arrived at about 4pm, all but 2 or 3 of the toddlers were gone. While we waited and chatted to the sisters, about 15 of the children entered - children from 7 (!) to about 12 years old. They had been out since 8 that morning planting rice and jackfruit. That or similar activities was how the children spent their summer vacation. What was most humbling about this was the attitude with which the children came in from the fields - not a single sad face, not one complaint. The sisters explained that since there was no government funding, all the children worked alongside the sisters when they could (i.e. when they were not in school), growing and harvesting what they could to supply the orphanage with food. Thanks to the donations they receive, and by growing their own fruits and vegetables, the orphanage is able to feed the children with about $0.25 per day per child.

Thanks to a donation from a benefactor, we were able to give the orphanage $5000, and we will also bring another $5000 in November. Additionally, I will be going with a group of high school students from Collège Ste-Anne de Lachine in November to spend a week working at these orphanages in Kontum.

Longer verson, for those who are interested:
The names of the sisters' two largest orphanages, Vinh Son I and Vinh Son II ('Vinh Son', like Sai Gon, is the way the Vietnamese write these words, while they are written 'Vincent' (for Vincent de Paul) and 'Saigon' in English. Although we learned that they want to change the name from 'Vincent', no matter, they still represent the tradition.

Vinh Son 1
We had an appointment with Sister Juliana, the director of the orphanage the morning of June 27, the day we arrived by plane in Kontum. She was to meet us and take us to the orphanage Vinh Son 1. We called. She was not there and the girl said she did not know where she was or when she would be back. It was a frustrating set-back. Eventually we learned what had happened but not until much later in the day.

Bishop Michael's Request
When Sister Julianne met us late that afternoon, she apologized and told us what had happened. It was a tale that revealed much of the social infrastructure of the Church in Kontum. Sister Julianne told us that the current Bishop, Michael, asked her if her congregation would accept to work in a very distant and very poor particular Ba Na (Bahnar) village. The village had a non-functioning government health center and was in need of social service. The day we arrived was unexpectedly the day he arranged for her to visit this distant village and she had to go.

She further told us that Bishop first asked a group of sisters in Saigon to take this task on. But they had a very different attitude. They agreed only if the Bishop were willing to provide the sisters with a very nice house, extensive grounds for farming, and funds to set up services. He did not choose to accept their terms. Instead he turned to Sister Juliana. That Sister Juliana and her community immediately accepted the task is an indication of her character.

Bishop Jean-Liévin-Joseph Sion, M.E.P. (1890-1961) and his third successor, Bishop Michael Huong Dum Oanh
The Catholicism of the Bahnar population of Kontum is the result of the work of nineteenth century missionaries from France who came to work in the Highlands of Vietnam. Jean Sion was a member of the group of priests founded by Vincent de Paul in Paris and known as the Fathers of the Mission (Missions étrangères de Paris or M.E.P.) He was sent to Vietnam as a missionary Bishop around 1945 together with a French sister, a member of Vincent de Paul's Catholic Daughter's of Charity, Sister Catherine. She is seen in pictures in the convent in Kontum wearing the white starched headdress (the normal headdress for women in 17th century Ile de France in Paris) of the original group of the Daughters of Charity. Bishop Jean and Sister Catherine worked among the Vietnamese Degar people, particularly with the Ba Na or Bahnar tribe.

The Catholicism that the two missionaries promoted in the area of Kontum is still thriving there. There are currently about 160 young men preparing for the Catholic priesthood in the Kontum Seminary, some of whom provide social services at the orphanages as the practical part of their training. We met three of them; one was on his way to cut hands of bananas for lunch, the other two were on their way into classrooms to teach math and English. There are churches and schools. In particular the one remarkable wooden Romanesque church, with wrap-around porticos, known locally as 'the wooden church', is an impressive building, a tourist attraction, and is about 150 years old. The current bishop is Bishop Michael Huong Duc Oanh, whose diocese extends over two provinces, who is the third successor to Bishop Jean Sion.

The Catholic Church is served by a clergy that is principally, if not entirely, made up of men who are members of the Kinh tribe, the dominant group ethnic group in Vietnam. The relationship between the Kinh clergy and the Banar Sisters is an uneasy one. Bishop Michael's latest move regarding the Sisters is to inform them that, except for a requirement that they report to him periodically, they are on their own and should not look to him for any significant support. The gap between the sisters and the clergy is evident in political coolness between them and even trivial physical barriers such as `don`t cross` fences between adjacent clerical and religious grounds. The social gap obviously has several sociological dimensions to it.

Congregation of the Miraculous Medal
The two missionaries, Jean Sion and Sister Catherine, came to Vietnam with the background of their experience of Catholic religious life in France and their knowledge of the style of service to the very poor practiced all over the world by the Daughters of Charity. Two years after their arrival, in 1947 Sister Catherine and Bishop Jean Sion founded a diocesan congregation specifically for the Ba Na (Banar) women.

Sister Catherine was a member of the French Catholic religious community founded by St. Vincent de Paul in Paris in 1633 and known world-wide as the `Daughters of Sisters of Charity`. The community of Banar women was structured according to the spirit if Vincent de Paul and according to the model of the Daughters of Charity including their simple habit. There are several statues of St. Vincent de Paul around their properties.

In recognition of their French history, each of the Sisters adopts a French name. The founders dedicated the community to Mary, the mother of Jesus, calling it the Congregation of the Miraculous Medal out of respect for a devotion to Mary initiated by one of the Daughter's of Charity in Paris, Sister Catherine Labouré in 1803. Catherine Labouré was canonized a saint in 1947 as well, the year the congregation was founded. The blue and white image of the Blessed Virgin Mary copied from the image on the Miraculous Medal is very evident in many places in Kontum.

Mother Marie Reine is the current and eighth Superior of the community. There are currently 87 sisters as well as postulants, novices, and young sisters in this community. Sister Juliana is the administrator of all their five orphanages. The two orphanages in Kontum City have more than 400 children, a number that grows daily - we saw that happening during our visits. Just two of the new arrivals were a boy and a girl of about 8 and 5. They were brought by neighbors, after they were orphaned when both of their parents died in an accident.

The language barrier made it difficult to speak with the Sisters about their history. But the continued use of French names for the sisters and the statues of St. Vincent de Paul in courtyards all testified to their history as concrete expressions of it in terms as well as the pictures on their walls. Consequently the history presented here has been pieced together from clues that I could pick up during the visit.

Assessment
My impressions of the Sisters are based on a couple days experience with Sister Juliana and visits with the staff members in all five orphanages, as well as contact with the children in the various orphanages.

Vinh Son I and II
Vinh Son I and Vinh Son II are quite similar in structure and environment, and fairly close together in Kontum City. They are both large cement installations with several buildings, a fair-sized staff and many young children, 200 and 220 respectively - although the numbers grow daily. Vinh Son I has three Sisters and an additional staff of 14. Vinh Son II also had three Sisters and a staff of 15.

Both institutions are in basically good maintenance, and there is every indication that they are well run. There are, of course, the inevitable list of repairs that are needed and general institutional needs to be met. But both institutions left a good impression as being clean, well run, and with staff who are attentive to the needs of the children.

The Sisters are an economic 'good investment', so to speak. Quality is sometimes difficult to measure, but quantity is a little easier. In Vietnam the government orphanages are supported by government funds for about $0.70 per child per day. Because the five institutions run by the Sisters are private, they get no government funding. The Sisters raise funds to provide a better level of care than is typically found in a state-run orphanage for about $0.25 per child per day. That is a big difference in funds and a greater difference in quality.

The other three institutions the Sisters have are smaller with fewer children and fewer staff, Vinh Son 3, 4, and 5. What stands out is that they are still neat and clean. But there is a very clear increase in the level of poverty as one goes deeper and deeper into the hills. Each institution we visited was poorer than the previous one as we went deeper into the mountains.

Another thing that stands out is that the Sisters share the same level of life as the children. There is no distinction between the lives of the staff and the children as there are in government institutions where the staff simply have government jobs. These sisters live with the children and support themselves and their hundreds of children by sheer hard work, just as parents do. We learned that all of the institutions have land planted with rice and other crops. All of the sisters work in the fields every day. As is typical of rural education, the older children of this rural farming community go to school half day and work in the fields half day. There is a clear sense that the Sisters and the children have a close relationship that is familial and functional, not merely structural and economic. That makes a huge difference in the quality of life for children in these institutions. There has to be a reason why very poor parents bring their children to the Sisters, and we think it is the quality of care the Sisters provide.

As a result of their involvement with the children's lives, we learned that they Sisters see that all of their children either go to school or to vocational school, as their ability allows. The Sisters raise the money to pay the school fees and provide supplies. Sister Juliana told us, with a certain sense of pride, about one of their older young women who is in her third last year in medical school. The sisters clearly take a personal interest in the future of their children. They want them to take their place in Vietnamese society and to make a contribution to its progress.

We had the distinct impression that many of the children of very poor families are sent to the Sisters precisely because their parents know that their child will be better cared for than they can do at home and will be sent to school or sent for training as their child merits.

Everywhere in the world the Sisters have a reputation for good management. As far as we can tell, these particular sisters deserve credit for the high quality of their management. We were able to look at some of their financial reports and discovered a very well presented picture of their situation. My personal interpretation, based on a number of clues in what I saw of sister Juliana and her interaction with other staff members is that this is a woman of uncommon managerial skill and a woman with whom TDH can work in confidence.

To donate to the Kontum typhoon relief effort, please make cheques payable to TDH Canada (indicate Kontum orphanage fund on the cheque) and send to TDH Ontario, 116 Main Street East, P.O Box 963, Vankleek Hill, Ontario K0B 1R0.

May 2009: The List, by Sharon Kashino (reprinted from the April 2009 TDH Ontario newsletter)

One of our most consistent questions and concerns as potential adoptive parents is our position on the ‘waitlist’. Having been through the adoption process once with TDH, and being back in the queue myself now, plus having had the opportunity to communicate with Dorinda on several occasions over the last few years about the list and also with other families, I will attempt here to convey my understanding of the operation of this list, and answer the common questions I have encountered. When a family first calls the agency, they are invited to fill out a preliminary application form, which places them on the preliminary waitlist. This list is kept to about 40. One family moves off this list and onto the waitlist for each family that receives a child referral, leaving an available space on the waitlist (which is kept at about 140).

The wait list contains families requesting girls, boys, either gender, older kids, twins, siblings or specials needs. How many are referred of each, and where families with those preferences are on the list - especially the ‘eithers’ - make it hard to calculate an accurate rank and time estimate. In the past there has been a long list of ‘girl only’ and not many girls. Now more families are specifying ‘either’ making the exercise of identifying wait time for a family who does specify ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ that much harder. Rest assured, the new policy is to give you your rank in overall numbers, and as you get closer to the top, more information will be available (such as ‘you are second for a boy and fourth for a girl’ or ‘there are 4 ‘eithers’, and 2 ‘girl only’ in front of you’).

When you are so deeply and personally invested in the list, it can be hard to understand, that it is in fact at times fluid. That is to say, just because you were sixth yesterday and a referral was announced today, doesn’t necessarily mean you are now number five. Due to extenuating and special circumstances, sometimes on the part of the receiving family, and sometimes on the part of the child being referred, there are exceptions to the numerical proceeding of the list.

Let me give a few examples: Sometimes it is because the child is older, maybe even by just a few months. The recommended age on your homestudy must be respected or an application to change the homestudy must be made through the Ministry. Perhaps there is a sibling group or twins who can only be proposed to someone approved for this, or a special needs adoption. Circumstances surrounding the receiving family may cause them to request to be put on hold, and then rejoin the list, or a family may withdraw for one reason or another, either of these situations causing an anomaly in the list. Sometimes (rarely, fortunately) a child dies or the adoption doesn't work for some other reason, and that family needs to be given the next child that becomes available. And while the list generally operates with your document to Vietnam date as your entry point onto the list, there can even be exceptions to this in some cases, be it due to an administrative hold-up or other extenuating circumstances. Dorinda has an open ear and heart and should a family have a legitimate issue that is impacted by their position on the wait list and that could cause their family significant hardship, their concern will be taken into consideration. There is some margin for "discretionary" decisions in this, occurring rarely but always justifiable; but generally involving private or confidential details.

So how often should you enquire about your position on the list, and will you ever receive an unsolicited update? If you are just starting out checking in once every 3 months will give you a good idea of where you stand. You can look forward to the quarterly updates in our new newsletter too! Once you are in the top 20, you are justified in checking in as frequently as once a month. The TDH staff certainly appreciates the requirement we all have to plan our lives, so yes, when you reach the point where your referral looks like it may come in the next few months, you will get a call from them if they haven’t already heard from you!

Sharon Kashino

June 17, 2008
An Important Update on the Process of Child Proposals from Vietnam, by Dorinda Cavanaugh

We have noticed a certain slowness in the frequency of child proposals in the last 2 months. This may have to do with the US situation, and perhaps a final push to allow them to receive as many proposals as possible before the deadline of September 1.

In any case, TDH will be going to Vietnam during the summer (July) - we are hoping to do several things:

1) to establish new relationships with orphanages in Ho Chi Minh City and another province

2) To try to encourage the acceptance of a private Catholic orphanage by the provincial People's Committee as a place from which adoptions can be carried out

3) To visit each of the orphanages we are working with, and to advocate for more child proposals

This being said, I have had a commentary that I feel we must act on, and which will affect future child proposals. That commentary is that in comparison with other countries (Italy, Sweden, France, Denmark, Spain, even the US), Canada is very particular about the children we will consider, requiring not only one medical, but sometimes even repeat medical examinations. The orphanages feel they have to "pre-test" children for Canada before they are even sent for the medicals at the clinic we use (to prevent useless trips to Saigon) and give us only the healthiest children. They feel this is not fair.

I cannot help but agree. After all, the first goal in adoption is to find homes for children in need. But always at the same time, we are fulfilling the desire of adoptive families to parent a child.

When we started doing adoptions almost 40 years ago, the attitude was very much that of opening hearts and homes to children who had been abandoned, war-injured, orphaned, or were ill. Gradually, however, things changed and unfortunately evolved to the point where there was more and more demand for "healthy" children, and few parents ready to accept children with problems of any sort. The increasing financial
demands for completing an adoption doubtless also played a role in this change of attitude - people felt that if they were "paying more" for an adoption, they had the right to be more demanding regarding the child.

After much thought, we have decided to proceed as follows: We will continue to ask for medical assessments to be done at the international clinic, with an eye towards providing as accurate a portrait of the child as possible. We will do all the tests - Hepatitis B and C, HIV, syphilis, thyroid function tests, and CBC - that we have always done. We will NOT, however, do continued follow-up to determine health status. We will, when it is judged necessary for the health of the child, bring the child back for further consultation if sufficient medical expertise is not available in the child's province. But we will try to find families for EVERY child who is presented to us, as quickly as possible.

This change will certainly privilege those parents who are more open to accepting children with some health problems or with uncertainties regarding health. You can still ask for a child in excellent health, and you will also be able to refuse a child whose health you regard as not sufficiently good, as always. What you will not be able to do is to ask for further testing, because the orphanages are unwilling to do this. If you do refuse a child (presuming you are first on the list), you will be offered the next child proposed. Thus it is possible that we receive a child proposal for a child with a very high white blood count. The child could be offered to several families in the order they are on the waiting list, but may be refused by families #1 through #4 and only be accepted by family #5. The next child similarly could have some other issue - strabismus, for example - and this time be refused by families #1-4 again, and then refused by families #5-10, and only accepted by
family #11.

I think that our perception of adoptable children in the whole of international adoption has changed over the last several years. Some time ago, it was only healthy white infants that were considered, in part because there were so many children of this type available, and not so many adopting parents. Later, infants who were non-white but also non-black came to be considered. More recently, Africa is a very viable option for adoptive parents, as are older children. I think this is part of this natural evolution, which interestingly is bringing us full circle to the way things were many years ago.

I would like to suggest that you carefully consider this in preparation for a possible referral. The child that you may be offered may come with certain issues, often issues that are acute and will resolve with time (e.g. pneumonia, high wbc or asthma), or that can easily be treated in Canada (e.g. strabismus or harelip), or that resolve very slowly but may involve long-term treatment and possibly some risk factors (e.g. hypotonia). I encourage you to line up an international adoption medical specialist to review the child's dossier to help you respond as objectively as possible. And importantly, to know in yourself what you can and cannot accept.

I hope also that you will see this as a positive step in trying to make things move more quickly. If the orphanages perceive us as ready to place all kinds of kids, then it is likely that we will receive more children. To take no action will certainly result, in my opinion, in fewer referrals.

I welcome your comments on these issues.
Dorinda Cavanaugh

Terre des hommes (TDH) founder, Edmund Kaiser, by Brendan Cavanaugh

Edmund Kaiser was born in Paris January 2, 1914 and died in Coimbatore, India at 86 on March 4, 2000. Individualistic in the extreme, opinionated and stubborn, indifferent to the social rules; either one accepted his eccentric social sensitivity or one walked away from his in-your-face approach to social awareness. Kaiser was not one to inspire personal devotion but he did command respect for his personal dedication and his achievement. Edmund Kaiser was a social force to be reckoned with, a man aggressively dedicated to the defense of the most vulnerable members of the human race – its children.

Kaiser personally first founded Terre des hommes (TDH) in Geneva, Switzerland and then inspired the founding of national versions of Terre des hommes in many other countries. The cluster of national versions founded the worldwide International Federation of Terre des hommes (IFTDH). Today IFTDH is a widely spread organization that works on behalf of children in over 80 countries and is yearly responsible for some 800 child-oriented projects.

Read more about Edmund Kaiser and TDH worldwide:

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I welcome your comments on this article.
Brendan Cavanaugh