Saturday, June 26 proved very interesting with a discussion from Chuck Searcy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Chuck was in Military Intelligence during the Vietnam War as an enlistee. He served his time and returned to the States as an anti-war activist. In 1992, he and a friend returned to Vietnam and he has been there ever since working on a variety of projects that service children affected by Agent Orange, and assisting in ordinance disposal of land mines, bombs and other materials. Over 200 areas have been cleared already and other areas are still being identified. He has worked with villages assisting those maimed by active mines and helping to identify others.

A visit to the Children's Peace Village made us quite aware of third generation of the effects of Agent Orange. The Village is funded by Germany and serves four functions: rehabilitation, education, vocational training, and nutrition and care. Please remember the logo of the school: gaps in the blue logo spaces represent the integration into society and the four blue areas represent the four functions of the village. Banners from US Vets show a defoliated tree, stating: Agent Orange/Dioxin Kills.

In the evening, we had a lighter activity when we saw the Vietnam Water Puppet Show. This show was created in the 1100's from a farmer wishing to entertain the children during the floods. The stories are tales of Vietnam history including Chinese and French occupation and control. The puppets were wooden and quite large, moved by long poles. Typical Vietnam songs and music were included.