Ono Hiromi

Crossing the big Mekong River by ferry you think that you are on the sea, your heart also calms down. There was no bridge in the Vietnam side on the Mekong River for years, but lately Australia's ODA has helped to build one bridge in the South near the big delta.

For the last few years, heavy rain and strong typhoons have produced fearful floods with lots of damage to human lives and property. Natural calamity occasions sad results but when people are able to help, the damage can somehow be solved. We humans can be healed The accepting suffering in our coexistence with nature often heals our human hearts. Recently, natural floods are the result of abnormal weather that in most cases is due to human-made calamities like, for instance, deforestation. I dream about going back to a life style where we could reverse our present situation and return to coexist with Nature.

Japa Vietnam's programs in the rural areas concentrate on vital roads and bridges, water wells that people need in life. Other projects, like cow and pig banks, are village based and help villagers to produce income to become self sufficient. Since such projects started just a few years ago, it is still uncertain how will they develop, but they provide some hope for the future. I pray that the children could have a good educational environment at the village level, so that when the time comes they could proceed to higher studies in the cities.

While in Ho Chi Minh City we met a dedicated volunteer working with street children. He told us: "The assistance Japa Vietnam provides in rural areas to promote self sufficient programs is very important to solve urban problems." To him the origin of the issue of street children starts from the education received at home. The market economy has disrupted family links. Parents without basic education are only looking for material profit. Unemployment destroys the families and the desire for money attracts the people to the cities, leaving behind their villages. All this influences the children that live on the streets, without any family affection and warm protection, uprooted from their natural local environment.