17th Apr

I’m leaving Vietnam today. To be honest, I don’t want to leave this country. I promised Vietnamese friends to come back.

The air is so dirty… I got ripped off so many times.. but I still love Vietnam so much!

Everybody is living in close relation to each other unlike my country and I feel a sweet sense of peace for their lifestyle. I don’t want them to change despite the development of the country.

Some points I felt through Placement are as follows:

Although Vienam nation published the official document which reports 100% enrollment ratio of primary school, the children with visual impairment are excluded from this data. Some of the interviewee didn’t receive the primary education.

Vietnam is one of the countries which have received foreign Aid for a long period. Through the interviews, I felt the social structure which tends to rely on the help of others. I think the schools really don’t have enough funds to buy materials or employ trained teachers. But I’m conscious of the word ‘We are waiting for the financial help’. In the interviews, I heard this word so many times and something about this bothers me each time I heard it. I thought they can do something while they are waiting, for example, collecting the mistake of the braille textbook.

From this year, Vietnam changed regulations of people with disabilities. Under the new regulation, people with disabilities in Vietnam do not need to take an entrance exam to university. One of the interviewee said that many of the people with disability in Vietnam must be happy about this new regulation. There is no doubt that this new regulation will expand access to higher education for people with disability. But I can’t support this because everyone has the ability to pass the entrance exam regardless of the disability. I think they should not get the special treatment this way and the nation should hold the entrance exam in braille.

The lifestyle of the blind people in rural areas looks quite hard and poor. But it does not always mean unhappy. Compared to the blind people in Hanoi, people in rural areas can walk around the village alone because there’s no traffic jam. Also, people in rural areas are more likely to have a job because generally people in rural areas are engaged in family operated business. They can help it in their house.

The traffic problem definitely hinders the possibility of blind people to be independent in the social life. In order for the blind people to get a job and receive an education, the safe transportation should be needed. Or, the special traffic signs for blind people should be provided. In many of the developed countries, guide dogs are raised to help blind people. But in this country, I think dogs cannot guide them under this traffic condition.

Those children studying at Nguyen Dinh Chieu School are just lucky. They have braille textbooks and the trained teachers. (→but this also has problems. The braille textbooks have many mistakes, some teachers had received the training for the special education only one week..etc.)About 100 blind children are studying at this school. But if the children cannot enter this school, their way to schooling is closed. Other regular schools in Hanoi and nearby provinces are hesitant to receive special children.

Mrs. Nimura’s secretary helped me to carry my luggage. The possibility of motor bike is pretty much unlimited.

16th Apr

Today’s Plan.. Visit Nguyen Van To high school

This morning I visited Nguyen Van To high school. Before I came to Vietnam, I didn’t know this school. But many of the interviewees graduated from this high school so I’ve wanted to see it. I didn’t know any staff here so I visited there without informing. Despite my unexpected visit, one teacher dealt with me and gave me some information about the school. In secondary level, only this school is positively receiving the blind children in Hanoi.

                  The school gate of Nguyen Van To high school

The teacher told me about one students who is disabled by Agent Orange. Although more than 30 years have passed since Vietnam War, even now quite a lot babies are born with disabilities caused by Agent Orange. He mentioned about atomic bombs which were dropped in Japan, and he said we shouldn’t forget about it although a long time has passed since then.

In the afternoon, I went to ‘Japan GENKI Festival’’. This is an annual cultural event which is held by Japanese language centers and associations. I’ve been there four years ago. Unlike in previous years, this year’s festival is the funds raising event for the quake. Many Vietnamese students were dancing Japanese traditional dance. I felt relaxed in a Japanese atmosphere.

14th Apr

14:00@ Mrs. Nimura’s House

In the afternoon I went to Mrs. Nimura’s house. It may be the last time to visit her house. During the Placement, she helped me a great deal. Today I went there to help her new project. She wants to generate an employment among blind women by making mats or something scrappy products. There were so many trial models in her room.

Last month, I proposed that they may be able to make a sandal. Today I tried to make the first sample. This is my work.

It was difficult than I expected and I found that it’s too hard for blind people to make it. In order to sell it, the certain level of quality is required, but if they cannot see it, the point of attaching sandal thong and producing symmetric appearance is hard to identify. But I think it’s very cute and the foreign customers may buy these products at a high price. I think it’s much better than making blooms in a dusty place although it’s a little difficult.

13th Apr

Today’s Plan … Visit to VBA Bac Ninh province

8:00@ Bus terminal

Today I visited to VBA in Bac Ninh province. Bac Ninh province is located next to Hanoi and it takes one hour from Hanoi. I have had a stomach ache from last night, so I was worried that I may feel sick in the express bus. But fortunately nothing happened.  

10:00@ VBA Bac Ninh province

I found the address I was told. But it was not VBA, but the city hall. I called the headmaster and he came to pick me up at the gate. Actually, VBA is in a room of the city hall. Compared to the other VBA provincial offices that I visited so far, VBA Bac Ninh was small and it doesn’t provide any vocational trainings. The principal is quite young, only 31 years-old and vice principal is my age. I was little nerves when I interview the principal because all staff were sitting around me and listening to our conversation.

I thought the situation of the children with visual impairment in Bac Ninh is quite tough. The principal said there’s no school receiving blind children in this province in all levels of education from primary to tertiary. He also said the children can go to Nguyen Dinh Chieu School in Hanoi if they want to study. But I know so many children apply for that school but the school cannot receive all of them. Moreover, the dorm fee is far from cheap especially for the family from rural provinces. Although the primary and secondary education is compulsory, children with visual impairment are excluded from it.

12:00@ lunch with staff

After the interview, the staff offered me to have lunch with them. We headed the local restaurant by motor bike. I still had a stomach ache but tried to eat a lot. Everybody except me was drinking beer despite the lunch time. Personally speaking, I really like this lifestyle.

13:00@ the office

We came back to the office and took a rest for a while. The vise principal presented me the traditional song of Bac Ninh province called ‘Quang Ho’. It was really nice.  

12th Apr

P.M.…Introduce Mrs. Nimura to the interviewee

14:30@ the house of the interviewee

In the afternoon, I went to the house of a blind girl I interviewed last month. Today I went to her house to introduce Mrs. Nimura to her. I and Mrs. Nimura introduced her activities helping blind people in Vietnam. The girl seems to have an interest in that project Mrs. Nimura is working on.

She just passed the program supported by Japanese organization and going to Japan this summer. But her mother was really worried about the aftershocks and radioactivity. So I tried to calm down her worries. I hope everything goes well.

6th - 11th Apr

6^th ---11^th was my holiday. My friend came from Japan and we really enjoyed sightseeing!

5th Apr

Today’s Plan… Visit to my friend house in Hai Duong province

7:00@ Bus terminal

Today I went to my friend house in Hai Duong province. In the morning, I met my friend at the bus terminal and headed her house.

9:30@ the friend house

I’ve heard that her house is under reconstruction at the moment. But I didn’t expect that her family still live inside the destructed house. There are only a bed and a TV, the curtain was attached instead of the wall. Her family was building their new house by themselves. In Japan, no one knows how to build a house except the people in the construction industry. But here, they all know about it. Now, her house has no infrastructure such as gas, water and toilet. But they are equal to the occasion in the unusual situation. How indomitable they are!

I helped to carry bricks only for 20 minute. It was really hard work, but a lot of fun!

After lunch, we visited to the grave of their ancestor. She explained that today is the Buddhist special day which welcomes back the spirits of the dead. The style of the grave is almost same as Japanese style. Decorating the chrysanthemum on a grave is also same. After placed a flower on her ancestor’s graves, we went back to home.

In the afternoon, we enjoyed fishing with at the pond of her grandparent’s house. It was time to relax. Her grandmother said to me that she wants me to take a photo of her. When I aim my camera at her, she strikes a pose. Cute!

These are going to be today’s dinner.