Wednesday, May 27

In Vietnam, two disparate orphanages aim to achieve a common goal

The shirtless 17-year-old, engulfed by a mess of bodies and flailing limbs, jabbed his bare foot at a soccer ball pinned between bamboo stalks. Lanh reached down, grabbed the ball with his hands and booted it upfield with a grin. Game on. Read more...

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The SOS Children’s Village in Quang Bình Province is an internationally funded orphanage that is comprised of 12 homes, each with about 10 children and one caretaker. The orphanage grows its own fruits and vegetables and sends the children to a local school, creating opportunities for social mobility.


Clinging to Hope

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam "”mdash; Defeated, the mother stands in the street with her young daughter. "I'd like to go home," the 7-year-old whispers, her tiny arms clinging to a giant stuffed bear. The mother and daughter had traveled 13 hours by bus from central Vietnam to one of the country's leading hospitals, only to be sent away by the doctors. Hien Thu Thi Vo's congenital heart defect would go untreated. Read more...

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Vui Thi Nguyen and her 7-year-old daughter, Hien, prepare to leave Ho Chi Minh City after days of tests and waiting for news of Hien’s heart condition and impending surgery. The pair will travel 13 hours by bus to return to Gia Lai Province after being told the young girl is too weak for surgery.




Helping build a house of love

LONG AN, Vietnam "”mdash; Lost among the fields and rice paddies of Long An stands a one-room brick house with a tiny sign at the top. "A gift from MEMO." Read more...

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Hoa Kim Thi Huynh, left, and her mother Sua Thi Huynh stand at the doorway of their house, which was built with funds from Medical, Educational Missions and Outreach.


Turned Away

HUE, Vietnam "”mdash; He couldn't hold back tears as he stood before the group. One man's whim just put an end to almost a year of hard work and planning and Steven Pham had to deliver the news. The service group's health clinics had been shut down by the local health minister at the last minute. Read more...

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Steven Pham, fourth-year biochemistry student and then-president of the UCLA chapter of Medical, Educational Missions and Outreach, announces that local government officials have shut down the group’s scheduled health clinics outside of Hue, Vietnam.


“˜Occupy’ movement takes International Day of Action

Tents of every color lay scattered across the front lawn of Los Angeles City Hall on Saturday as thousands of people "“ including UCLA students and faculty "“ milled about in the late morning heat, preparing to march through downtown Los Angeles. Read more...

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Protesters inspired by Occupy Wall Street take to the streets of downtown Los Angeles.