This article was in the most recent CECI e-newletter. http://publication.ceci.ca/en/bulletin/omni/archive/2009/06/30/13803.aspx
In the small Southeast Asian country of Vietnam, whose dragon-like shape is said to bring good luck, natural disasters are a part of daily life. Since time immemorial, peasants who fail to make their homes proof against an upcoming monsoon are left to rebuild what the high water destroys. But these days the skies seem to be taking it out on the poorest people on the planet. They are the first wave of climate refugees.
Quang Binh
In October 2007, Typhoon Lekima devastated the central coastal provinces of Vietnam. The residents of Quang Binh province, a 50-km-wide strip of land between Laos and the South China Sea, were particularly hard hit. One year later, hundreds of Vietnamese are still living in temporary shelters and in fear of the next storm.
In cooperation with local Vietnamese governments and several international organizations, CECI took part in a reconstruction project, its first contribution in Quang Binh. In total, some 80 houses are once again or soon to be functional.
Geneviève Gignac visited Quang Trach district in the northern part of the province, where the small commune of Quang Trung is slowly recovering from Lekima.
Listen to the podcast => More...
Nghe An
A little to the north, the mountainous province of Nghe An is also struggling from the aftereffects of the storm. In the Quy Hop ethnic district, CECI helped out with the cleanup.
In addition to rebuilding dikes and ridding the fields of stones and silt, our organization worked on reinforcing a basic irrigation system.
Geneviève Gignac visited the commune of Chau Dinh and its famous water-powered mills, whose simple elegance harks back to another time.
Listen to the podcast => More...
See the pictures (pdf format - 2.74 M) => More...
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Happy Birthday Uncle Ho
This past weekend the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development hosted each of its divisions to compete in a talent show for Ho Chi Minh's birthday celebration. The men at our office sang a song and the ladies did a tradition dance and of course insisted that I take part! We started practicing about 2 weeks ago.
Three days before the show we went to rent our outfits. The minute the rental shop ladies saw me enter the store with my colleagues they automatically said they had nothing to fit a Westerner! Their initial reactions are so funny especially considering I am not THAT much larger than some of the other girls at the office! Anyway they gave me something to try on and.....it fit!!! Well then they wanted me to try everything on:-)
So we played dress up for a while!
On the big day we arrived at 6am at the office to get our make-up done.
There were 27 acts in the show, mostly singing and some dancing. Being the ONLY non-Vietnamese in the show, as soon as I came out on stage the whole crowd started oohhhing, ahhhing, clapping, and laughing! Not sure just how many shades of red I turned!
We didn't win but it was fun dressing up and dancing with my colleagues. Certainly an experience I will never forget:-)
Take a look at the video to see for yourself!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkAT1xAnI2o
Three days before the show we went to rent our outfits. The minute the rental shop ladies saw me enter the store with my colleagues they automatically said they had nothing to fit a Westerner! Their initial reactions are so funny especially considering I am not THAT much larger than some of the other girls at the office! Anyway they gave me something to try on and.....it fit!!! Well then they wanted me to try everything on:-)
So we played dress up for a while!
On the big day we arrived at 6am at the office to get our make-up done.
There were 27 acts in the show, mostly singing and some dancing. Being the ONLY non-Vietnamese in the show, as soon as I came out on stage the whole crowd started oohhhing, ahhhing, clapping, and laughing! Not sure just how many shades of red I turned!
We didn't win but it was fun dressing up and dancing with my colleagues. Certainly an experience I will never forget:-)
Take a look at the video to see for yourself!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkAT1xAnI2o
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