Orphanages of Kon Tum

There are 7 orphanages in and around Kon Tum, 2 of which are recognised by the government. They are all run by the Vietnamese Catholic sisters of the Miraculous Medal.

When visiting Mr An at Eva cafe, he drew us a map showing the orphanages in the area, making mention to the ones that are not listed in guides such as the Lonely Planet.

"These ones that are not in the guide need more help" he said.

We spent the best part of our first day visiting a few of the orphanages. First, we visited Vien Son 1, the main orphanage in town. We played with the kids, gave them some candy and talked to the sisters that looked after the orphanage. Alongside the orphanage is a dormitory for young adults, who live to far to study in town but also can't afford to live with their family. I met two amazing 23 year old girls, who lived in the dormitory, and studied tourism in town. Their English was good and they grew up in the same orphanage that joined their dormitory. These very intelligent girls grew up in a very small block of land, calling this humble place home for the best part of their lives. They were so friendly and felt blessed they had a small chance to speak English with a foreigner. They showed us around the orphanage, answering all our questions. After playing with the kids, mainly toddlers in this orphanage, we gave the Sisters in charge a bit of money, and said our goodbyes.
Photo: It's hot in Kontum. Babies at nap time look like they're passed out from heat!


Our next stop was to an orphanage that Mr An said needed help, and was on the outside of town. The orphanage, known as Orphanage number 5 (They can't get a proper name until recognised by the state), was a few kms out of town, over a suspension bridge. We arrived over a bumpy, steep, dirt road that passed houses very much in need of repair. We were passing houses of the Bahnar people, who make up a decent proportion of the areas population.

The kids in that orphanage were older, mainly from 5-12 years old, and seemed very happy. They looked healthy and were playing happily outside, the older ones taking care of the younger ones. That's where we met Theresa.

This is a picture of Theresa, a woman who has 4 children under 6 years old, including a 3 month old baby, and still goes and works in the Orphanage 7 hours a day, as a teacher. This is volunteer work of course. Theresa grew up in the main orphanage in town and is now dedicating the best part of her life to 68 kids (and growing), who have next to nothing, and are not getting any help from the state.

Last month, Theresa found this baby in an ethnic village far off the city. The baby had been left to die, as his mother had died post labour and the father had no means to feed the baby. This used to be current practise for surrounding ethnic villages: without a mum, the baby was left to starve for a few days and then buried with the mother (or even buried alive with the mother). From what we were told it doesn't happen much anymore as the villagers know about the orphanages and bring the newborns there. But this particular village was very far and the villagers didn't know any other way.

Fortunately, Theresa was visiting a friend in the village and she saw the baby lying there, abandoned. She took him back with her and told everyone in the village to call her if another baby was left motherless. We were completely shocked when we heard this story; speechless, listening to this terrible and surreal account. Celine and I glanced at each other in disbelief as we learnt what nearly happened to this one little baby, and what has happened to many others. It was terribly sad and very personal to us because we had spent time, earlier that day, with the little one Theresa saved; rocking the cot and feeding milk through a bottle.

We are determined to help out in some way and have been brainstorming ideas ever since. Please see my latest post