To honor her mother's 60th birthday, Anna Jane Phan Thi Dinh (Pha Pha) Hamilton, who was orphaned in Vietnam in 1975 and adopted by a San Francisco family, donated funds to EMW to build a school in Vietnam. In 2006 she returned to her birth country to dedicate the school and meet the children that the project would serve.

 

The article below was originally published in EMW's Reach Vietnam magazine Spring 2006 edition and was written by Pha Pha Hamilton. Below are kids from the Hoa Bac School Pha Pha's donation built.

Born in Danang in 1974, I was one of the many orphans produced by the Vietnam War. When the war ended in 1975, somehow, amidst the chaos and devastation, fate intervened and I was airlifted out of Saigon as part of U.S. Operation Babylift. In 1995, during my junior year of college, I returned to Vietnam for the first time and although I had no memories of the place, I felt a strong connection to the country. It was then that I first read something about the East Meets West Foundation.

Years later, when my mother was about to turn sixty, I decided that I would honor her through a donation. When I was adopted, I was very fortunate and found myself in a loving and caring family in San Francisco. My mother always encouraged my interest in Vietnam and is one of the most important people in my life. Thus it seemed completely natural to honor her on her 60th birthday by supporting other Vietnamese-born children.

It also seemed appropriate that the funds I would donate were connected to my Vietnamese experience. When I was airlifted out of Vietnam in 1975, the plane crashed just outside of Saigon and killed many of the orphans on board. A decade later, as one of the survivors, I was part of a successful class action lawsuit against the aircraft manufacturer. I decided to donate funds from the lawsuit as a way to remember the children who had perished.

After some years, I somehow remembered the East Meets West Foundation. I did some research and was very excited to discover that EMW was thriving with an array of worthwhile programs. Dee Dee Nguyen, the EMW Development Officer, met with me to help tailor how my donation would be spent according to my two specific requests—support education and be based near my hometown of Danang.
EMW has continued to impress me throughout my work with them. Though the organization was also dealing with much larger donations, they made me feel like my contribution and support was valued on a personal level. Moreover, the benefits of my donation were well articulated and measurable. After some deliberation, I decided to help rebuild the Hoa Bac School, a two-room school with a bathroom for children 6-11 years old. My mother and I were delighted when we received renovation updates and reports throughout the construction phase. However, nothing prepared us for the joy of seeing the faces and smiles of the children.

above: Pha Pha and Amanda Hamilton in Vietnam

When my family and I visited this past January, Mark Conroy and Tam Hoang, EMW’s Overseas Director and Vice-Director, shared information about other EMW projects and escorted us to Hoa Bac School. When we arrived, the children greeted us with much affection and fanfare. My mother and I immediately burst into tears while my stepfather was mobbed by children eager to see his digital camera. The Hoa Bac School was a solid, beautiful little building, staffed with admirable teachers, and served about 85 eager and enthusiastic students. Mom and I managed to compose ourselves and help pass out pencils, erasers, notebooks and even sweaters that Tam had helped us buy that morning. It was very rewarding to see how a relatively small amount of money can do so much.

Now that I am back in the U.S. continuing my graduate studies, I often dream of the Hoa Bac School and the students there. I am already thinking about my next collaboration with EMW to honor the homeland and the people to whom I feel such a strong and continuing connection.•

 

For More Info

To get involved with EMW School program, contact the EMW Development Team at info@eastmeetswest.org.