The Happiest Place on Earth

This morning we visited an incredibly happy PeaceTrees Friendship Village Kindergarten, located on the former U.S. Marine Corps base in Dong Ha. Cleared of ordnance, the old base is now a community of 100 homes, a small meeting hall, and a three-room kindergarten where we received a very enthusiastic welcome. The kids had worked up a few musical numbers -- here's a sampling:

The kids in this classroom were between two and four years old. The neighboring classroom had the older kids, who received us with equal enthusiasm and even higher decibels. They were also both awestruck and delighted by my friend Jim, and took to him right away:

Jim's the one with the green hat.

After lots of singing and present-giving and waving and "bye-byeing" we took a walk through the village. The houses are cement construction, three rooms each, with electricity and plumbing - a significant step up from the lean-tos and one-room buildings where the families had previously lived. Residents are given use of the homes by PeaceTrees; if they stay for ten years, they are then given ownership. Access to good housing and schools has created economic opportunities; we visited one man who built an addition on his house to accommodate a commercial rice-grinder and a pig sty. He is selling rice flour throughout the province, his children are doing well in school and the future looks promising. Living in Friendship Village was the jumpstart he needed for his family to prosper. Even the pigs looked happy!

Fast-forward to after lunch and the Danaan Perry Landmines Education Center. Children come here from all over the province to learn about the risks of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and how to avoid injury. We were privileged to meet with three land-mine victims; each has received assistance from PeaceTrees. One is a 45-year-old mother who lost both legs when a piece of ordnance exploded as she was digging in her garden. The other two are 18-year-old boys. All three are active in educating children about UXO.


The bomb that injured Nguyen Duc Hoa was being salvaged by a scrap metal dealer. Nguyen was five years old at the time. Now he is taking university entrance exams and hoping to major in economics; he also practices English at every opportunity.

Talking with the landmine victims was quite a contrast with this morning's smiling Kindergarteners, and a reminder of why we're here. Maybe someday the land in Quang Tri will be completely cleared of unexploded ordnance, and mothers and fathers and children will be able to garden, farm and play freely. Relatively speaking, that just might be the happiest place on earth.