In the trust's Cows Projects, it raises money to buy breeding cows to make Vietnamese village people, whose families have been affected by Agent Orange spraying during the war, more self-sufficient.
The project raises enough to pay for cows and animal husbandry training for some of the poorest people in central Vietnam so that they might escape their poverty and be better equipped to take care of and support family members suffering disabilities suspected to have been caused by Agent Orange.
Nguyen Nghi and his new cow
The latest project is to raise money for a herd of cows to be handed over in April 2010. The trust would like to raise $20,000.
In the first cows project (raising enough money for 30 wheelchairs was the trust's first actual project) it raised enough for 65 households in two communes near the Laotian border to breed cows and to give them animal husbandry skills.
The second project bought 25 cows for people in the commune of Phong Xuan, which is in the district of Phong Dien, an hour’s drive north of Hue in central Vietnam. It was an area heavily sprayed by the US during the war and is the subject of international study and assistance.
As usual, the trust's colleagues at the Vietnamese Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Hue had consulted with the local people’s committee and council to identify the families of Agent Orange victims who should each receive a cow.
The cows had been ordered from a Government-run supplier, 550 km to the north and they had begun their journey the previous day, having to stop at the border of each new district to be inspected by veterinarians and given the appropriate sprays. The arrival of the truck sent a buzz through the crowd, already armed with halters and belts to walk their charges home.
Signing the pledge
The recipients first signed agreements in the local commune hall, in which they pledged to look after their cow and give its second calf to another local family affected by Agent Orange, that second family again identified by the local people’s committee and council.
Instant joy
Some of the cows are reluctant
The smiles on these people’s faces can never be erased from one's memory and makes everything the trust does so worthwhile. One of those featured in the photographs is Nguyen Nghi (28), who lives with his mother and brother at Phong Xuan.
