Japanese bridge of Hoi An - Watercolor by Jean-Claude V
Following a stay in Nepal in 1999, struck by the poverty in Kathmandu and touched by the destitute children, Jean-Claude V. and his wife decided to support our association. A long-time donor, Jean-Claude was seduced last fall by a trip to Vietnam in a small group, during which he met our teams. He tells us about his experience.
You participated in a trip to Vietnam in 2018 with Voyager Autrement and Planète Enfants & Développement. What made you decide to take this trip?
I wanted to discover Vietnam and in 30 years of supporting the association, I had not yet met its members. So this was the opportunity. While my wife and I used to organize our trips by ourselves, this time I went "with my hands in my pockets"!
Did you like the format of the stay? Did you rediscover the association's projects?
When I travel, I take the time to discover the country in depth. Here, we visited the "touristy essentials" of Vietnam, but at the same time we went to meet the inhabitants of the villages. It was in line with the program and what I expected.
We spoke with the Planète Enfants & Développement team in Ho Chi Minh. They explained to us their projects in precarious neighborhoods where social workers follow vulnerable families. We were able to visit a center where young people are trained for professional integration and the nail salon opened by the association in 2018 to put into practice the training received and finance it.
Would you advise other donors to take a similar trip?
Yes, because it was interesting to see on the spot the actions carried out by the association. I noticed that they are very targeted and concrete. Planète Enfants & Développement does not spread itself too thin. We were 19 in the group, it is the good size. There was a good atmosphere. I met a couple of donors who like me are passionate about drawing. I started to draw with them, we made a nice souvenir album.
