One Body Village - Một Thân Hình

Jan 10 - The girls are amazing. My first impression of them are that they are so well behaved, polite, respectful, cheerful, fun - the way every girl should be. I met M. first, one of the youngest girls at the house at 8 years old. I wouldn't have guessed her older than five. She's small, though she carries the brightest smile. I fell in love with her instantly.

I met the girls throughout the day as they came home from school and work. Each of them greeted us individually. There are 15 girls in the house, with the oldest being H. at 20 years old. They are all so young and beautiful, so innocent, so playful. I often forget why they live in that house. 

What I admire most about the girls are that they take care of each other. They look out for each other. They serve each other food first. They do each other's hair. It's quite a warm feeling when a house of 15 girls can live so peacefully together.

Father Martino calls them his children, while Sister Ngoc is their "Mother". The girls call him and Sister Ngoc "Bo" and "Me" respectively. Father Martino and Sister Ngoc raises the girls as their own. They do not run a shelter. They are raising children. They are a family - a symbol of which the girls have never been introduced to in their lives. The girls have been raped by family, sold by family, or been kidnapped by traffickers. The OBV house offers them love, discipline, respect, dignity, and a HOME. 

I am truly blessed to share a part of this family, and I WILL see my new family every year. 

Unfortunately I can't show you pictures of the girls in order to respect their confidentiality, but I can show you everything else! 

Father Martino giving us a tour of the children's home. There are 3 OBV homes in Vietnam, only one of which we were aloud to visit. High risk girls, including those who were victims of high profile people live in the other houses and must maintain strict confidentiality. 

View from the roof of the back of the house. Each OBV child has a designated washroom, which she is responsible for cleaning. 

Garden at the front of the house. Father Martino does not force catholicism on any of his children. Most want to join mass out of their choice. Father Martino even waits until each child is older to baptize them, just in case of peer pressure. Out of 15 girls in the house, only 1 is catholic. 

Balloon animals were also a big hit with the girls. We played for hours! This is C.L. writing her name on all her balloon animals so that no one would take them. Cute!

Thank God for Youtube videos for on-the-fly balloon animals!

Playing with their new leap pads that I purchased for them. Twas' a big hit! I secretly planted English books to encourage their learning. 

Each OBV child is responsible for a patch in the garden that grows their own special plant. They must learn to treat their plant with love, nurture, and respect, as they do with each other.  

Sister Ngoc, who takes care of the girls, is showing us their daily routine. Each child wakes up at 4 am with designated tasks and chores. Every child has their turn to help with lunch and dinner. Every square across the board represents a fault, with discipline to follow. DUN DUN DUN! The structure and discipline of this house is amazing!

Before we met the girls, we helped rebuild the leaky roof. PS - I'm only pretending to do good work.

Angela

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