une petite rando de 1700 km … the Orange Walk

[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif][résumé] Des personnes vont parcourir à pied le vietnam sur 1700 km pour récolter de l’argent pour venir en aide aux victimes de l’Agent Orange . [/FONT]

[IMG]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2293/2243890517_0c752bd118.jpg?v=0[/IMG]

[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]“Doc” Bernie Duff is also a victim of Agent Orange victim, a herbicide widely used by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]After the war, Duff always wanted to come back to Vietnam and try to make up for some of the atrocities he witnessed, he said. One of the first steps in his journey of atonement was to launch the “Orange Walk” to help ease the pain of the Agent Orange victims in Vietnam. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]On his 17th birthday 39 years ago, Duff was sent to Vietnam after taking a short training course in the U.S. Army. When he returned to America, he was haunted by scenes of the war. Duff was treated for post-traumatic stress disorder but it never stopped the images of death and loss from replaying in his dreams. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]As a result of his exposure to Agent Orange, Duff developed skin cancer and his skin started to peel off and bleed. Duff even felt more pain every time he thought about the debt he felt he owed to Vietnam. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Coming back to Vietnam in 2005, Duff was welcomed by all the Vietnamese citizens he met as he traveled from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. During the trip, Duff said, he felt a revival of spirit, more helpful than the tranquilizers he was taking every day. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]A year later, Duff decided to live and work as an unpaid volunteer in HCMC. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]During his first visit to the “Hoa Binh Village” at Tu Du Maternity Hospital in 2006, Duff was moved to tears. Though a victim of Agent Orange himself, he could not believe in his eyes when he saw innocent children with severe birth defects. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]After more than two years living in HCMC and helping a lot of poor and handicapped kids, Duff came up with the idea of doing a charity walk to raise funds for Vietnamese Agent Orange victims. He shared his idea with his friend Bui Thi Bao Anh and together they launched the “Orange Walk.” [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]The Orange Walk will depart at 7 a.m. on April 5 from the “Hoa Binh Village”. All money raised during the two-month walk will be donated to unlucky people, Bao Anh said. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Bao Anh said a great team of volunteers, who learnt about the “Orange Walk” from her blog on the Internet, were joining the work. Among them are Bob Schuessler, Michael Eddie Quick and Karla Foss-Riley from the U.S. Despite her own disabilities, Joanne Margaret Simpson from Australia is also determined to join the trans-Vietnam journey with her two children, Daniel and Jess. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Duff, Bao Anh and the volunteers have been training for more than a month for their upcoming journey. The walk is a daunting challenge, covering some 1,700 kilometers. [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]“It is a long walk,” Bao Anh said. “But we will be very happy to see and talk to the Agent Orange victims at each rest point so we can share their pain.” [/FONT]

depart le 5 avril

et c’est pour une bonne cause

vous pouvez vous joindre à eux pour qqs kms

Vietnam latest news – Thanh Nien Daily

Orange Carers – THE WALK