During Christian's recent trip to Danang, the main highlight of his trip easily was his visit to a special needs school for mentally and physically handicapped children run by the Catholic Church. The school cares for children with all types of disabilities, caring for kids with disabilities from cerebral palsy to being hearing impaired. These children are largely at the margins of society and are neglected and ignored. They are prohibited from attending "normal" school.
It was truly touching to see the love that the nuns give to the 150+ children that attend the school. Some of the children live far outside the city and only go home one or two weekends a month. Christian was lucky to meet each of the children individually in their classrooms and to interact with them. Above are pictures of some of the students. On the left are some students practicing writing. Above right, Christian is interacting with some deaf high school students. They were very sharp and loved asking Christian questions about the United States. The school is really lacking in financial support since it is completely self-funded. The Embassy this year gave a small grant to assist the school but it really functions on a shoe string budget.
