Posted on November 28, 2023 View all News
University of Alaska Southeast delegates pose for a photo with RENEW staff members and two cluster bomb survivors at the Mine Action Visitor Center.
Dong Ha, Quang Tri (28 November 2023) — Faculty members and students from University of Alaska Southeast today started their two-day visit to Quang Tri to learn about the ongoing work to remediate the legacies of the Viet Nam War with a tour at the Mine Action Visitor Center managed by RENEW.
The group is led by Assistant Professor of History Nguyet Nguyen who is also member of the Advisory Council of Friends of Project RENEW, a U.S.-based all-volunteer non-profit organization that works closely with RENEW to advance its mission in Viet Nam.
Having arrived in Viet Nam on 18 November, the group is part of a study program at the University of Alaska Southeast called “Study Away”, an adventure that appeals to students who are willing to embrace the unknown and try new things. Some of the faculty members and students in the group have their husbands and grandfathers serving in Viet Nam during the war.
At the Visitor Center, the group was briefed on the ongoing humanitarian interventions by RENEW and other international mine action organizations to survey and clear unexploded ordnance, to educate kids, farmers, and villagers to be safe from explosive ordnance, and to assist war victims.
The students also had a chance to meet and talk with two cluster bomb survivors Pham Quy Thi and Ho Van Lai representing many of those affected by the war consequences on how they tried to overcome their tragic accidents for social integration with support from RENEW.
The group will visit Truong Son National Cemetery, Khe Sanh combat base, Vinh Moc Tunnels and other historical relics in Quang Tri Province during their two-day visit.
RENEW staff member Nguyen Thanh Phu gives the group a tour at the Mine Action Visitor Center.
Pham Quy Thi and Ho Van Lai, two survivors of cluster munition accidents, talk with the American group about their experience.
RENEW staff member Ngo Xuan Hien presents the mission of Project RENEW to the students and faculty members of University of Alaska Southeast.
A Q&A session between the University of Alaska Southeast students and RENEW staff members.
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