Notes from the Orphanage: "She Still Remembers Her Dad"

Editor's Note: This is a continuing series of vignettes covering a two-month volunteering mission that Renton resident and journalist Ava Van embarked on this past spring in Vietnam. 

The children at the orphanage felt things acutely. Never was it more apparent for volunteer Ava Van than when it was time for her to go at the end of her work day. The volunteers help to supplement the time and attention that orphanage staff can't give because there are so many children to care for. After a day of playing together, hugs and quality time, who wanted to say goodbye to that?

“They would cry so hard because they knew I was leaving,” she said. So she left them with a harmless fib: she's just going to go eat dinner and will be back soon.

That was enough to appease the littler ones, and she'd tell them further she needed to go change her diaper too, and do they want to change her diaper for her. No, they would giggle.

But the older children felt things beyond the immediate. Some remember their past, and their new reality in the orphanage simply didn't compare.

Thao is one such child. Actually, she's no longer a child – she's 15 and has Down syndrome.

Van recalls coming across Thao one day in the laundry room. She was crying deeply because she missed her father. The foster moms at the orphanage told Van that Thao was raised by her father alone. He worked hard and that meant he couldn't be with Thao as often as he would have liked. Those who would watch Thao would physically abuse her or neglect her. “He was so sad and so he brought her to the temple and asked the monks to take care of her,” Van said. “In exchange, he'd return to give them money.”

For whatever his reasons, he hasn't been back since to see Thao though he has made good on his promise to support the temple financially. “It breaks my heart,” Van said. “She still remembers her dad.”

Read previous stories:

• Renton Resident Crowdsources Humanitarian Trip to Document Vietnamese Orphanage
• Renton Resident Shares Love, Heartache for Children at Vietnamese Orphanage
• Notes from the Orphanage: Enhancing Relationships with Gifts
• Notes from the Orphanage: No Options for Adoption
• Notes from the Orphanage: 'Six Babies Called Me Mom'

Coming Monday: Money Talks

Read More: Ava Van: 57 Days in Ho Chi Minh