This was the request of Mr. Nguyen A, a widowed father of two young disabled girls in Vietnam. A $1.00 plastic stool: how, you may ask, will this help? Simple, as Mr. A explained, he was getting old and squatting on the ground to repair bikes for a living was getting too hard for him. But, if he had a plastic stool to sit on he could continue to work. So with the help of a donor in Minnesota, the plastic stool was purchased along with a new air pump and bike repair materials.

Mr. A now earns enough money to support his three teen-aged daughters and to send his deaf-mute daughter back to school.

Consider donating money or volunteering your services, whether it is to one of the WLP projects to help mitigate the impact of Agent Orange in Vietnam and Laos, to one of the other organizations working in Vietnam, or to one of the programs helping US Veterans and their families.

Early Detection and Early Intervention

Working in cooperation with the Office of Genetic Counseling and Disabled Children at the Hue School of Medicine, WLP supports the screening of children for birth defects and disabilities, and provides the medical, educational or social support services they and their families need. $250 provides a year of early intervention (physical therapy, occupational therapy, specialized education) for a young child under six. $5000 covers the yearly operating cost (salaries, children’s meals, supplies, and utilities) for a classroom for children with developmental and/or physical disabilities who have dropped out of the local school.

Special Surgery Program

There is a long waiting list of children and young adults in need of life saving or life changing surgeries in Vietnam and Laos to repair birth defects such as club foot, cleft palate or congenital heart defects. WLP helps families with the costs of travel, surgery, medicine and follow-up care. Costs of surgery range from under $100 for club foot or cleft palate surgery up to $3000 for heart surgery.