Darwin Hosts Orphanage In Ho Chi Minh
28 October 2009
It's the smile, belonging to every single language in this world that even a child will understand before they mutter their first words, that brings great joy. Even though there are many under privileged children in the world it's often the most simple of things that will make them smile.
To many it may seem unusual that a large Royal Australian Navy warship might take time out of their busy schedule to make a group of kids smile, but it was the ship's company of HMAS Darwin (CMDR Chris Smith) that seized the moment to do just that.
On October 1, 26 excited children from a Vietnamese government-funded Orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City, aged 7 to 14, visited Darwin as part of the ship's good will port visit to Ho Chi Minh City.
The children laughed and cheered as they stepped off the bus and boarded the ship. The visit started with a tour of the ship stopping for a photo of each of the kids sitting in the CO's chair.
Some of the big winners on the tour were the ships 76mm gun, which the children were particularly impressed with, along with the biscuits and cordial in the Junior Sailors café, of which they were not shy to indulge.
Their smiles spanned across their faces from ear to ear, like the kind you might find plastered on Christmas day. These smiles quickly spread to the ships' company who were involved with showing the kids around.
It was sad to learn that each of these children had either lost their mum or dad through some exceptional circumstances or were abandoned by their parents who could not afford to raise them. In some ways these children are lucky to be in the orphanage as the staff were very friendly and loving. It's unlikely that most of us will ever know their kind of pain or suffering.
After morning tea and watching DVDs, it was onto the Flight Deck where the kids took on the ship's company in a 'no-holes-barred' game of tunnel-ball. Surprising or not, it was the kids that showed far more cohesion than the team from Darwin and came away as convincing winners. The kids then poised for a photo with the ship's company, which I am sure will be cherished by the children for a long time to come.
Before leaving, each child was presented with a gift from the Australian Embassy and the Royal Australian Navy, containing books, stickers and colouring in pencils, amongst other goodies. It was great to see the children happy as they arrived, but even better to see them 'over-the-moon' when they departed.
From there the final headcount was conducted and then with a flurry of high fives and waving a plenty they crossed the gangway with a smart salute and they were off.
Most of the ship's company involved said that it had been an motivating experience and that they had got as much out of the visit as the kids. The kids may have departed the ship but their smiles and loving nature will remain onboard Darwin in the hearts and minds of all who met them.
Darwin's visit to Vietnam marks the tenth year since the establishment of Defence Relations in 1999. Fifteen RAN ships have paid goodwill visits to Vietnam and these visits have been one of the highlights in the defence relations between the two countries.
Darwin is currently on a four months South East Asian deployment to six different countries, conducting exercises and community engagement throughout the region.
