My Lai After 40 Years:  A Putney Community Service Opportunity in Vietnam for Adults, March 7 -19, 2008

March 16, 2008, is a tragic date – the 40^th anniversary of the massacre of over 350 Vietnamese villagers in the tiny hamlet of My Lai by American troops during the Vietnam War.  The Vietnamese government and local people will hold a ceremony that day at the memorial site near Quang Ngai on the central coast of Vietnam.

For the last two summers, Putney student groups have helped build houses for poor families in villages adjacent to My Lai.  It has been an extraordinary experience as students have lived with and gotten to know the local people who are friendly and welcoming to Americans and who greatly appreciate the work done.  The tangible outcome of these programs has been very positive – 10 houses built to date – but the personal connections and understanding between Americans and Vietnamese have been the most important products of the students’ efforts

This March Putney is offering an opportunity for a group of fifteen adults to visit Vietnam for two weeks.  They will assist in the construction of three homes for local families, and will attend the commemoration ceremonies at My Lai.  In so doing they will have an opportunity to help bring understanding, friendship, caring, constructive effort, and cooperation to a place once marked by violence.  Note that no special expertise with construction techniques is required.  The group will assist trained local workers

In addition to the program’s central focus, participants will enjoy Vietnam’s spectacular scenery and rich culture.  While they work in My Lai, the group will stay nearby for eight nights in a small, comfortable hotel directly on a beautiful beach on the South China Sea.   Before returning to Hanoi, the group will visit Hoi An, a small, historic coastal city that has become an international destination.  At the end of the program, participants can choose to extend their stay with a 3-day excursion cruising among the extraordinary cliffs and caves of Halong Bay, or traveling to Sa Pa in the Northern Highlands to explore the mountain scenery and trek to remote villages where ethnic minority tribes live as they have for centuries.

The program will begin and end in Hanoi, with time there set aside to explore its narrow streets and alleys, tiny shops, outstanding restaurants, fascinating religious shrines and museums, and contemporary galleries.  Accommodations there will be in a small, comfortable hotel in the Old Quarter.

The group will be accompanied by two Putney staffers: our long-time Vietnam contact Phan Van Do, and Putney director Jim Olivier.  Do, who presently teaches English at a Hanoi University, was a university student in Saigon as the war ended.  Originally from the My Lai region, he lost several family members during the course of the war.  Do is a remarkable resource on all matters Vietnamese, and speaks excellent English.  Jim is a Putney Student Travel director who manages our Vietnam programs.

With the time short before this program begins, and with the size of the group so limited, we are providing this information only to a select group – Putney Student Travel families and friends.  While others will be welcome, we feel that those who know Putney can best understand what an opportunity like this offers.

The program begins in Hanoi on Saturday, March 8, and concludes there on Wednesday, March 19.  The all-inclusive cost of the program is $3295 including all accommodations, most meals, guide services, all internal land/air transportation, and a contribution to the cost of construction materials, but not including return trip travel to Hanoi, or the cost of travel extensions after March 19.

For a detailed itinerary and some pictures please click here Putney Adult Vietnam Program, or you may contact Jim Olivier at either 802-387-5000 or jim@goputney.com.