Peace Trees Vietnam marks mine clearing milestone

Peace Trees Vietnam, the first US non-governmental organization licensed for operation in the then war-stricken country, marked its 15th year of clearing land mines in Quang Tri province on Thursday and Friday.

The Permanent Deputy Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Nguyen Duc Chinh, said at the celebration that Peace Trees Vietnam, with funding of around US$2 million, had contributed to socio-economic recovery and development in several residential quarters suffering huge war damages and struggling against the aftermath of landmines.

He added that the US NGO had also contributed to promoting friendship between Vietnam and the US, whose diplomatic relations were resumed 15 years ago.

In addition to landmine clearance, Peace Trees Vietnam has also funded development projects for the province.

On Friday for example, the US Embassy and Peace Trees Vietnam, in association with the provincial Women’s Union, inaugurated a kindergarten and a library for the Van Kieu ethnic minority group in Khe Da commune, Lao Bao township, on the border with Laos.

The projects, valued at over $38,000 in total, were funded by Peace Trees Vietnam.

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Peace Trees Vietnam marks mine clearing milestone

Peace Trees Vietnam, the first US non-Government organisation licensed for operation in the then war-stricken country, marked its 15th year of clearing land mines in Quang Tri province on Sept. 9 and 10.

The Permanent Deputy Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Nguyen Duc Chinh, said at the celebration that Peace Trees Vietnam, with funding of around 2 million USD, had contributed to socio-economic recovery and development in several residential quarters suffering huge war damages and struggling against the aftermath of landmines.

He added that the US NGO had also contributed to promoting friendship between Vietnam and the US, whose diplomatic relations were resumed 15 years ago.

In addition to landmine clearance, Peace Trees Vietnam has also funded development projects for the province.

On September 10 for example, the US Embassy and Peace Trees Vietnam, in association with the provincial Women’s Union, inaugurated a kindergarten and a library for the Van Kieu ethnic minority group in Khe Da commune, Lao Bao township, on the border with Laos .

The projects, valued at over 38,000 USD in total, were funded by Peace Trees Vietnam./.

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American mother helps to ease pains of war

The 90 year old co-founder of Peace Trees Vietnam, Rae Cheney, could not hold back her tears when she visited the country where her son was killed for the first time.

Talking with the Army’s daily newspaper, the Quan doi Nhan dan, Cheney remembered her difficult times after she was informed of her son’s death in 1969 and her decision to open up her heart and act to ease the pain of war.

With the whole-hearted support of her daughter, she set up the non-governmental organisation named Peace Trees Vietnam (PTVN). The organisation became the first US NGO to receive permission from the Vietnamese Government to help clear unexploded ordnance in the country.

PTVN has been working in Vietnam ’s central province of Quang Tri since 1995. It has also organised visits to Quang Tri for many Americans, including veterans and relatives of soldiers who died during the war, so that they can see with their own eyes how the former battlefield has changed after the war and plant trees to celebrate peace in the country.

To date, more than 70,000 such “peace trees” have been planted in Quang Tri.

Rae Cheney, her daughter Jerilyn Brusseau and PTVN’s Executive Director Le Dinh Quang, have been presented with the “For Peace and Friendship among Nations” insignia by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations. At the awards ceremony in Hanoi , Jerilyn Brusseau, on behalf of her mother, said that the honour will encourage them to keep on their mission of healing and promoting faith and goodwill between both countries.

During her visit to Vietnam , Rae Cheney and her daughter plus members of PTVN and donors will attend ceremonies to inaugurate a kindergarten named after her son, Daniel Cheney, as well as two libraries in Quang Tri. One of the libraries has been named “Mother’s Peace Library.”

Cheney also plans to meet with a Vietnamese mother whose son laid down his life during the war. She said she wants to become a friend of Vietnamese mothers who share the same pain./.

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