solarserve@yahoo.com
Dear friends,
We would like to thank you again for remembering us. It meant so much. We need to stay with both feet on the ground. Sometimes difficult because the media covering is a little bit overwhelming. We have not asked for it but newspapers are interested in what we are doing. In one week we were in four major news-papers, with pictures and stories of our work. Vietnam TV made another documentary and someone told us that we were on the radio too. What is next?. We do not boast in it. We try to keep a low profile. If you climb high, you will hurt yourself badly if you fall (Vietnamese proverb). And to keep us humble...we are in the rainy season. No solar cooking!
Documentary and testing
A TV crew from Hanoi came for three
days to Danang. They were able to make good shots in hot weather conditions. We
are very thankful for their time and effort. Mister Bich was responsible for
the program. A few days before the film-ing he caught dengue fever, but for
some reason they delayed their filming for a few days. It gave him enough time
to recover and (although weak) he was able to help them. Filming was not always
easy in high temperature, but we think they did
very well. It was
also
a character training and
learning process for our staff. We had to be clear in communication.
Misunderstandings made things difficult. After the TV crew left we had to sit
down. It was good to be open and talk together about the things we had to
change in our lives, but also in the program. It helped us to be ready for a
new challenge, which is the next story.
Factory in Tam Ky
We have asked our workers to be involved in finding a place for a new factory in Tam Ky city. We would like to open a workplace for the construction of new parabolic cookers, with the employment of local workers and handicapped people. Last month our staff searched the city and found a piece of land (5x50 meter) with a house for sale. After finding another house we came to the conclusion that we had to choose the first option. The owner of the land lowered the price after watching the Solar Serve documentary on TV. We were able to pay this deposit with our own funds, but the owner changed her mind and wanted us to pay a deposit which was five times higher we agreed with. This was impossible for us at that moment. So we had to go with the word 'wait and see'. This is really a challenge for us. Please keep in mind, we are not asking for money. Our newsletters and contact with you are not based on donations. We have seen your love, friendship and standing with us for many years and this is very special for us. So, please stand with us again.
Katu minority
There was an
encouraging article in the Danang newspaper of a reporter visiting
the Katu minority. She was very surprised when she found out that the Katu
minority were cooking with the solar cookers. Last year we gave them
20 box cookers, and according to this article they were still using them. But
lately another reporter told us that not all of the cookers were used
successfully. The Katu people are working in the mountains. Sometimes they
return to their village. Last year we were able to teach them only one morning.
In
our
Solar
Serve
program
we
usually have workshops for three days and follow-ups for several weeks,
in order to change their thinking and cooking habits. This was not possible
with the Katu and is one of the reasons they are not using the cookers
properly. We will return soon to help them again.
Hoang
Mr Hoang is a simple and sometimes funny man, and has been working for Solar Serve since 1998. Because of polio at a young age, he has never been able to walk well. He moves himself very fast with his hands. He loves his work and is very skilled in making the box cookers. A few months ago he was sitting at the back of a motorbike. One of our staff was taking him to Tam Ky city, but they were stopped by the police. Our staff had forgotten his license and was afraid to pay a fine. The police asked them to put down the motorbike, but when they saw Hoang claming down skillfully, they waved and told them to move on. When Hoang came back it became a big story, because he ‘saved’ our staff in paying a fine. Even his handicapped worked out for good and he became ‘the hero’ in Solar Serve. We all had a good laugh!
Exhibition
We had a great time at a trade
exhibition in Danang. We were invited by a (solar) company to share their stand
for five days. Although in the beginning it was tiring, but at the end it was
great. We were standing near an exit, so we were able to demonstrate the
cookers outside the hall. With lots of sunshine we could show many people the
benefits of cooking with the sun.
Fuel cost
In our last newsletter we wrote that Mrs.Tranh was able to save 13 USD / month on fuel cost since she started to use her solar cooker. If you keep in mind that the average wages in the countryside is around 40 USD / month, the use of solar cookers can be very important for poor families.
Web site
We are making a Solar Serve web site in English and Vietnamese. We are now gathering information and scanning pictures to fill in the pages. To have it in two languages will benefit you and also our Vietnamese friends. We are not able to tell you when the site will be available, but we hope in our next newsletter to give you all the details. Solarcooking International have also published an article in Vietnamese on their web site. It deals with ‘frequent asked questions’ about solar cooking.
Solar Serve gathering
This year we organized our yearly gathering in the high mountains of Dalat. We stayed in a very simple guest-house. Not all of the workers were able to come but some of the spouses and children came along. For a few days we were able to encourage each other, reflect on the past year and learn more how we could serve better. We are all special and have different talents. Desires, experiences and personality play an important part in this in order to serve effectively. We need to recognize these talents in each other. We had one day off and visited important and beautiful spots in and around the city. A lot of fun for everyone and even the sun kept on smiling. After four wonderful days of fellowship we left encouraged and refreshed, ready to serve again for the coming season
International Four
Days March.
For many years we have been sponsored by one handicapped man in Holland. His name is Fred and he loves to help us in our work. He is doing that by a yearly sponsor walk of 200km in 4 days during the International Four Days March around the city of Nijmegen. This year he was only allow-ed to walk 160 km because of his age. The weather was great and he walk-ed with 43.200 participants for four days. This year almost 5000 people could not finish the march. He wrote to us by e-mail and told us that the weather was great and the 160 km walk was easy. Well, none of us has ever walked a distant like this, so we are very thankful for his courage and endurance. It helps us a lot in helping the poor.
Thank you
In the middle of Vietnam we are moving into the rainy
season. It means more time to make solar cookers in our factory. Till now we
have helped 1000 families with the box cookers and around 20 families with the
parabolic cookers but for research. 200 new box cookers are waiting to be
distributed next month and 30 parabolic cookers will be transferred to our new
factory in Tam Ky. For the first time next month we are starting our project in
the southern provinces at the beginning of the dry season. It all came out of
this years media coverage. So many people have requested our assistance to set
up a solar cooking project. Please think about us during the coming months. The
requests are sometimes overwhelming but the workers are few. We need local
people with a heart for solar cooking and a compassion in helping the poor.
Please keep in touch,
Solar Serve Team
Danang Gateway News:This year another festival in Danang was organized which ended on the evening of the 10th of July, with a musical performance. It was a great success. There were lots of attractive programs, such as street dancing and a traditional food market. More than 50,000 tourists came to Danang. Many visitors left with a good impressions of the city.
Traffic signal system
Danang's transport signal system will be upgraded. It includes a transport supervision and control center, traffic lights at 77 intersections with 20 remote camera - videos, cable signal transmission from the control center to the 77 intersections and removing 16 current traffic signals.
Making Danang clean
500 volunteers from Danang unions and associations and Tho Quang Ward people participated in activities to celebrate the "Making the World Clean'' movement. With the motto "Green City, Green Community'', the movement encourages communities to protect the environment with specific and practical actions, including encouraging garbage collection and treatment along the Danang coast by educational programs on the media. The movement began in Australia in 1993. It has become an international activity in 21 member nations and attracts 35 millions participants annually.
Mid-autumn festival
During the Mid-autumn (children’s) festival, on the 18th of September, a number of organizations and committees have been helping the poor and needy children in Vietnam. In Danang some committees offered Mid-autumn presents to children of the Danang Compassion Arts Center and also gave gifts to disadvantaged and handicapped children at the Hope Village.
Non Nuoc beach
Non Nuoc is a beautiful beach and considered to be one of the diamonds along the 90km coast of Danang. The international professional surfing competition held there in October 1993 attracted 40 well-known athletes from many continents and countries. Last year a new beach resort was opened and another resort will be opened this year. Also a golf court will be built along the beach. A new road is under construction along the beaches of Danang, linking Son Tra peninsula with the ancient town of Hoi An.
Education in Danang
The University of Danang consisting of 5 colleges: Junior College Technical College College of Economics and Business Administration Teachers College and Higher School of Technology. The University of Danang has set up co-operative relations with universities of some countries such as France the U.S Canada etc. The Duy Tan Private University providing training courses on foreign languages tourism business administration informatics and economic law. There are also 13 middle vocational schools consisting of many kinds of profession such as information technology trade technique construction etc. Besides there is a system of vocational centers establish-ments and classes informatics and foreign languages centers etc.
Districts and islands
Danang City consists of 5 districts: Hai Chau, Thanh Khe, Son Tra, Ngu Hanh Son, Lien Chieu and 2 suburban districts: Hoa Vang and Hoang Sa island with the population of 741.300. The inland area is 942 km2. In addition Hoang Sa island district possesses over 30 islands with the land area of about 10 km: on the approximately 15000 km2 water surface of the sea. In December 1996 Danang was separated from Quangnam - Danang province. The Government of Danang city was inaugurated officially on January 1st 1997