Dong Ha, Quang Tri (28 November 2023) — Professors and students from the University of Alaska Southeast today toured the Mine Action Visitor Center managed by RENEW as part of their two-day visit to learn about the work to remediate the war legacies in Quang Tri.

The group is led by Assistant Professor of History Nguyet Nguyen who is also a member of the Advisory Council of Friends of Project RENEW, a U.S.-based all-volunteer non-profit organization that works closely with RENEW to advance its mission in Viet Nam. 

Having arrived in Viet Nam on 18 November, the group is part of a study program at the University of Alaska Southeast called “Study Away”, an adventure that appeals to students who are willing to embrace the unknown and try new things. Some of the faculty members and students in the group have their husbands and grandfathers serving in Viet Nam during the war.

At the Visitor Center, the group was briefed on the ongoing humanitarian interventions by RENEW and other international mine action organizations to survey and clear unexploded ordnance, to educate kids, farmers, and villagers to be safe from explosive ordnance, and to assist war victims.

The students also had a chance to meet and talk with two cluster bomb survivors Pham Quy Thi and Ho Van Lai representing many of those affected by the war consequences on how they tried to overcome their tragic accidents for social integration with support from RENEW.

The group will visit Truong Son National Cemetery, Khe Sanh combat base, Vinh Moc Tunnels and other historical relics in Quang Tri Province during their two-day visit.