Dong Ha, Quang Tri Province (7 March 2023) – Many young boys and girls of different ages, the chilren of Project RENEW/NPA staff members and others in Dong Ha who are passionate about music and history, had a lot of fun on Sunday morning when they met and interacted with a group of American visitors at the Mine Action Visitor Center.

Led by Ron Carver, member of Friends of Project RENEW’s Advisory Council, the group visited Quang Tri Province as part of their Vietnam tour for the launching of the Vietnamese edition of the book ‘Waging Peace in Vietnam: U.S. Soldiers and Veterans Who Opposed the War’ in Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Noi. Other members included Ronald Haeberle, whose photographs of the My Lai Massacre turned American public opinion against the war, John Kent, former US Navy pilot who refused to fly his fighter jet to bomb Vietnam, and Lilo Gonzalez, singer and songwriter who has touched the lives of many people with his fun yet thoughtful music.

Prior to exchanging with the American group, children and their parents attended a session facilitated by Ho Van Lai, survivor of a cluster bomb accident at age 10, member of Project RENEW’s Explosive Ordnance Risk Education program funded by Irish Aid since 2015, on how to behave safely when encountering unexploded ordnance (UXO).

Musician Lilo Gonzalez later stirred the kids and everybody at the Mine Action Visitor Center with his guitar and exciting songs. Lilo sang his songs in English and Spanish and in Vietnamese with the help of the chilren.

Many youngsters took the chance to talk with and communicate with these four special guests from the United States in English.

On behalf of the group, Ron Carver thanked Project RENEW for organizing this special gathering on a Sunday and gave a copy of the Vietnamese edition of the book ‘Waging Peace In Vietnam’ to the Mine Action Visitor Center.