Have you ever thought that you should to change what you want to see in the world?!

Have you ever wondered: Where you really want to go? Have you ever thought that: you should to change things to what you want to see in the world?

There are so many people (mostly) in Asia who want to travel to The West, like Paris, London, New York... and also so many Westerners who want to come to Asia to visit The Delta, tunnels to know about the Wartime in there, want to visit the old houses, the Museums or the works of art of the Feudal Period, or at least, to spend time for relaxation at Bays, beaches or resorts...

However, during my 2 years of working for a travel agent, I've never heard someone tell me that they want to go to Africa, or someplace poor like countries of Africa.
Don't know why and when, I wish and would love to go to Africa someday. Maybe by from the days when I was a child and watched tivi about The life of Somali's children or "The Gioi do day" (Around the World) television program, which is about Madagasca's Forest of Africa with lots of animals that you don't find anywhere alse in the world...

May everybody know countries of Africa are poorest countries of the world's. But, Do you know:

- People in Africa face extreme poverty and poor living conditions where transportation depends on their ability to walk. People walk miles a day - to and from their fields, to and from the market and to and from fresh water sources. A bicycle can change a life and you can make that happen!

- Africa is the second largest continent in the world.

Africa is one of the world's poorest continents and over one in three Africans live on less than 55 pence a day.

- Education: Many children in Africa are desperate to go to school and learn how to read and write. But most can't - normally because they don't have enough money. In many African countries you have to pay school fees, and parents don't have the cash.

Also, many children are needed to help run the family home. Even many children who do go to school have to walk for hours to get there.

In Hanoi and Hochiminh city of Vietnam (also one of poor countries in the world), children go to school and turn back home by parent's meet and see off everyday, neatly dressed, however they go to school after much their parent's entreating....!!!

- Conflict :
Millions of African children grow up surrounded by wars and fighting. In Angola, there was fighting for 27 years, but a peace agreement was finally signed in 2002. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, at least 2.5 million people have died in fighting.

Children are affected by these conflicts in many ways.

1) Child soldiers

Kids are sometimes forced to become soldiers and fight - even when they don't understand what the war's about.

In Liberia, children as young as seven have been involved in combat.
Sometimes children are taken from their families and forced to fight. Or they may be forced to fight to protect their families.

2) Family problems

Children often get separated from their family because of war - or even lose their parents.

Many children are sent away from home if the fighting is really bad. Their fathers and brothers might go off to war, and may never return.
In Rwanda, around 300,000 children have no mum or dad and have to run their own family, because many people were killed in a civil war in 1993.

3) Landmines

There are lots of landmines left over from old conflicts. No-one knows where they are and people are often killed or lose limbs when they step on them.

4) Fear of fighting

The fact that war is so common also means that many children live with a permanent fear of fighting.

Other facts about conflict
More than 11,300 kids, about a third of them girls, have been forced to fight in Uganda.

More than one in seven children die before their first birthday in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 70,000 people in Angola have lost arms or legs.

Do you know, in Vietnam, in big cities like Hanoi and Hochiminh city, there is at least one time in a year, school organize a short trip for pupils visit War Museum/History Museum or Cuchi Tunnels, the most important aim is: gain an appreciation for what is taught in History studies, enrich curriculum via in-the-field exposure and raise an awareness of the impact of War on Vietnam country. But results is: the pupils always groan that they are getting bored and tired!!!

- Music:

As with many kids across the world, music is really important to lots of African children. Hip-hop is popular - especially a type of hip-hop which has developed in South Africa called Kwaito. Some of the Kwaito stars - like Arthur, MDU, Trompes and Chiskop - sell more records in the African charts than the huge international acts.

In HCM city, you can hear a kids 6-7 years old shout himself hoarse to sing :"I love you baby, you made my heart broken from the day you went away..." !!!

- Sport :

Even though many African children struggle to get enough food and money, millions of them love sport.

Football's really popular and some kids even use it to make money or help educate other children. There's a kids' football programme in Uganda which takes children from all backgrounds. The academy formed Uganda's top under-13s footie team.
Sporting facts: The first proper kids' football teams were set up in Kenya in 1987. Some girls find it hard to play sports in some African countries because they have to stay at home and help to look after the family.

- The internet :

Fewer than one out of every 250 people in Africa use the net.

Why isn't it more popular?

It's expensive. On average, to surf the net for 20 hours costs more money than you can earn in a month in many parts of Africa.

· Many kids haven't learnt to read.
· They don't always have electricity - especially in the countryside.
· The government in South Africa is keen for schools to have access to the internet - but many teachers say they still don't have enough books or even desks and chairs.

In big cities of Vietnam, Fathers and Mothers have to cry with their kid's cannot live without internet, internet like "heroin" with them, spend all day with internet for Game online, audition or chatting... After wake up, go to internet shop is the first thing they think about, breakfast - lunch - dinner and even sleep in internet shop, Internet cost surpass their means, and then, the boys - pupils has to sell their bicycle to get money pay for internet shop, and the girls have to find someone (normally mans) on internet can help her to pay internet fee ...!!!

- Aids :Aids is one of the big problems facing children in Africa. It's the biggest single killer on the continent. Around 23 million Africans have Aids. In Ethiopia alone, 250,000 children under five have Aids.

The United Nations thinks Aids will eventually kill about a third of all young people living in Africa. In Botswana and South Africa, up to a half of today's 15-year-olds will die of Aids. But it's not just about children who actually have Aids. Around 12 million children in Africa are 'Aids orphans' - so called because their parents have died from Aids-related illnesses. In Swaziland, one in 10 families are headed by children because their parents have died of Aids-related diseases.

- Natural disasters :

In parts of Africa, there has not been enough rain in recent years.
This has caused big shortages of food. Bit when it does rain, this can cause floods that also destroy crops. Some countries also have tornadoes, hailstorms and even frost. The effects of these extreme weather conditions are called natural disasters.
What's to blame?

Most scientists say they're actually the result of things that people have done. They blame pollution from cars and factories for what they call global warming - a rise in the Earth's temperature.

Africa now produces eight times more carbon dioxide - one of the gases that leads to global warming - than it did 50 years ago.

But the rest of the world is still responsible for 97% of it.

- Gender divide :In many parts of Africa, boys and girls are treated very differently. In areas where there are water shortages, it's often the girls who have to travel for miles each day to collect supplies, while the boys might go to school. Girls as young as 10 sometimes have to collect the water for their whole family. They often carry heavy pots of water, which can damage their necks and back. This can lead to them having problems later in life. Girls who go out every morning to get water often can't go to school.

- Food crisis :Millions of children in Africa are so hungry they are at risk of getting ill through disease. Droughts, floods, poverty and problems in government often lead to food shortages in African countries. Diseases like HIV and Aids add to the problem, as many children lose parents when they are young. This means they have to look after younger brothers and sisters and find food for the family.

If parents die when the children are very young, they may not have learnt the skills they need to farm food. Also, people who could be farming land are often at home caring for those who are sick.

It's estimated that at least 203.5 million people living in Africa are undernourished. This means they are not getting enough food to make sure their bodies are strong enough to fight off infections.

Millions of children live on one meal a day. Countries regularly facing food shortages include Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Ethiopia.

-Water: Many African countries are very poor and very dry, so they get massive droughts. Often children have to walk miles every morning to get water. Drinking water isn't always clean. This can lead to people getting diarrhoea and nasty infections from drinking it.

Mozambique was hit by a big drought in 2002, leaving millions of people without water. Only half of the people there have access to safe water, and three quarters of children have had diarrhoea and diseases from the bad water. In Tanzania, children spend an average of two hours a day collecting water, although in really remote parts it can take up to seven hours a day.

- And...Poverty:

Some of the poorest countries in the world are in Africa.
This affects children in all sorts of ways.

Often they don't have enough: Money , Food , Shelter ,and Education
Recently, I often arrange education tours and charity tours for schools or Education Organizations, they also want to visit some Orphanage House, quote for at least 3 star hotel in Saigon, but they often ask me: package rate including gifts fee for children in orphanage house? or do they have to pay some money for childrens and people in Orphanage? ?

I real don't understand they want to visit orphanage house and make charity trip what for ???

The Indestructible Banyan - witness to the Past and Future !!

For rural Vietnam, banyan trees do not simply provide shade in which children can play after school time and young couples rendezvous. They play a much more important spiritual and symbolic role than does any other tree.

Often standing proudly against a poetic village gate (Vietnamese called "Cong lang") or near a wharf or temple, the tree beckons to visitors from far and wide and serves as a goodwill ambassador, if one has the liberty to personify inanimate objects.

Whenver someone wants a symbol to represent a village, there's no candidate more promising than a banyan, a "maidinh" (roof of a communal house), or a village gate. The tree has been so assimilated into local culture and is so dear to we Vietnamese that shrines are often built beneath them. Villagers believe that a tutelary god dwells there that protects their community from harm.

A banyan may also be deified. We have a saying: "Cay thi co ma, cay da co than" - meaning "fig tree has ghosts, the banyan tree has deities".

The Banyan, which can survive for several centuries, is seen as the embodiment of longevity and indestructibility. It stands witness to the evolution of men and even of nature. No wonder it is believed to represent eternal life.

The tree can live long, but eventually it has to grow old and decay. It is a symbol of both existence and of extinction, of both the temporal world and of the undying soul. It has pride of place in literature and finds its way into poetry and folk songs such as the following heart-rending poem:

" Tram nam dau co hen ho

Cay da ben cu, con do khac dua

Cay da cu ben do xua

Bo hanh co nghia nang mua cung cho..."

(Meaning: Though a hundred - years old promise maybe brokend.

The banyan tree is still there. The boat transporting people is different.

The same old banyan tree, the same old wharf

I Still wait...)

Normally a tree stands next to a village gate, thus village dwellers must pass both the gate and the banyan daily to go to the fields.

Someone traveling to or from a distant place usually ends up greeting loved ones under the tree's sumptuous canopies. Girls in love make a promise near the banyan to wait for their loved ones because they believe the deity of the tree will bear witness to their vow.

Like many other things, the spirit of the banyan is in the eye of the beholder. An old farmer imagined the tree to be a strong farmer with firm and rugged appearance, according to an old story. An asprirant student, wandering around a village to get some fresh air in the fields on a summer afternoon, could dream that the tree had the spirit of a gifted intellectual.

Children tend to think the banyan is natural, pure and mischievous child since the tree is where they play in the breezy afternoon.

There are generally more than a few banyans in most northern villages.
For many villages, their centuries - old banyan trees are tourist landmarks. The oldest banyan tree in Vietnam, and possibly the most beautiful, is over 300 years old. It is in the yard of Hong Loc Primary School in Can Loc district in the central province of Ha Tinh.

Elders in this village say: when they were children, the banyan was already very old. In 1965, a hurricane knocked it ove. Miraculously, another storm propped it up.
This tree is dubbed the "dragon-shaped banyan" because it resembles a bunch of dragons. It was bombed several times during the war, but lost only a few branches. Strangely enough, it has not been damaged by worms or by decay.

Another legendary 300 years old banyan is in the village of Mong Phu in Ha Tay Province.A banyan with 13 roots in the northern port city of Hai Phong attracts travelers from all over the country. It is worshipped as a deity on the first and 15th day of every lunar month, as well as on Lunar New Year's Eve. Worshippers come, burn incense, and pray for a peaceful life.

Vietnamese Spirit - Culture Maketh a Proverb

A benevolent-looking person who is actually evil inside may remind a non-Vietnamese of the saying: "A fair face may hide a foul heart". But to a Vietnamese it's a case of "Mieng nam mo bung bo dam gam" (The mouth prays to the Buddha while the belly is full of swords).

Thus, while in many cultures the heart is the metaphor for inner beauty, the Vietnamese link good attributes to the belly. If someone is virtuous, they say he is "tot bung" or "good of belly".

You don't need a rocket scientist to figure out the connection here - the Vietnamese have faced so many famines in there history that the stomach is first among equals when it comes to body parts.

Most of the proverbs and folk sayings that have stood the test of time are profound statements rooted in traditional wisdom and practical knowledge and reflect the culture and customs passed from generation to generation.

In the case of Vietnam, dominated for so long by China - a 1,000 years of colonization and strongly influenced by Buddhism - Its proverbs are, inevitably, tinged with Confucian teachings too.

Thus Vietnam has proverbs maintaining a distinction between male and female and acquiescing in, if not actually promoting, male domination of society - for instance, "con khong cha nhu nha khong noc" (Children without fathers are like a house without a roof). Just like the Chinese.

As a result, women had to be "lucky" to find good husbands: " Phan gai muoi hai ben nuoc, trong nho, duc chiu" (Girls are like 12 ferry-landings - if the water at her ferry-landing is clean, she is lucky, if it is not, she has to accept it .... Grrr, so Inequitableness )

Other, "than em nhu ngon lieu dao, phat pho truoc gio biet vao tay ai" (A Girl's life is like a willow branch, it is blown away by the wind and does not know where it will land. )

Then there are folk poems such as these that reinforced polygamy and women's obedience:

" Day con tu thuo con tho, day vo tu thuo bo vo moi ve". (Train your children when they are very young, train your wife when she first comes to live with the husband's family and is still very innocent). Or, "Dan ong nam the bay thiep, con gai chinh chuyen mot chong" (A man can have five wives and seven mistresses. A Virtuous girl has only one husband. WHY ?? hic hic )

There are many sayings capturing the essence of Confucianism including love and respect or one's parents.

" Cong cha nhu nui Thai Son.

Nghia me nhu nuoc trong nguon chay ra

Mot long tho me kinh cha

Cho tron chu hieu moi la dao con"

(The credits of a father [to his children] are as great as Mount Thai Son.

The contribution of a mother [to her children] is as bountiful as spring water gushing from its source.

Mother and father must be revered.

So that the child's way may be accomplished )

But reinforcing such virtues occasionally went to extremes during former feudal times: "Quan xu than tu than bat tu bat trung, fu xu tu vong tu bat vong bat hieu" (If a king punishes a subject to death, he/she must die or else he/she is disloyal, if a father punishes a child to death, that person must die or else he/she will be filially impious) .... (I am so lucky because wasn't born in Feudal Period, I am so Pertinacous, wilfulness and refractory, if not die of Father's hand, also die of King's hand, hic hic )

In a country where farming, the main source of living, depends on the caprices of nature, and where endless wars have been fought against foreign invaders, the Vietnamese have always been aware that only looking out for each other can help them survive farmines and disasters.

This tradition is reflected in many proverbs like "Nhieu dieu phu lay gia guong, nguoi trong mot nuoc thi thuong nhau cung" (Red crepe cloth covers the glass, people in the same country should love each other), "La lanh dum la rach" (The healthy leaf covers the torn leaf), and "Mot con ngua dau ca tau bo co" (When one horse is sick, the remaing horses in the stock refuse to eat).

Notice how the ancients use "horse" - horses and buffalos were common animals in Vietnam and gave rise to "Dan gay tai trau" ("[It's like playing] a musical instrument in a buffalo's ears", or displaying skills to people who cannot recognize them) and "An ky no lau, cay sau tot lua" (you eat slowly, it's good for the stomach, you plough deeply, it's good for the field - an exhortation to do things thoroughly).

As we have seen, the belly is very important and the Vietnamese have many sayings that employ food to teach people about manners and life.

Thus we have "troi danh con tranh bua an" (Heaven rewards and reprimands but never reprimands someone who is eating), "con sau lam rau noi canh" (one worm may damage the whole pot of soup, equivalent to the English saying "One scabby sheep is enough to spoil the whole flock").

Proverbs also reflect the discreet and courteous nature of the Vietnamese: "An trong noi, ngoi trong huong" (When you eat, check the pots and pans; when you sit, check the direction). It means guests should make sure they don't embarrass their hosts by, for instance, asking for another serving when there is barely enough food for all. Then, they should check the direction in which they sit. This refers to a traditional belief that the seat facing south should be reserved for the guest of honor, and tells guest they should not sit with their backs to the house's ancestral altar or in better seats than their elders.

Many proverbs describe greed and selfishness- like "duoc voi doi tien" (If he has an elephant, he will want a fairy, equivalent to "Give him an inch, he'll take a mile"), or "dung nui nay trong nui no" (standing on one mountain but always looking at other mountains) is the equivalent of "The grass is always greener on the other side". "Cua minh thi giu bo bo, cua nguoi thi tha cho bo no an" (translates as "one tries to safeguard one's belongings but throws away others' to be eaten by the buffaloes").

Again, notice the appearance of the buffalo.

Living in a Confucian society, Vietnamese are advised to be content with their fate: "Lanh lam gao, vo lam muoi" (if it [coconut shell] is whole, it can be made into a bucket, if it is brokend, it can be made into a spoon).

They are also gently advised to shun aggressiveness: "Tranh voi chang xau mat nao" (Trying to hide from an elephant will not make you look ugly) and "Di hoa vi quy" (peace is the best - A bad compromise is better than a good lawsuit).