In myΒ earlyΒ twenties I started to put my feelers out into the adoptionΒ communities. I didn’t really know where to start… so an internet search was my first port of call, as I’ve always been a “child of the Internet” anyway. EvenΒ earlyΒ 2000’s social networks and online resources aren’t as wildly used as they are today, so to stubble across Adopted VietnameseΒ International (AVI) was quiet a find.
IΒ tentativelyΒ emailed the founder, Indigo Willing, who was more then welcoming. She was the first real contact I’d had with another adult Vietnamese adoptee. For a few years after myΒ initialΒ contact, I kept in touch but I wasn’t as active in the group until,Β unsurprisingly, I gotΒ FacebookΒ =P. AndΒ becauseΒ of that I was in moreΒ regularΒ contact with the VN adopteeΒ communityΒ and in Feb. 2010 I was lucky enough to meet up with some of the UKΒ VietnameseΒ adoptees for Tet (VietnameseΒ version of Chinese New Year).
In April 2010 it was the 35thΒ universityΒ of the Fall of Saigon marking the end of theΒ Vietnamese/USA War as well asΒ OperationΒ Baby Lift that air lifted many babiesΒ internationally from Vietnam. I contributed to otherΒ reflectiveΒ writings by Vietnamese adoptees:
“To me the Vietnam War feels distance, just another war I learnt about in school. While I have no doubt that my adoption was the product of the Vietnam War, I feel that my adoption story is framed in the decade that followed…” (April 2010) Β Continue reading at AVI website β
In 2011 Indigo was looking for help to update the AVI website. As it hadΒ originallyΒ been made in 2000 and notΒ fundamentallyΒ been changed in a technical sense, I felt this was the perfect time to contribute to the AVI & VN adoptee community in a way I’ve always wanted to. It wasn’t until I started to sort though the pages that I realised what aΒ wealthΒ ofΒ informationΒ there was that wasn’t easy to find from theΒ originalΒ website interface and wasΒ determinedΒ not to allow it to be hidden any longer!!
IΒ redesigned, organised & consolidated down the HUGEΒ originalΒ website into roughly 150 pages and 100 news posts. IΒ improvedΒ the navigation and co-edited 100s of pages & posts with Indigo. It was completely rebuilt from the ground up!
I am relived & proud to annonce it is now live!!!! =D
www.adoptedvietnamese.org
I can notΒ recommendΒ enough you check it out to see views of adult adoptees, VN information/roots tracing guides, info on orphanages and more… it’s just brill!!! I can’t take credit for theΒ information, as it’s come from the very generous VN adoption community.
Related External Links:
Adopted VietnameseΒ International (AVI) website –Β www.adoptedvietnamese.org
AVI Facebook Community Page – www.facebook.com/AdoptedVietnameseInternationalΒ (Public)
AVI Facebook Group – www.facebook.com/groups/4501598968/Β (Closed Group)
AVI Yahoo! email Group – groups.yahoo.com/group/adoptedvietnameseinternational/Β (Closed Group)
