Chairwoman of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisation VUFO Nguyen Phuong Nga (right) awards the Friendship Order to Jerilyn Brusseau, the founder of the PeaceTrees Vietnam on August 29. Photo by Duc Hoang
Jerilyn Brusseau, the founder of the PeaceTrees Vietnam, was given the Order on August 29 by Chairwoman of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisation VUFO Nguyen Phuong Nga.
The order is one of Vietnam’s highest honours for foreign individuals and groups who have made contributions to the development and promotion of friendship and co-operation between Vietnam and other countries.
Brusseau established PeaceTrees Vietnam in 1995 and started the explosive ordnance disposal activities in the central province of Quang Tri which was one of the hardest affected areas by bombs and mines left from the American War. This was the first international non-governmental organisation permitted by Vietnam to engage in explosive ordnance disposal activities in the country.
Addressing the award-giving ceremony which was attended by US ambassador to Vietnam, Daniel J. Kritenbrink, Nga expressed thanks to the endless efforts Brusseau has made over the past 20 years to support Vietnam in addressing the aftermath of the war and to build trust, as well as, promote friendship between Vietnamese and American people.
VUFO also vowed to work alongside Brusseau and PeaceTrees Vietnam and other foreign non-governmental organisations to develop ties between Vietnam and other countries.
Brusseau recalled the story of her family and what made her devoted to Vietnam. She is the sister of an American pilot killed in Quang Tri in central Vietnam after his helicopter was shot down in early 1969.
After a visit to Vietnam in 1996 seeing the devastating consequences of the war, Brusseau, her husband Danaan Parry and her mother Rae Cheney decided to found PeaceTrees Vietnam to honour the dead on all sides and build bridges of trust and friendship between the two peoples.
Speaking at the ceremony, US Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink said Vietnam and the US are co-operating in various fields, including trade-economy, security, energy, environment and people-to-people exchange, and that could not have happened without people like Jerilyn Brusseau who has got over her personal pain to help both sides heal.
US Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink speaks at the ceremony. Photo by Duc Hoang
PeaceTrees Vietnam, so far, has searched through 480 hectares of land and safely removed and destroyed more than 112,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance in Quang Tri. They then plant trees on these areas.The organisation has also provided mine risk education to thousands of local residents and given over 2,000 scholarships to children of affected families.
The organisation has also built a PeaceTrees Friendship Village for 100 affected families, 15 kindergartens, 12 libraries and two community centres and, at the same time, planted trees and provided help for hundreds of women to develop their own businesses.
