Adoption fosters compassion

for other Vietnamese orphans

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

SLEEPY EYE -- John Luu Leon Mathiowetz displayed an infectious smile Monday on his first birthday.

For his adopted parents, Dean and Judy Mathiowetz, life and how they value it has changed in many ways since he came into their home last December.

A couple of years ago, the Mathiowetzes decided they wanted to have a third child, but doctors advised them not to do so because Judy has diabetes.

They looked into adoption and discovered Children's Home Society, the biggest adoption agency in Minnesota.

Adoption was not possible in some countries due to Judy's diabetes, but the Mathiowetzes learned that they could adopt in Vietnam. Last December, the Mathiowetzes went to Vietnam and picked up their son.

After adopting John, they learned about the Catalyst Foundation in Burnsville, founded in 1999 with the purpose of improving the lives of orphaned and abandoned Vietnamese children.

Judy Mathiowetz said her son draws a crowd everywhere he goes.

"I've had babies before, but people and kids of all ages flock to him," I suppose part of it is because of the story behind him. Plus he's got a cute smile. Kids just love coming up and playing with him."

"When we got back, we found out about the couple who started the foundation because they were moved by the quantity of children that weren't in orphanages and adopted when they were very young," Dean Mathiowetz said. "Most abandoned kids there fall through the cracks. They are taken in by relatives and put right into the work force with very little chance to get an education. Often, they are treated like cattle, working in rice paddies. Many others perish at early ages."

Dean Mathiowetz felt a strong need to try to take care of some of the Vietnamese orphans who will not get out of the country.

"We aren't trying to eliminate poverty, just spread a little hope," he said.

Later this year, Mathiowetz will join 25 volunteers including adult Vietnamese adoptees, adoptive parents, Vietnamese-Americans, social workers, students, entrepreneurs and computer specialists on a journey to Vietnam.

While there, they will join 120 Vietnamese workers on the two-week Vietnam Aid Expedition.

The trip's purpose is to help provide immediate humanitarian aid directly to orphanages in Vinh Long, Bihn Thuan and Ben Tre. Volunteer doctors, social workers and others will sponsor a five-day summer camp for 270 orphaned and abandoned children and 100 students from the provinces.

The camp provides food, clothing and basic toiletries. English, health, nutrition and art will be taught.

Orphans and abandoned children can be sponsored at the camp for a $30 donation.

Volunteers will also repair and renovate two orphanages and build three playground sets on site.

The trip will be heavily covered by Vietnamese media because there are currently no aid agencies working in Vietnam, Mathiowetz said.

His trip includes an 18-hour flight to Hong Kong and a shorter flight to Saigon with the prevailing winds via the North Pole and Siberia.

It wasn't long ago nobody from the outside could visit the Communist country.

"Until 1995, just about nobody visited Vietnam," Mathiowetz said. "Every time somebody went there to help, regulations were changed, making it difficult for others to get in. Their society has suffered from that. These people (Catalyst Foundation) are going there and breaking new ground with privately-raised money."

Although John Luu Leon Mathiowetz' orphanage was one of the nicer ones in the province, it had no air conditioning, windows or play equipment. Nannies slept on the floor and worked 24-hour shifts for three days, then got two days off.

"I feel indebted after we adopted my boy," Mathiowetz said. "I just can't turn my back and walk away. I want to do something more."

Each Vietnamese province of approximately 1 million people has 12,000-16,000 orphaned and abandoned children under the age of 16, usually due to financial hardship. The number grows by 800-1,000 each year.

What Mathiowetz saw in Saigon shocked him.

"Every child is selling things on the street like post cards and books, or just begging for money," Mathiowetz said. "The kids are caught in the middle."

He stressed what a life-changing experience the adoption of his son has been for him and his wife.

"It's important to think about others," Mathiowetz said. "We get caught up in our work-a-day world here. Even people that don't have much here are hundreds of times wealthier than most people there. Farmers there use oxen and wooden carts on the same road with buses. It brought us front and center with people that are struggling to survive."

Mathiowetz described a slice of life in Saigon.

"It's a city of 9 million people and the size of Mankato," Mathiowetz said. "People are walking with a cart behind them, on motorcycles or trikes laden like you couldn't believe with dead, bloated hogs."

One girl who will attend the summer camp with her siblings lives with relatives who travel town to town seeking farm work. The children stay in town and attend school, waiting for their relatives to return with food.

After school, they weave straw mats to sell in the village for 1,000 Vietnamese Dong, which equals seven cents. That sum is the cost of a bowl to rice for the next family meal.

Visit www.catalystfoundation.org