Leo Goulet's Vietnam

Leo has a fantastic collection of photographs taken in all the places he worked. This week he has shared with us part of his Vietnam collection spanning October 1980 till March 1985 when he joined Fouad Kronfol's team in Hanoi as the WATSAN Project Officer. 

In all his postings Leo headed a rural water and sanitation team. Here a short list of his postings and consultancies: Nepal: 1973-1980 (Bhutan included up until 1977, at which time responsibility for the Bhutan Country Programme was transferred to New Delhi from Kathmandu); Vietnam: 1980-1985; Benin: 1985-1987; Niger, a three-month RWSS consultancy; South Sudan: 2005-2006. Leo also spent several months in Vietnam in 1998, leading teams that were evaluating UNICEF-assisted RWSS programmes.

By looking at this list, we can expect other interesting photo essays. 

Women and bikes in Thanh Hoa Province on 11 October 1980. A group of us were taken to see the damage caused by the typhoon that hit the area a few days earlier.  Typhoons are a yearly occurrence in the central provinces but those that strike as far north as the area around Hanoi are relatively rare

A church on the way from Thanh Hoa to Hanoi. Churches such as this one are a fairly common sight in the provinces nearby Hanoi. Photo taken on 12 October 1980

I took this photo from the balcony of the hotel where we always used to stay, in Bac Lieu, on the first of many trips I made to Minh Hai Province over the years. These were some of the crowds of kids who followed me everywhere, eager to catch a glimpse of the only "Lien Xo" (i.e. "Soviet") in town. At the time, foreigners were rarely seen in areas outside the larger urban areas.  Photo taken on 19 October 1980

Ducks at the Dong Hai State Farm, south-west of Bac Lieu Town. New Economic Zones (NEZ) such as this one were being developed in previously unsettled areas, under the Ministry of Agriculture. As the provision of drinking water was a priority in those areas, it was agreed that the UNICEF-assisted drinking water programme would be implemented through that ministry. The programme's initial focus was on the NEZs, but soon expanded to cover rural areas in general, within the six target provinces, and eventually the entire country.   Minh Hai Province. Photo taken on 18 October 1980.

Sunset at Binh An Commune, south-east of Ha Tien, on the Gulf of Thailand. Kien Giang Province. Photo taken on 23 October 1980

These are the officials I was travelling with when we visited Ha Tien on 24 October 1980. Ha Tien is in Kien Giang Province, 5 kms. from the border with Cambodia, an area that had been attacked by the Khmer Rouge in the years prior to 1979. We were standing on a water storage tank--part of a water system that would have required considerable repair and rehabilitation effort

Girls in a school in western Long An Province, near the Cambodian border. These were areas that were very recently settled, in an effort to provide additional agricultural land. Photo taken on 30 October 1980

A clinic in Ben Thu New Economic Zone, near Moc Hoa, western Long An Province, near the border with Cambodia. A near-total lack of infrastructure in areas such as this made resettlement a slow process. Photo taken on 30 October 1980

Granny and baby at a pagoda near Hoa Luu, Ninh Binh Province, near Hanoi. The area was favoured as an outing destination for Hanoi residents. Photo taken on 23 November 1980

Boys being curious and inquisitive, as usual. Ha Bac Province, 60 kms. north-east of Hanoi. In 1996, the province was divided into two: Bac Giang and Bac Ninh Provinces. Photo taken on 19 December 1980

A water reservoir and washing platform. Ha Bac Province, 60 kms. north-east of Hanoi. This was not one of UNICEF's target provinces; we visited the area in preparation for the UNICEF regional RWSS workshop in Ubon Ratchathanee from 12 to 20 January 1981, where Vietnamese participants were requested to present the Vietnamese Double-Vault Composting Latirne. We wanted to have a look at one of those latrines, which was one of three types of sanitary infrastructure adopted in the north soon after 1954: a composting latrine, a dug well, and a water reservoir with washing platform. Photo taken on 19 December 1980

 

The Hoa Binh Hotel, at the intersection of Ly Thuong Kiet and Ngo Quyen streets in Central Hanoi.  It was, inter alia, the residence of various embassy and UN personnel. The UNICEF office occupied  several rooms in the hotel from the time UNICEF first established a presence in Vietnam in the late 1970s. The UNICEF Representative resided there (the window directly above the entrance), until the office moved to new premises, at 72 Ly Thuong Kiet, in or around 1983. Photo taken on 25 December 1980

 

 Kids in Central Hanoi. 25 December 1980

 

The Doc Lap Hotel, now known as Hotel Caravelle,  a 5-star hotel on the Opera Square in Central Ho Chi Minh City. Although UNICEF did not have an office in the city at the time, it did have a "presence", in the form of one person who had an office in one of the rooms of the hotel. Photo taken on 28 February 1981

 

A fisherman in Rach Gia, Kien Giang Province. As much of the country's population is to be found in coastal areas, fishing, naturally, is a major source of food and income. 8 March 1981

 

A fisher-family at Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh Province, 30 kms. north-east of Haiphong, on the South China Sea. The area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Photo taken on 15 May 1982

 

 A Highland woman in Thanh Hoa Province, one of six UNICEF focus-provinces. Much of the province's population resides in flatter areas closer to the coast, the western part of the province is mountainous. 17 March 1983

 

A view of part of the Complex of Hue Monuments, a UNESCO-designated site in Hue, Thua Thien-Hue Province, Central Vietnam. Hue city was badly damaged during the Tet Offensive, which began on 30 January 1968, but has since  been rebuilt. Its monuments are now a major tourist attraction. Photo taken on 20 March 1983

 

Doing laundry at a mountain spring in a western, more mountainous areas of Binh Tri Thien Province, north-west of Da Nang.. 21 March 1983

 In the coastal areas of Binh Tri Thien Province, in Central Vietnam, water is generally obtained from wells dug into the laterite bedrock, as is the case for the well shown here. 21 March 1983

 

Taking a bath in Rach Gia, Kien Giang Province. The town's water system wasn't functioning at the time, and the river that runs through town was often used for bathing. 9 September 1983

A get-together of rural water supply staff and technicians from the three UNICEF-target provinces in the Mekong Delta: Long An, Minh Hai and Kien Giang. Photo taken in Rach Gia on 26 August 1983

  

  Kids in Kien Giang Proviince. Always curious. 11 November 1983

  

A video crew accompanied us on a visit to water supply installations in Ha Nam Ninh Province, and recorded the activities. Later in the day, the video was replayed in the village, much to the fascination of that young boy.  24 November 1984

An outing to the Perfume Pagoda, 40 kms. south of Hanoi. The Perfume Pagoda area is a complex of Buddhist temples and shrines built into the limestone Hương Tích mountains. It draws pilgrims and visitors from across the country. Photo taken on 17 March  1985