ID :
50568
Sat, 03/14/2009 - 17:38
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/50568
The shortlink copeid
ORPHANS WELCOME MALAYSIA'S QUEEN
HANOI, March 13 (Bernama) -- Not in their wildest dreams would the orphans of SOS Children's Village Mai Dich have thought of meeting a queen from a foreign country one day.
So, when the Malaysia's Queen Tuanku Nur Zahirah turned up at the
village Friday, they were, to say the least, on cloud nine.
"Coming face-to-face with Her Majesty was sheer joy," said 16-year-old
Nguyen Bick Phung when approached during the Queen's visit to the SOS Children's
Village here.
Nguyen and her friend, Doan Thi Dung, 15, who have been staying at the
village for the past nine years, said they would never have dreamed of meeting
with Malaysia's Queen.
In an interview with Bernama, village director Nguyen Tien Dung said Tuanku
Nur Zahirah was the first Malaysian queen to visit the Children's Village.
SOS Children's Village is the world's largest orphan and abandoned
children's charity organisation. Vietnam has 13 SOS Children's Villages.
Situated on the outskirts of Hanoi, SOS Children's Village Mai Dich (Hanoi)
has 16 family houses and a youth house, apart from a nursery school and school
for 700 primary and secondary-level pupils.
On Thursday, King Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and Tuanku Nur
Zahirah arrived here for a four-day state visit at the invitation of Vietnamese
President Nguyen Minh Triet.
Earlier in the Friday morning, the royal couple visited Ho Chi Minh Musuem,
which among others, houses the statue of Ho, the Vietnamese Communist
revolutionary leader and statesman, who led Vietnam's independence movement from
1941
onwards.
Also present were Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam Kim Eng and Works
Minister Ir Mohd Zin Mohamed as the minister-in-attendance.
Tuanku Mizan and Tuanku Nur Zahirah spent about 30 minutes touring the
museum which was designed to show the Vietnamese's people's deep gratitude to
Ho, who was the prime minister from 1946 to 1955, and later as president until
1969.
In the late 1950s, Ho lost political power in North Vietnam but remained
as a highly visible figurehead president until his death.
He was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of
the 20th century. The former capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, was renamed Ho
Chi Minh City in his honour.
Tuanku Mizan and Tuanku Nur Zahirah later visited the Temple of Literature,
a Confucian temple which later became Vietnam's first university, It was
established within the temple to educate its bureaucrats, nobles, royalty and
members of the elite.
On Friday ight, the royal couple will have dinner with the Malaysian
community hosted by the Malaysian Embassy in Hanoi.
-- BERNAMA
So, when the Malaysia's Queen Tuanku Nur Zahirah turned up at the
village Friday, they were, to say the least, on cloud nine.
"Coming face-to-face with Her Majesty was sheer joy," said 16-year-old
Nguyen Bick Phung when approached during the Queen's visit to the SOS Children's
Village here.
Nguyen and her friend, Doan Thi Dung, 15, who have been staying at the
village for the past nine years, said they would never have dreamed of meeting
with Malaysia's Queen.
In an interview with Bernama, village director Nguyen Tien Dung said Tuanku
Nur Zahirah was the first Malaysian queen to visit the Children's Village.
SOS Children's Village is the world's largest orphan and abandoned
children's charity organisation. Vietnam has 13 SOS Children's Villages.
Situated on the outskirts of Hanoi, SOS Children's Village Mai Dich (Hanoi)
has 16 family houses and a youth house, apart from a nursery school and school
for 700 primary and secondary-level pupils.
On Thursday, King Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and Tuanku Nur
Zahirah arrived here for a four-day state visit at the invitation of Vietnamese
President Nguyen Minh Triet.
Earlier in the Friday morning, the royal couple visited Ho Chi Minh Musuem,
which among others, houses the statue of Ho, the Vietnamese Communist
revolutionary leader and statesman, who led Vietnam's independence movement from
1941
onwards.
Also present were Malaysian Ambassador to Vietnam Kim Eng and Works
Minister Ir Mohd Zin Mohamed as the minister-in-attendance.
Tuanku Mizan and Tuanku Nur Zahirah spent about 30 minutes touring the
museum which was designed to show the Vietnamese's people's deep gratitude to
Ho, who was the prime minister from 1946 to 1955, and later as president until
1969.
In the late 1950s, Ho lost political power in North Vietnam but remained
as a highly visible figurehead president until his death.
He was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of
the 20th century. The former capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, was renamed Ho
Chi Minh City in his honour.
Tuanku Mizan and Tuanku Nur Zahirah later visited the Temple of Literature,
a Confucian temple which later became Vietnam's first university, It was
established within the temple to educate its bureaucrats, nobles, royalty and
members of the elite.
On Friday ight, the royal couple will have dinner with the Malaysian
community hosted by the Malaysian Embassy in Hanoi.
-- BERNAMA
