VN Adoptee – Germany
AVI Admin Team Member
I am a Vietnamese adoptee born in 1972 in Saigon, and initially placed to Pierre Olivier’s orphanage. Shortly afterwards, I was transferred to ToAm orphanage, also in SaiGon. I arrived in Germany in January 1973. My German mother was involved in Terre des Hommes, where she assisted Rosemary Taylor’s organisation FFAC caring and traveling with orphaned babies from the provinces and Saigon, and then also to Germany.
I started to do some research on my past for my first return to Vietnam in Dec. 2009, and that was about the time when I found out about all the other VADs out there scattered around the globe who were planning a reunion in April 2010*. Joining this event, I realised that I want to find out more about my country of birth and culture. I made the decision to leave my German life behind me and employment in the marketing business to start preparing to relocate to Vietnam. If everything works out I will be going in the beginning of 2011.
I am also a part of Anh Ðào Kolbe’s photo series at: vadportraits.wordpress.com/2010/04/20/patrick-germany-2
*Reunion in April organized by US adoptee group Operation Reunite and UK adoptee group Project Return II