U.S. Training Ship Visits Da Nang with Humanitarian Cargo

A child at Village of Hope shakes hands with a cadet from the Golden Bear

The U.S. Training Ship Golden Bear of the Maritime Academy of California State University arrived in Da Nang City on May 31 for a four day visit. The Golden Bear, crewed by 260 cadets/midshipmen and 45 officers and crew, delivered humanitarian cargo in Da Nang, including a new mobile dental clinic, neonatal infant warmers, and a cardiac bypass machine, along with other donated items. 

 The U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang’s government organized the Humanitarian Cargo Handover Ceremony in Da Nang on June 1. “We are so fortunate to have the Golden Bear open up its cargo hold to such a large amount of medical and other humanitarian equipment,” said U.S. Consul General Seth Winnick. The East Meets West Foundation will use the donated dental van in its mobile dental outreach program, which reaches over 10,000 poor elementary school students in central Vietnam each year.

The Da Nang government’s representatives expressed their thanks to the donors, the U.S. Consulate General, and the representatives of the ship, which carried the cargo at no cost.

On May 31, the crew from the ship, joined by Consul General Seth Winnick, visited the East Meets West Foundation’s Village of Hope orphanage to present 150 children with donated clothing and funds. The visitors also spent much of their time playing with the children.