all success

Nhon presses brown pulp into a steel tube and turns a lever to feed the thin wooden stick through the tube. Once the stick comes out the other side, it’s a finished incense stick that can be used in the pagoda when the children and nuns are praying to Buddha. The pagoda also sells incense sticks to people who want to burn them at home.

Popular with everyone

Many of the children at Doc Son pagoda’s children’s home have been orphaned. But Nhon’s mum works in the pagoda’s kitchens. Her brain also plays tricks on her at times. No one knows what kind of condition she has. Nhon’s mum comes from northern Vietnam and the nuns say that she was affected by the toxin, Agent Orange, that the Americans sprayed over North Vietnam during the war.

Nhon’s mum was living on the street and begging when she fell pregnant. She met a woman who said that she should seek support from the nun Minh Tú at Duc Son pagoda in Huế. Shortly after, Nhon was born in the pagoda’s children’s home. Nhon had difficulties similar to his mother's. He had problems learning to speak, read and write. He was also quick to get angry, sometimes had trouble controlling his body. With the support and help of the nuns and other children, Nhon has become calmer and feels better.

Nhon is popular with everyone at the pagoda. He helps out with the younger children and with cleaning while the other children are at school. When the children get back, they play football with Nhon. c in the whole world. No one knows exactly how much was sprayed over Vietnam, but it was roughly 100 million litres. Between 3 and 4.8 million people may have been affected by the toxin. Almost half a million children have been born with deformities and disabilities. The substance is now banned.

With help, Nhon can make a thousand incense sticks in one day. In Buddhism, it’s common to light incense when praying, as a gift to Buddha. The incense gives off different strong scents, depending on which herbs have been used to make it.