Niagara University offering backpacking trip through Vietnam

Niagara University is set to offer a 20-day backpacking expedition through Vietnam May 17-June 5, 2015.

The experience, titled the "Legacy of War Tour," will explore two of the country's most pressing needs: the unexploded ordnance that litters the countryside, maiming or killing hundreds of Vietnamese people each year; and the debilitating effects of Agent Orange on generations of Vietnamese children.

Over the course of three weeks, participants will hike in Vietnam's jungles and mountains, spend two nights in Hmong and Tay homestays in the mountains near the Chinese border, visit sites of war significance throughout Central Vietnam, and meet with leaders of internationally renowned NGOs dedicated to alleviating the war-related suffering that continues to plague the country.

Individuals do not need to be affiliated with Niagara University to participate.

The cost to attend is $3,975, which includes everything, except food (all international and domestic flights, trains, shuttles, boats, visas, travel insurance, hotels, hostels, homestays, park and museum entrance fees, guide fees, gratuities and taxes). The cost for food is estimated at $350-450.

To participate, a nonrefundable deposit of $2,000 and a copy of a valid passport will be required by Nov. 7.

Neither Niagara University nor Dr. Joseph Little, the professor facilitating the "Legacy of War Tour," will receive any monetary profit from this trip.

Little is an associate professor of English at Niagara University, where he directs the first-year writing program and teaches courses in ethnography and travel writing, writing and wellbeing, as well as the teaching of writing. His travel experience spans 40 countries, including backpacking trips in India, Nepal, Vietnam, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Little sits on the board of directors of the U.S. fundraising arm of Hanoi's Friendship Village. The 2015 "Legacy of War Tour" marks his third trip to Vietnam.

To register and/or obtain more information, contact Little at [email protected] or 716-255-3909.