IMH History

Clark Family 1975.  L to R  Back:  Brian, Tom Clark, Beth, Jenny(in front of Beth),
Joanna, Cherie and Ron.   Front:  Dan, Thanh and Nam.

International Mission of Hope was founded in 1977 by Cherie Clark. Cherie first went to Viet Nam in the mid 70's as the overseas director of Friends of Children of Vietnam (FCVN). She was joined by her husband and seven children. While there, Cherie traveled throughout South Viet Nam assisting the elderly, handicapped and orphans of Vietnam.

When the fall of Sai Gon became imminent, Cherie helped organize and participated in the massive baby airlifts that brought thousands of children to America to be adopted. Cherie was airlifted out of Sai Gon in the final days of the war. However, she found a chartered flight and returned to help the rest of the children and staff leave. They escaped Viet Nam on the last babylift flight with rocket and mortar fire falling around them.

"I did not spring from the soil of Viet Nam. I was not cradled in her womb and she did not give birth to me. I was a child of another color and I spoke another language and yet Viet Nam received me as a mother receives an adopted child from a far off land.

"I went to Viet Nam to give and I received. I went to teach and four thousand years of history enlightened me. I went to a country ravaged by war and found peace. I went expecting to find despair and sorrow and found hope and joy. I crossed an ocean and found a home. There is a song in my heart called Viet Nam, but it is wordless and I am incomplete. The words have gone from my song and I am a motherless child."

Cherie Clark, June 1975 after her daring escape on the final Babylift plane leaving Viet Nam. Her passionate devotion to Viet Nam continues.

After she fled Viet Nam, Cherie was unable to abandon her work with children. She soon met Mother Teresa who invited Cherie to continue her work in Calcutta. She left America, with her eight children, to begin a program in India and formed IMH in 1977. There she worked for 12 years, establishing an orphanage for the care of premature infants, newborns and older children. She also established training facilities for doctors and nurses, health clinics and centers for the handicapped.

In 1988 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited FCVN to return to Viet Nam to survey the needs of the children. Cherie was jolted back to the memories of the work left behind in Viet Nam when Cheryl Markson, Executive Director of FCVN, invited her to return to Viet Nam once again. During her tour of its orphanages and medical clinics, Cherie repeatedly heard, "You were the last person we saw in 1975 and now you are the first to return." During the first few days of the trip, Cherie struggled to keep the pain of the past from overwhelming her. However, after returning to Ho Chi Minh City, the wall around her heart began to crumble.

She wrote,

"I turned to look outside as we were on the second floor and below us was a full view of this city of my heart, land of my children, the Viet Nam that I had loved. The busy street broke my heart. I left the room, but too many people had seen me starting to fall apart. I cannot forget how it felt to break down and sob in uncontrolled anguish into the arms of both of the women officials who rushed to hold me. All I could say was "I’m sorry". As I write this I weep again for Viet Nam and what it meant to all of us, what it meant for the world, the pain it caused so many of us and the joy it brought us through our children. I gained much strength from the arms of those women, but I did not stop crying for many days. I had been afraid to come back to Viet Nam. I was afraid to even go to movies about Viet Nam. I did not want to chip at my wall of defense. I was so grateful that when I left, the wall was gone and I did not have to cry anymore for the past—and that if I wanted to cry, it could be a cry of hope for the future of Viet Nam and it’s people…I left knowing that I would return soon and that when I returned I would be able to bring news that people do still care and people are tired of politics and tired of war and that they want peace and will help. I spent a few days with my children and then came to the States to help work one long weekend with the FCVN staff to put together concrete ideas of how we can help the children. For me, personally, I have done a lot of healing since this trip. I had not realized how badly I needed to take it. I do not regret the 13 years of separation because it gave me the time and energy to concentrate on IMH and our children in India. But just as a mother can love two children equally and deeply, so is my love for Viet Nam."

For the next fourteen years, Cherie and her children dedicated their lives to the people (especially the children) of Viet Nam. IMH built and supported orphanages and medical clinics as well as other projects including support for the elderly and handicapped, disaster relief, and tree planting. IMH also helped unite well over 1000 orphaned children with their forever families through adoption. However in January 2003, after an extremely difficult and stressful year, IMH made the very difficult and painful decision to close its doors in Viet Nam.