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Contact: Karen Fjelstad, (408) 457-1925	Air Date: March 20, 1998

Tu Phu Religion alive and well in San Francisco   The Tu Phu Cong Dong religion is a small religion practiced primarily by women in Vietnam, France and the United States. For her doctoral dissertation, a University of Hawaii student tried to better understand this religion by shadowing one of its spirit mediums. Karen Fjelstad followed the life of a 67-year old woman. At age 30, this woman became pregnant with her 11th child and did not want the child. She had a miscarriage and lost her husband a short time later. She was forced to raise her children alone and eventually became suicidal. She went to the temple of Tu Phu and learned that the spirits were calling her so she became a spirit medium. She was cured of her illness and was able to borrow money from the temple so she could open a restaurant in Saigon. In this case, says Fjelstad, the religion of Tu Phu provided practical, emotional and social support. Most importantly, this spirit medium turned a horrible experience into something positive. This is the University Report, I'm Tracy Orillo Donovan.

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