2004 Vietnam Aid Expedition - Day 12

Friday, June 18, 2004

Subject: Day 12

Hi everyone!  I hope you're not getting sick of hearing from me.

Today was probably the hardest day of the Expedition.  The day started with a quick cab ride with Caroline to her favorite pho restaurant (Pho Hua - pronounced fah wah) for an early breakfast of really good pho - the best yet - and Vietnamese coffee with sweet milk (I'm not a coffee drinker so it's hard for me to say, but everyone who likes coffee, loves it!)  Then we headed to the Tam Binh Orphanage.  75 children, ages newborn to 8 1/2 years old, live there, all with HIV/Aids.  We had tea with the orphanage director and then took a tour of the facility.  It is new - about 1 1/2 years old - and it's a beautiful facility; very clean.  The first room we visited is where the older kids were playing.  They were all beautiful and looked to be well cared for.  They really checked out all those white people!   Honestly, I couldn't stay in there for very long - I stood outside and cried.  It was just so overwhelming to see those sweet kids with absolutely no future.  They can only afford to give Aids meds to the ones who are already too sick to save.  So sad as it would only cost about $10 per month per child to give them the meds they need.

Nol playing peek-a-boo with one of the girls.

Long getting into the action

Sarah getting a braid

Next we went to the infant room - babies from newborn to about 9-12 months old.  They were all in their cribs - about 20 babies.  There was the sweetest little peanut way in the back with a very bad cleft lip and palate.  She (I called them all 'she' because most aren't dressed in a way that makes it possible to tell) was so smiley and loved when Kisten played peek-a-boo with her.  (Kisten has 2 daughters adopted from Vietnam, one was born with a cleft lip and palate, so it was particularly hard for her to see that baby).  The nannies (2 per room) said we could hold the babies and we all rushed to pick them up.  It was a wonderful sight to see everyone with a baby in their arms!

Sarah

Catherine

Kathy

Love the hair!!

Amelia

Geoff

Shelley

Barb

Ty

Michael

Laurie

Will

So smiley!!

Jack

Jeff

Geoff, Keelan & Clare

Caroline

Then we went to the third room where the toddlers were.  They were all in their beds, some of them 'rocking' which was so sad to see.  Upstairs there were 2 more rooms with more infants and toddlers.  There was one little boy who is very, very sick.  He was just so sad.  Absolutely heartbreaking to see such a little child so sick and in so much pain.  When they get too sick for the nannies and the medical staff (1 Dr. and 2 nurses visit every day) to care for, they are taken to a hospital where they will die.

I spent most of my time in one of the toddler rooms where a few of us plopped down on the floor and played with the babies.  One little guy they call "the hugger" went around and hugged everyone!  He was so sweet.  One of the kids was really shy and stood back for the longest time but eventually came over next to me then let me hold her and hug her.  She was so precious.

The Boss

The Hugger resting on Nol

Caroline with the Hugger

Guess who's holding the snacks??

It was sad to have to put them back in their beds - they cried and raised their arms to be picked up again.  What a difference a little time makes.

We rode back to the hotel on a pretty quiet bus.  It was alot to take in.

We had lunch at a beer garden and were joined by a few officials from the American Embassy.  After they left, we had our going away "ceremony".  Caroline gave a short speech (Thank goodness it was short!  We've heard so many l-o-n-g speeches!  Particularly difficult to sit through when you have no idea what the people are saying.  It was actually funny to listen to people speaking Vietnamese then they would say "Catalyst Foundation" or "Caroline Ticarro-Parker".  Some things just don't translate!) and then gave awards to the top 3 fund raisers.  HELLO!  I was #2 thanks to all of you!!!  Then we presented Hanh with gifts (most of us brought her a t-shirt from the U.S.).  Hanh is the in-country coordinator for Catalyst Foundation and worked for 2 years to make all the arrangements for this trip.  She did a great job as everything went very smoothly.  Then we all said goodbye.  I thought it would be sad, but everyone had a "see you on the next Expedition" attitude.  What an excellent group of people - a very diverse group and yet we all worked so well together.

Saying goodbye to my roommate and new friend, Barb.

Based on the kind of day we'd had so far, Amy, Cindy and I decided to visit the War Museum - why not?  we're already depressed!  It was presented very much from the viewpoint of the existing government, which I imagine was rather biased.  I wished I knew more about the Vietnam War so that I could know the other side.  I didn't see all of the exhibits, it was just too much.

I spent the rest of the afternoon alone in my room resting and admiring my purchases.  It's kinda nice to spend a little time alone to process everything. 

I met some friends - Eleanor from Houston and Eileen from North Carolina - in the hotel lobby at 7:00 and we headed out to dinner.  No Vietnamese food for us - we went to a French restaurant around the corner from our hotel.  I laughed that I was eating spaghetti and meat sauce and drinking a Diet Coke (Oh yeah!  I found some!!!) while in a French restaurant while in Saigon! 

After dinner we walked down to the Rex Hotel - very famous and very beautiful - and went up to the roof for some ice cream.  It was SOOO good.  My sweet tooth has been suffering - I can't find anything really sweet! 

I'm taking a little day trip tomorrow.  Can't wait to fill you in on the details.

Take care.

K

**UPDATE** After returning home, I learned from my adoption agency, Children's Hope International, that not all of the children at this orphanage are HIV+ or have AIDS. Children's Hope also started a program to provide HIV/AIDS medicine to the children who do need it. Many of the children from this orphanage have since been adopted and are living happy, healthy lives with their forever families.