So I have had a bit of a struggle with my blog in the last week or so, so this update comes with several fun events.
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| Beach day! |
On Thursday we took 16 children from Mary's House to the beach. The water was a bit rougher than the first time and we were amazed at how brave the children were, jumping in and body surfing and refusing to get out when the life guards finally gave us the signal that it may be a bit too rough. After that, we spent the rest of the morning just hanging out with the kids, eating lunch and playing in the field by the beach. It was the nicest time. We found that several of the boys are pretty amazing breakdancers/gymnasts. One boy Tai was able to stand on his head for an entire minute and many of the other boys were doing impressive back flips and cartwheels. The bad weather did not phase them at all and we still had a really wonderful time. They really don't get out much, especially not on trips like this, so I'm really glad that we've been able to take them out several times while we have been here. Jen, one of the main women behind Mary's House, is coming back right after we leave, so I'm sure they will have more chances for outings!
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| Khanh, Connie, ASM |
While we've been here, we've been working on little care packages for the kiddos at Mary's House, including clothes and books. We sorted through all the clothes that we brought and a bought a few extra and we were able to present each kid with several new articles of clothes and a book, as well as the Harry Potter series in Vietnamese. Olivia and Anne Stuart did a really nice job packaging them and the kids were really delighted. It was funny, almost immediately after we gave them their gifts, they all swapped clothes/books until they found pieces that they liked. We left them Friday afternoon calmly sitting all together reading their books and showing off their new outfits. Some of the kids had been wearing the same outfit every time we visited, so the clothes were definitely appreciated. Big, huge thank you to everyone who donated! Your clothes have absolutely been put to good use!
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| Post-movie |
We had a really nice weekend with Giang and came back to Da Nang to take the kids to the cinema and lunch on Monday before Anne Stuart was due to the airport. This really was an experience because a lot of the children had never even been the shopping center where the movie was, let alone the movies. We saw Ice Age 4 and all of them were completely enamored at the entire experience- popcorn, soda, movie, comfy seats. I had one little girl sitting on my lap who only stayed we me until our sections popcorn was out, and then she found another lap with more popcorn. She returned to me after all the popcorn was gone, but was definitely disappointed that I hadn't produced another bag just for her. After the movie we took them out for lunch at KFC, which has interestingly made it to Vietnam and is actually all over the place. It is the only chain I have seen here. They had chicken and french fries and ice cream and then went home very sleepy for their mid day nap. Olivia and I are going to take then to the arcade and lunch sometime this week.
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| Ladies of Mary's House |
I can't communicate enough how important this home is. There is not a ton of information on the website for Mary's House yet, but down below is the link to give you a little more information. We will be producing a website with more information about each individual child in hopes of getting sponsorship for them all. Here is the current website through Giving it Back to Kids:
Mary's House. It is really one of the most amazing places. Everyone there has done such a beautiful job making it a safe and happy place for these children in need to live. They also really give volunteers the opportunity to donate and help in ways that are both immediate and long term. Through sponsorship, the sponsor gets a monthly update on their child and I guarantee that the money is going to all the right things and truly is used to provide the best environment for the child. This place is empowering children in need to have an incredibly bright future. They are just the nicest kids. Yesterday afternoon I went to visit with them and four of the boys showed me a local Pho place, holding my hand and helping me order. I know I basically said this before, but Mary's House is a place that takes children from unfortunate circumstances and takes care of them. I love it there.
We had a visit to social support where we were able to meet the absolutely adorable son of one of the care mother's, Mai. Last time we were here I gave her a bunch of clothes and it was really cute seeing him in them. He was a very funny little guy- incredibly confused by me and Olivia and Anne Stuart, going between staring skeptically at us, hitting us in the face, and the occasionally offering a sweet little smile. It was really nice though because she was very pregnant when we met last January, so it was fun meeting her little guy. We also spent some time with the disabled babies. They have some very capable and caring GVN volunteers working with them right now, one of whom is training to be a physio, so that is really great. Its really hard to shake the sadness there. We are comfortable and happy to be with those children, but it really is heartbreaking seeing children as sick as they are. However, Dinh will always have the ability to melt your heart with her sweet and sometimes naughty smile. They are incredibly sweet kids. I am grateful that GVN still has a placement there; they really do need it the most. We brought them eye cream because they have a case of conjunctivitis going around, and will continue to supply them with that they need.
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| Afternoon Reading |
I will blog again very soon, but the rest of week is full of planning and taking a trip to pagoda to drop off another load of resources and spend time with the babies. We will also spend time at Mary's House, taking the kids out and spending time with them at the house. I am completely shocked at how quickly the last month has gone by. I can't believe that my trip's end is around the corner. I will return to the states to start planning my return to Vietnam :-). I look forward to continuing to help Mary's House from the states as well. As I've said many times before, I love it there!
Its been an incredible month in many different ways. Spending time with these children has been refreshing and motivating and I am totally devastated to have to leave. However, I know it won't be long until we are all back.
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| Olivia and Trinh |
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| Group at Beach! |
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| Duc break dancing! |
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| Connie and Tai |
We had another big adventure with Mary's House on Friday and took them all to the arcade. We spent a bit more than an hour watching the kids go crazy playing all of the different video games as well as bumper carts (yes, bumper carts INSIDE the arcade). At one point little Ut, who is hardly tall enough to see over the game tables, was driving around in one of the little cars, running into everything and having the time of her life. Liv managed to climb into one with two of the kiddos, which was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. We ran into another group of children visited the arcade from another house run by Giving it Back to Kids, so that was nice seeing some of the other children that we haven't met before. After the arcade we tok them for lunch and ice cream at a place called Lotteria which is kind of Vietnam's version of KFC and then took them home to get some rest. Friday night we were able to spend some time with our friend Hong who was an intern at GVN the first time we came over. We also got to meet her fiance (Olivia had already met him when she spent Tet with her family last year) as well as see our friend Tam who had visited the Pagoda with us the week prior.
On Saturday morning our friends Hong, Tam and Rosanna took us by motorbike to spend some time with children at the Pagoda orphanage. We had a few little things to give them such as infant diapers and wipes and then we got to spend the morning cuddling with absolutely adorable new born babies. It was really sweet, at on point one of Liv's students from 2011 cuddled up right next to her while she was holding a sleeping baby and went over her English with her. It really is the sweetest thing have these beautiful little newborn babies cuddle right up and fall asleep on you. I also love seeing how the older children interact with the babies with so much care. Everyone there is a caregiver and they are so kind to eachother. I am amazed at how well this place runs with all of the people that live there. Everything really is a group effort and like I said before, they all take care of each other. The age range of people that live there is incredible; people of literally all ages because some people spend their entire lives there. We were invited to stay for lunch which is always a treat. They eat all vegetarian and whatever they put in front of you is delicious. I'm really glad that we got to spend another morning there- its hard because it is so far away so the only practical way to get there is by motorbike. Luckily we had friends willing to take us!
