I skipped dinner with the group tonight -- you can only look at so much steamed squid, eyeball and all -- so that I could update things here a bit. (Plus, I figure I can live on the granola bars that are in my suitcase for at least a couple of days!)
Anyway, I wanted to finish up about Sunday, before it all blends in to Monday in my mind....
Once we landed in Rach Gia, we headed to the school that Catalyst built for the girls livinging in the Rach Gia garbage dump. (As an aside, my understanding is that the majority of the girls who attend the school have been victims of sexual abuse and human trafficking, most of which is difficult to even comprehend. These girls are as young as 4 years old when they are victimized. Catalyst staffs the school with 3 teachers and a principal. The cost of running the school -- staff and operation -- is $8,000 per year.) At that point, we met up with the volunteers who had traveled from other locations in Vietnam and finished sorting the donations. (Medicine had to be re-packaged, clothes sorted, etc.) After a quick lunch, we started our work at the school.
Before getting in to my afternoon, however, I want to mention that another team -- the home construction team -- is doing incredible things in the unimaginable mid-day heat here in Rach Gia. They work unbelievably hard and are to be commended. The food distribution team has likewise been working hard.
But, from my perspective, it's on to the medical team....
We set up shop at the school We had several stations -- registration, height, weight, vision screening, dental (exam and flouride), nursing, and, when necessary, physician exams. My job, thus far, has been measuring the height of each individual who comes in.
It has been incredibly hot while we work. (I don't know what this converts to, but it was 48 degrees celcius at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday.) Some of the individuals we saw walked 2.5 hours to get to us.....it's incredible. (I've noticed that I use that word -- incredible -- a lot in my posts. I can't help it.....that's what much of this is.)
We saw 72 individuals in the course of 3 hours Sunday afternoon. Although that pace is much slower than what we need to keep the rest of the week, it was a good start, particularly given that we weren't expecting to see any "patients" on Sunday......it was supposed to be our planning day, when we figured out how to set up. Instead, it was baptism by fire!
A few comments on accomodations here in Rach Gia.... The geckos are everywhere. I'm sharing a room with Kathy. We ultimately slept with the light on because there was a HUGE gecko in our room, and it kept "chirping". The light kept it quiet......it also kept me from imaging it scurrying across my bed!
Photo from the Beach at Phu Quoc in the Gulf of Thailand
People starting to gather for our clinic in Rach Gia, Kien Giang
A house near our clinic in Kien Giang
Measuring "patients" in Kien Giang
Boys at the Kien Giang clinic
More photos from the clinic days in Kien Giang
Applying flouride in Kien Giang
A cemetery outside the dump in Rach Gia, Kien Giang
The dump in Rach Gia, Kien Giang
Many of the people we served in Kien Giang live in the dump. You can see "houses" in the distance on the left.
People living in the dump
These are the same boys from the fifth photo above. I saw them in the clinic one day and then again at their home in the dump the next day.
This is a source of water in the dump...
...and this is a truck pumping raw sewage into that water
Our clinic in Tan Hoi Trung, Dong Thap
Life in Tan Hoi Trung, Dong Thap
Driving through the Mekong Delta
This bridge crosses the water between the road and a house. There are donzens and dozens of bridges, one after the other, spanning the waterways.
Our clinic in My Hiep, Dong Thap
Our clinic in Saigon
During our clinic day in Saigon, we saw girls from the Little Rose Warm Shelter, including those who have been the victims of human trafficking.
This little girl is holding one of the many "goodie bags" that we handed out.
Bikes, bikes, bikes
We distributed 250 bikes while in Vietnam, including to the girls we saw at the Saigon clinic. (You can see that this little girl is using the bike to haul the food that we distributed as well.) Bicycles are an important mode of transportation in Vietnam.
Photos from Camp in Long Hai, Phuoc Thuy
We hosted camp for 330 kids, including the girls we saw at our clinic sites.
The camp was held on this beach on the South China Sea.
Most of the kids at camp had never been on a bus, taken a shower, or slept in a "real" bed. Everything from having a lunch big enough to fill their bellies to using a toilet that flushed, was brand new to them.
I painted A LOT of little fingernails at camp!
Saigon Opera House
Government building in Saigon
Sidewalks in Saigon
The team for the 100-mile bike ride from Dong Thap to Saigon!
The ride raised money for the bikes that we donated to children in Vietnam.
Hitting the road at 5:30 a.m.
Early morning traffic in the delta region
Taking a break along the road
Lots of bridges along the route
Cars, trucks, motorbikes, and bicycles all share one road
Carb loading -- Pringles and...
...bread carried me a long way
Lunch at a local restaurant along the way
Our last break with 15 miles to go
One rider jumped in the van so that Tuan (middle, long pants) could get on a bike and lead the way into Saigon for us.
Saigon at last!
This is what we looked like 100 miles and twelve hours after leaving Dong Thap. We had just finished weaving our way through Saigon's rush hour traffic.
The Foerster Kiddos
