I'm posting from an open-air internet "cafe" at our last official overnight stop in Vietnam. I've lost track.....I think this is our 7th hotel. (The computer is fickle.....it doesn't insert spaces and won't let me actually view my blog, so I'm not sure how readable this will be.)
Anyway, having had no internet connection at our last stop, I've got some catching up to do!
We had our last clinic day on Saturday. We worked only half of the day, seeing approximately 85 girls, including those from the Little Rose Warm Shelter. This are amazing children and young women. My understanding is that the Shelter (which includes counseling and a school) is run by a public welfare agency in Saigon. Catalyst has worked to get several of "its" own girls into the program. Right now, there are approximately 45 Catalyst girls at the Shelter, and those are the girls we saw Saturday morning.
The Little Rose girls are all victims of human trafficking who have been recovered and/or victims of sexual abuse in their own home towns. Although I heard stories of human trafficking throughout our trip, seeing these girls face to face brought much of it home. Victims of human trafficking are as young as four years old. In Kien Giang, the young girls are brought out to a shack at the entrance of the garbage dump while their parents are at work in the dump. (Adults work during the day, when the sun is hottest. Children work at night.) The girls are raped -- those who scream are sent back to the dump (too assertive) and those who don't are taken. It's a horrible story, but I think it's one that needs to be told. Catalyst and its partnering organizations are teaching these girls how to scream -- both literally and figuratively -- and how to break the cycle of poverty in their lives.
Seeing these girls smiling with their peers at the clinic was amazing. Some of the older girls seem so confident and self-aware, which demonstrates the positive effect that the Little Rose shelter, school, and counseling are having on their lives. (The girls are generally at the shelter for one year. Then they are followed with counseling for another three months. The goal of the program is to either reunite the children with their families or relocate them. Older girls often "graduate" and then move in together, providing themselves with a support system.)
We also saw several of Catalyst's scholarship girls. In Vietnam, public school is "free" -- but not really. School may be free, but kids can only go if they can afford uniforms, books, and the fee for teachers. Catalyst searches out motivated children from their neediest areas and provides scholarships with donated funds. These girls look wonderful and I encourage anyone out there who is interested to get onto Catalyst's website and contribute to the scholarship program.
Better post this in case I lose my connection!
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
