what a day. what a week.
ok, so a quick recap, we have lost our contract at the orphanage we work at. we have however managed to retain our placement in the hope that the contract will be renewed and in the meantime we can continue the work we do at the rural rehabilitation centres and english teaching. we are now under the banner of a community program rather than orphanage program.
there are four orphans who we tend to prioritise in light of the fact that they have disabilities. we intended to take them with us to our rural placements each morning. give them the stimulation and physical therapy they need.
nope. not happening.
ok, just one, just Little Phouc. he needs his physical therapy each day or he will regress. so we'll just take him for now and see how we go.
ok.
actually, nope. not happening.
he's too weak to travel.
bullshit.
bullshit.
bullshit.
i HATE the director of that orphanage and i've never even met her.
i HATE the state of this stupid corrupt system.
and i'm afraid.
i'm afraid for him. what will happen to him? he's made so much progress in the last three months, sure, in the last four weeks i've seen him improve. if he goes without physio he'll just end up back the way he was, a little ball of a body lying on his bed 24 hours a day in pain and bored.
i'm so disappointed and frustrated and so so sad for my little darling. he's such an amazing little being. my heart swells with love and admiration for him every time i just think of him.
the saddest thing of all is that if we had just known sooner we could have somehow made efforts to bridge the gap and make sure he gets his physio somehow...
however, i am here for another four or five weeks and who knows what will happen before i leave. i know you don't know this boy but please, if you read this, send me some positive vibes or pray for him or do whatever it is that you do in times of need.
he needs.
Friday, 27 June 2008
Thursday, 12 June 2008
i'm sorry, i know it looks long, but i use small words for you, i promise! ;)
i'm having to learn how to use simple english as well as trying to learn vietnamese!
also, i don't expect any of you to read it all, but this really is the very least amount information i could commit to this blog.
so, last time i wrote i had experienced one day in this lovely town.
there's a lot more to the people, the places and the life that i hadn't seen then, and God knows, i probably still haven't.
i could go into even brief detail about each placement but still have you all bored to tears! in short, these children are all beautiful. apart from the three english groups we teach, our work is exclusively with disabled children. in the rehabilitation centres and in the social protection centre. we give them attention, affection, physio therapy, facilitate the community support and hopefully give them a sense of importance in this world and society where disability is regarded akin to the old notions of leprosy.
it has been a massively gratifying week and a half so far and i'm enjoying every aspect.
so much so that i've decided to stay another month!
when i initially applied, i though one month would be a long time, but now, 8 working days in i can see that it will pass in the blink of an eye and there is so much more i could be doing here instead of seeing statues and famous buildings and beaches and monuments [all of which i can see in the two months afterwards!]
but today was a particular roller coaster of a day.
last week we were informed that the program would possibly not continue to run here in Quang Ngai due to difficulties with contract renewals at one of our placements, SPC.
Mr. Viet, our boss, Toan, our translator and all the volunteers even met with the dept. of foreign affairs on tuesday to try to plead our case. [a fun excursion were it not for the gravity of the matter]
the work we do at SPC concentrates on 4 children. one in particular, 'Little' Phouc, is left lying on his rattan mat on bare wooden slats for twenty two and half hours every day, he has cerebral palsy, an unfunctioning left arm [possibly agent orange defect], is blind and at 9 or 10 years old, stands at a little under 3 feet tall.
and he's beautiful, oh is he beautiful!
we had to fight for him. he needs someone to care for him and do his physio therapy with him. [two months ago his muscles were so constricted that they could barely pry him from his 24 hour foetal position, today, wearing leg splints he can stand for great lengths and is even beginning to try to take steps, amazing and exciting!]
anyway, without the SPC contract, we couldn't have this placement operating. simple as.
so today, with our hearts heavy with fear and grief for all the children we try so hard to help, we went off to teach english at the local kindergarten. almost certain in the knowledge that our days were numbered as a volunteer presence.
we returned to find Mr. Viet in the house waiting to tell us the bad news. the SPC contract was not renewed and without an orphanage at the placement, they could no longer operate the program...
but what about little Phouc, and all the other children too?
the physio, the support, the attention?
what about the bright young things who gather for english conversation every week who can truly benefit from talking with the 'only westerners in town'?
we talked about plan B's, questioned the situation, threw out suggestions and pleas. searched for answers and tried to hold back the anger, frustration and tears. thoughts of Little Phouc lying practically unattended in the backs of all our minds especially.
so guess what, if the program can't operate as an orphanage program with no orphanage, how about we call it a 'community program'?!
yep, it was simple as that!
the relief, the joy, the cheers! the creativity!
we will take our three disabled orphans with us to the rehabilitation centres and the work can continue!
it is quite possible that i am not relaying the full facts of the situation to you, for reasons of discretion and to keep your interest! it is impossible for me to describe the work and the people justly but know this, simply put, i am very happy here, learning new things about the world and myself everyday. i'm teaching and learning new skills and i believe that the work being done by the volunteers here is really making a difference. both today and for the future.
and even though it was never the plan, i'm already excited about the second month!
in other news, the mosquitoes have found me, ouch... we went to Hoi An at the weekend, swam in the sea, ate a lot and i got a dress made. it's 1.30m and i've been up since 5am for my run. we went to the beach here this evening to celebrate our victory and then sat up on the terrace listening to music and talking and drinking strawberry wine and cheap orange rum!
the geckos are still singing away to each other but i think it's time i called it a night
i promise i will get some photos uploaded soon. i miss you all and love you.
[i'll send postcards too, soon hopefully!]
[moral of the story? expect the unexpected!]
also, i don't expect any of you to read it all, but this really is the very least amount information i could commit to this blog.
so, last time i wrote i had experienced one day in this lovely town.
there's a lot more to the people, the places and the life that i hadn't seen then, and God knows, i probably still haven't.
i could go into even brief detail about each placement but still have you all bored to tears! in short, these children are all beautiful. apart from the three english groups we teach, our work is exclusively with disabled children. in the rehabilitation centres and in the social protection centre. we give them attention, affection, physio therapy, facilitate the community support and hopefully give them a sense of importance in this world and society where disability is regarded akin to the old notions of leprosy.
it has been a massively gratifying week and a half so far and i'm enjoying every aspect.
so much so that i've decided to stay another month!
when i initially applied, i though one month would be a long time, but now, 8 working days in i can see that it will pass in the blink of an eye and there is so much more i could be doing here instead of seeing statues and famous buildings and beaches and monuments [all of which i can see in the two months afterwards!]
but today was a particular roller coaster of a day.
last week we were informed that the program would possibly not continue to run here in Quang Ngai due to difficulties with contract renewals at one of our placements, SPC.
Mr. Viet, our boss, Toan, our translator and all the volunteers even met with the dept. of foreign affairs on tuesday to try to plead our case. [a fun excursion were it not for the gravity of the matter]
the work we do at SPC concentrates on 4 children. one in particular, 'Little' Phouc, is left lying on his rattan mat on bare wooden slats for twenty two and half hours every day, he has cerebral palsy, an unfunctioning left arm [possibly agent orange defect], is blind and at 9 or 10 years old, stands at a little under 3 feet tall.
and he's beautiful, oh is he beautiful!
we had to fight for him. he needs someone to care for him and do his physio therapy with him. [two months ago his muscles were so constricted that they could barely pry him from his 24 hour foetal position, today, wearing leg splints he can stand for great lengths and is even beginning to try to take steps, amazing and exciting!]
anyway, without the SPC contract, we couldn't have this placement operating. simple as.
so today, with our hearts heavy with fear and grief for all the children we try so hard to help, we went off to teach english at the local kindergarten. almost certain in the knowledge that our days were numbered as a volunteer presence.
we returned to find Mr. Viet in the house waiting to tell us the bad news. the SPC contract was not renewed and without an orphanage at the placement, they could no longer operate the program...
but what about little Phouc, and all the other children too?
the physio, the support, the attention?
what about the bright young things who gather for english conversation every week who can truly benefit from talking with the 'only westerners in town'?
we talked about plan B's, questioned the situation, threw out suggestions and pleas. searched for answers and tried to hold back the anger, frustration and tears. thoughts of Little Phouc lying practically unattended in the backs of all our minds especially.
so guess what, if the program can't operate as an orphanage program with no orphanage, how about we call it a 'community program'?!
yep, it was simple as that!
the relief, the joy, the cheers! the creativity!
we will take our three disabled orphans with us to the rehabilitation centres and the work can continue!
it is quite possible that i am not relaying the full facts of the situation to you, for reasons of discretion and to keep your interest! it is impossible for me to describe the work and the people justly but know this, simply put, i am very happy here, learning new things about the world and myself everyday. i'm teaching and learning new skills and i believe that the work being done by the volunteers here is really making a difference. both today and for the future.
and even though it was never the plan, i'm already excited about the second month!
in other news, the mosquitoes have found me, ouch... we went to Hoi An at the weekend, swam in the sea, ate a lot and i got a dress made. it's 1.30m and i've been up since 5am for my run. we went to the beach here this evening to celebrate our victory and then sat up on the terrace listening to music and talking and drinking strawberry wine and cheap orange rum!
the geckos are still singing away to each other but i think it's time i called it a night
i promise i will get some photos uploaded soon. i miss you all and love you.
[i'll send postcards too, soon hopefully!]
[moral of the story? expect the unexpected!]
Monday, 2 June 2008
day one at Quang Ngai
the g is silent
so i just spent a lovely weekend in Da Nang. met all of the old volunteers, some of whom are on their way home and also most of the new ones coming in.
we had orientation yesterday for all the placements in the Da Nang house which is where i was supposed to be placed but as the day went on it appeared my services might be required elsewhere!
the ladies in the Quang Ngai house put out an appeal for an extra pair of hands and so i sat and thought about it and thought about it and in the end i went with the decision i'd already made within the first 90 seconds, and so here i am in 'real Viet Nam', Quang Ngai.
ok, so first off, Da Nang is a pretty big city. it's touristy and incredibly noisy and a bit touristy and a lot like any other city in the world.
and i'm a county bumpkin really so that was one really big reason.
the rest was just gut instinct. it was six of one and half a dozen of the other but my gut was just telling me that if i had the choice, Quang Ngai was the place to go.
so we all piled into a scorching hot car and headed off on the 3 hour journey south.
and woohoo, i was right!!!!
it's amazing here. i saw stars for the first time since i left home. we cycle almost everywhere (mostly on dirt tracks), we have 2 inch long geckos crawling along the walls& ceilings all evening chatting away to each other, we have a massive upstairs balcony that looks out onto paddy fields and .... we're the only white folks in town!
deadly!
they all think my septum ring is the most hilarious thing they've ever seen and none of us have experienced celebrity status like this, "hello, what is your name, where are you from, hello, hello" - everywhere! it's great craic.
and the placement, the work, i think it's going to be wonderful. (phew!)
this morning we went to Binh Hoa which is a sort of meeting place for disabled children and their parents and siblings where they can play games, get some physio and we give them fruit and milk aswell. it also seems to be a great support for the mothers, they are such hard workers and disablity is such a taboo in this country that they must have a lot to deal with.
every monday and tuesday morning, they will carry their children or load them up onto a moto or bicycle and make the journey out to Binh Hoa for just an hour and a half - and it seems to be well worth it to everyone.
this evening then i took my first ever english class.
it was mad!
there were about 15 students, from 13 to 37 all with only a little more english than i have vietnamese and they were great fun.
we asked questions and played a game and man it was so hot. hot hot hot!
but it was good fun and i'm looking forward to next week when we'll be talking about travelling, entertainment (i think they meant hobbies and interests..) and jobs.
great! ha!
we have breakfast here at 8, lunch at 12 and dinner at 5. so far so good on the food front, it's all quite tasty and there's a bit of everything. we eat out of tiny little rice bowls though so i'm not sure how much i'm actually eating in one sitting. i leave the table full anyway, have no doubts!
this evening though as we ate dinner it started to rain a bit, which apparently is really very rare here, i obviously took it with me! the Aussie ladies were delighted until Doreen looked out into the hallway from the table and noticed that it was flooded.
completely!
the drains in the two ground floor bathrooms had blocked and we were ankle deep in water throughout the house for about an hour! it was madness, we had buckets and brushes and jugs and towels trying to get the water out onto the street, happily, we don't have a front door per se, just a pair of galvanised shutter-doors on guides so the whole living area opens out right onto the road.
we all sleep on matresses on floor here and poor Dave's room is on the ground floor and so his matress got soaked. bedlam!
but it was sort of fun all the same and no real damage was done. there are pics around somewhere, i'll do a bit of uploading soon enough. wait til you see this place, it's real picture postcard stuff!
so that's all for now, i'm off up to get in under my mosquito net and sweat the night away under a [rotating] fan, if i could only train myself to breathe in as the fan crosses me!
til next time,
tam biet
so i just spent a lovely weekend in Da Nang. met all of the old volunteers, some of whom are on their way home and also most of the new ones coming in.
we had orientation yesterday for all the placements in the Da Nang house which is where i was supposed to be placed but as the day went on it appeared my services might be required elsewhere!
the ladies in the Quang Ngai house put out an appeal for an extra pair of hands and so i sat and thought about it and thought about it and in the end i went with the decision i'd already made within the first 90 seconds, and so here i am in 'real Viet Nam', Quang Ngai.
ok, so first off, Da Nang is a pretty big city. it's touristy and incredibly noisy and a bit touristy and a lot like any other city in the world.
and i'm a county bumpkin really so that was one really big reason.
the rest was just gut instinct. it was six of one and half a dozen of the other but my gut was just telling me that if i had the choice, Quang Ngai was the place to go.
so we all piled into a scorching hot car and headed off on the 3 hour journey south.
and woohoo, i was right!!!!
it's amazing here. i saw stars for the first time since i left home. we cycle almost everywhere (mostly on dirt tracks), we have 2 inch long geckos crawling along the walls& ceilings all evening chatting away to each other, we have a massive upstairs balcony that looks out onto paddy fields and .... we're the only white folks in town!
deadly!
they all think my septum ring is the most hilarious thing they've ever seen and none of us have experienced celebrity status like this, "hello, what is your name, where are you from, hello, hello" - everywhere! it's great craic.
and the placement, the work, i think it's going to be wonderful. (phew!)
this morning we went to Binh Hoa which is a sort of meeting place for disabled children and their parents and siblings where they can play games, get some physio and we give them fruit and milk aswell. it also seems to be a great support for the mothers, they are such hard workers and disablity is such a taboo in this country that they must have a lot to deal with.
every monday and tuesday morning, they will carry their children or load them up onto a moto or bicycle and make the journey out to Binh Hoa for just an hour and a half - and it seems to be well worth it to everyone.
this evening then i took my first ever english class.
it was mad!
there were about 15 students, from 13 to 37 all with only a little more english than i have vietnamese and they were great fun.
we asked questions and played a game and man it was so hot. hot hot hot!
but it was good fun and i'm looking forward to next week when we'll be talking about travelling, entertainment (i think they meant hobbies and interests..) and jobs.
great! ha!
we have breakfast here at 8, lunch at 12 and dinner at 5. so far so good on the food front, it's all quite tasty and there's a bit of everything. we eat out of tiny little rice bowls though so i'm not sure how much i'm actually eating in one sitting. i leave the table full anyway, have no doubts!
this evening though as we ate dinner it started to rain a bit, which apparently is really very rare here, i obviously took it with me! the Aussie ladies were delighted until Doreen looked out into the hallway from the table and noticed that it was flooded.
completely!
the drains in the two ground floor bathrooms had blocked and we were ankle deep in water throughout the house for about an hour! it was madness, we had buckets and brushes and jugs and towels trying to get the water out onto the street, happily, we don't have a front door per se, just a pair of galvanised shutter-doors on guides so the whole living area opens out right onto the road.
we all sleep on matresses on floor here and poor Dave's room is on the ground floor and so his matress got soaked. bedlam!
but it was sort of fun all the same and no real damage was done. there are pics around somewhere, i'll do a bit of uploading soon enough. wait til you see this place, it's real picture postcard stuff!
so that's all for now, i'm off up to get in under my mosquito net and sweat the night away under a [rotating] fan, if i could only train myself to breathe in as the fan crosses me!
til next time,
tam biet
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