Hanoi update 11-24-2011

Hi All,

It has been a few days since my last update. That does not mean we have not been really busy. All HSCV programs have been very active and doing well.

Last Thursday we visited Bac Giang Province, about 80 miles from Ha Noi. We have been supporting an orphanage there for a couple of years.

They care for about 100 children. Earlier this year HSCV donated about 20,000 meals of fortified rice. This is a very poor area and on Thursday we interviewed four families to see if we could include them in our rice distribution program. All were very poor and headed by single mothers and we hope we can figure out how to help them.

On Friday we had a wheelchair distribution in Vinh Phuc Province. HSCV receives the wheelchairs from Free Wheelchair Mission in containers of 550 wheelchairs each. Giving It Back To Kids, another NGO in Vietnam, which works in the central and southern parts of the country, supervises all wheelchair distributions in Vietnam and HSCV handles the distributions in the northern part of the country. To date HSCV has distributed almost 15,000 wheelchairs. A couple pictures of the recipients of the wheelchairs are attached. Usually in the US when we see a person in a wheelchair it is not always immediately evident what their problem is. In Vietnam that is generally not the case.

On Saturday we went to the Quynh Hoa Orphanage. As I think I have mentioned in the past, this orphanage is run by a husband and wife. A few years ago they started a facility to help physically handicapped children in their neighborhood. Now 44 handicapped children and young adults live with them. Upon inquiring, we were advised that none of them had ever been examined by a doctor. HSCV made arrangements for the head of the Orthopedic Department of the National Hospital for Pediatrics to come to the orphanage to examine all the residents. Unfortunately, he advised none of them could be helped with surgery. Most suffered from cerebral palsy. A couple of the older residents might have been helped if they had been treated earlier but it is now too late. HSCV is now in the process of getting a doctor specializing in working with the handicapped to visit the orphanage to determine if braces might provide them with some help.

For the last eight days HSCV was fortunate to have Roxane Svoboda visit us in Ha Noi. She is the Chairman of the HSCV board. She, her husband Gail, and their family members have been wonderful supporters of HSCV over the years. She left to return to the US late last night but wanted to do something special for the girls at the Girls Foster Home before she left. (She had already brought wonderful gifts for them as well as for the HSCV staff members.) I suggested she buy them all a KFC dinner. (I think this is the only US fast food operation in Ha Noi.) Only one of the girls at the home had ever had KFC before and she gave me a high five when I announced what was going to happen.

Huyen, the GFH social worker, volunteered to go pick up the food. We told her to make certain that she got enough so everyone would get as much to eat as they wanted.
There were 12 of us at dinner. Huyen purchased, a three piece chicken dinner, including French fries, a chicken sandwich, a custard tort type desert and a large coke for everyone. Obviously there was a lot of food. I talked to Huyen that there was so much food it could not be eaten in one meal but it could all be warmed up the next day and it would be fine. She said that she knew Roxie and I would leave food some but the rest of them were going to try to eat it all. They didn't, but it was damn close.

I was watching Phuong, the seven year old; eat who weighs about 50 pounds. (Yes, this is the little girl I flicked the rice at. She has forgiven me. After every dinner the girls clean the kitchen, wash the dishes and then we watch the Disney Channel. It is now a bit of a race among the younger girls to see who sits next to me to watch TV. Phuong is not usually an early arrival but she has now determined that her place is sitting on my lap. For me, that is about as good as life can get!) But Phuong ate the three pieces of chicken and the French fries. Then she opened the chicken sandwich and that apparently looked good to her and she took a couple of bites. That did it. A dash to the bathroom. Much laughter from the rest of us. I guess there is just so much food a 50 lb child can consume. She walked around holding her stomach. We continued to laugh. She pretended to be mad at our laughing but I think she enjoyed being the center of attention. She is very, very sweet.

Although this was a very fun and funny night this is not typical at the GFH. HSCV cares deeply about these girls but money is tight. But Roxie just wanted to provide for one "blow out" dinner for these girls who have all suffered much trauma in their lives, and it was a good thing. I believe everyone deserves a blow out something or other every once in a while.

Also, in reply to many inquiries, my Geckos seem to be doing well. However, I think Big Mama might have been dating recently. Tiny is my newest roommate. (Does anyone know how many offspring lizards have at one time? They are really small and semi-cute, but what the hell, I'm a westerner and scare easily.) Advice would be appreciated.

I hope all is well with each of you.

HSCV President, Chuck Devet