Hello all,
I have just realised that it's been nearly a month since my last entry! Time flies as they say...
I will try and put a variety of photos showing all the fun things I have been doing since last time, for those who have missed them on Facebook.
I have settled into such a routine here after 3 months that there seems to be less to report, although I think there is just as much going on. Also our computer has been plagued by a series of viruses and tantrums so I have given up and come to an internet cafe to write this.
I've seen a lot of the major tourist cities around Central Vietnam so this month we've mostly been staying around Quang Ngai.
Things here are OK, a little up and down as we get frustrated by things. Emily who was volunteering in October is an Occupational Therapist. She has been great but she is
feeling how little she has done. The programme is still being set up and needs long term goals or things can just drift along, we play with the children and buy them things but not much else. The turn over is normally quite quick as most people only stay one month We are reliant on future volunteers carrying on the things we have started. We are going to try and make some information sheets about each placement and work more closely with the Physio so we can see what needs doing. I am also going to do a sheet about teaching and behaviour management(- not that I am an expert!) and try and set up things in the house so when new volunteers come they can see what is to be done. We hope that will provide some continuity.
Things here take a long time. There is a girl who was taken out of the orphanage cause she was running away and is now in a detention centre. The GVN Vietnam director came down and said he would get her moved straight away, very easily but 3 weeks on she is still there. Apparently she is sharing the centre with drug addicts and criminals. Emily found this article about Social Protection Centres on the web: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/11/13/vietna14543.htm We are hoping things are not that bad for her and she actually seemed OK when we went to visit but we are conscious of how little control we have here, over what actually happens to the children. It takes some adjustment, especially as our hopes were high just after he left.
Of course you know you can never prepare for the culture shock and the things you will see when you are here. If everything was going well then they wouldn't need volunteers! Still it's frustrating to be told a doctor has misdiagnosed a child (as far as I know you do not contract cerebal palsey aged 3 after a virus!) and then told that doctors will not give proper treatment here unless they are bribed.
So that's been the 'downs' of this months. The 'ups' are that I'm actually feeling quite motivated after all that to put things in place. We have an extra volunteer this month so George and I have arranged to have an afternoon off per week to get profiles done. One of the students in her adult class is a doctor came with us today and gave free medical checks to the children in one of our rural placements. We are going to ask him if he knows anyone who would be prepared to do it on a monthly basis (we will pay) and have also asked Mr Viet (the programme director) and the volunteer headquarters in New Zealand if anything could be arranged... watch this space!
Our new volunteers are Teresa, a teacher from America and Simeon a student from Germany who I know already as he's been volunteering in Da Nang since August. They are both nice and friendly and having new people always revitalises things a bit, although I was sad to see Emily go!
Hopefully I will see her when I go to San Fransisco as she lives in California.
This is a very volunteering-focuesed entry but that's how this month has felt. We have done other fun stuff, like visiting mountains and waterfalls, having my fringe cut and going to QuangNgai's first ever Halloween party. (I've just realised that I didn't bring my camera cable so I'll have to put all the photos on another time.)
Rainy season is here off and on. Town was flooded yesterday (our house was fine) but today the streets are clear and you'd never know people were wading waist deep to get to the supermarket. It was cooler last night and I am so glad I had footy pyjamas made (like a giant one piece babygrow- they are my favourite things ever!) The only annoyance is that Xuan was meant to go for his operation today (thank you everyone who donated- we sitll don't have enough for all his treatment so feel free if you haven't yet!) but he can't leave his village because of the flooding. It goes down quite quickly so we're hoping it won't be delayed too much.
The other excitement is that I am planning my onward trip. Another volunteer recommended going to do voluntary work at an elephant sanctuary in Thailand (www.elephantnaturepark.org) apparently they are good and it sounds fun. I have to apply in advance though, so I'm organising itineraries to see when I can get there. It's got me very excited about all the places I want to see between now and April. I just wish I had longer to do everything. You could easily spend a year travelling round Asia I think. There are 3 different places I want to go SCUBA diving and 2 places I want to sleep in jungle treehouses, as well as Buddhas and homestays and travelling on slowboats, local buses and jungle trains, all of which takes ages of course.
Anyway, now I'm fairly up to date I'm going to try and keep it that way and hopefully will write a new entry soon....
Enjoy the fireworks everyone!
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