Latest Updates
November/December 2009
Heart Surgery for kids
Han, her father and teacher
Han after surgery
We had planned to pay for heart surgery for one child on this trip, and had agreed on a child referred to us by Miss Yen, our heart surgery coordinator. Late one afternoon eight year old Han showed up at our house with her dad and teacher. She had been diagnosed with ventricular septal defect some years ago, but there was no money for surgery. We agreed to help her and sent her to Saigon for evaluation by Dr. Phan, our surgeon. We next saw her on the way to hospital in mid December. Surgery was successful and she was back home by the end of the year.
Dinh Viet Phap, a three and a half year old boy from Hau Giang province in the Mekong Delta, was referred to us by Miss Yen. He was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot two years ago but surgery was deferred as Dr. Phan wanted to wait until until Phap weighed more than 10 kilos. Surgery in December was successful, but like most kids with this diagnosis he will need another surgery, probably in about four years.
Individual Family Assistance
Quy
Quy $8.00 per month for 2010
Our newest addition to this group is Quy, a sixteen year old tenth grader. We were introduced to her by two social workers at her school.. Both parents died when she was two and she lives with her grandmother, who is in her seventies and supports them by selling lottery tickets. Quy is a good student but was about to drop out of school when we met her. She has agreed to stay in school and will use the money we give her for school supplies and food.
Cam Tu $107 for 2010
Cam Tu’s story continues to get worse. His sister, who was taking care of him, is in jail for selling heroin. His mom left but he prefers to live with his dad, who is sick with TB. On the bright side, he is still in school and Miss Yen will use the money for school supplies, clothes and food.
Thanh Thanh $107 for 2010
Thanh Thanh, in Soc Trang province, is now doing very well in school. Miss Yen still takes her to Saigon several times a year for heart checkups, and will use the money to help Thanh Thanh throughout the year.
Cuong $54 for 2010
Cuong’s mom has been sick and the stress has affected Cuong’s school work. She is still a good student, but not at the top of her class this year. The money will be used for extra instruction in math, physics and English.
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Pham Thi Bay $5.00/month
Her situation is the same as before, and Mr. Tri, the hamlet president, will give her $5.00 a month to buy rice for her daughter.
Nguyen Thi Kim Nam $8.00/month
Kim Nam’s situation remains the same. Because she is blind, Miss Lan, a retired school teacher and one of our helpers, buys and delivers rice to her each month.
Nguyen Van Tri $11.00/month.
Tri, disabled, continues to work for very little money under difficult circumstances with a great attitude. He cares for his two boys alone and always has a ready smile.
Nguyen Thi Seo
Miss Seo, in bad health when we last saw her, has passed away. Our help allowed her to live her last couple of years without worrying about food.
For those families getting monthly assistance, we left money for 2010 with our volunteer assistants.
Education Assistance
Exercise books were again the top request from school principals. The exercise books are used for daily classroom work and for homework.
We bought 11,565 exercise books at about 19 cents each and distributed them to 1,259 students in thirteen schools in six towns – nine elementary schools, three middle schools and one high school.
As usual, each student was personally handed a gift wrapped set of books by us or one of our helpers.
Our total cost: $2,174Direct Food Aid
Taking home the rice.
The district (county) where we do most of our work has split into two districts and the new district offices are in our town. This has brought new organizations closer to where we live, and one of them is the association for the blind for the new Mo Cay Bac district.. The director approached us and asked if we could help with food – rice and noodles – for the 109 blind and severely visually impaired people in the district. We agreed and bought 15 kilos of rice and a box of 50 packs of instant noodles for each of them. Each recipient showed up with one or two helper/guides, relatives or neighbors, and it was very heartwarming to see the help and compassion they were shown.
We also bought 15 kilos of rice for an additional 235 people in four towns. While the price of rice has stabilized at about 60 cents a kilogram (about 27 cents a pound) it is till triple what it cost a few years ago and the poorest people often do not have enough to eat.
Our cost: $3,142.Compasion Houses
Phuong handing the deed to the new homeowner
We built four houses on this trip and repaired one. We had originally planned to build three houses, but while visiting a family to see about giving them a cow, we found that their living conditions were not safe. The house only had three walls, and the mom and one year old baby were staying with relatives because the floor was under about six inches of water due to high tides, a regular occurrence on the full and new moons. We offered the dad a house instead of a cow and he accepted. This house cost about $100 more than usual as we had to bring in dirt to raise the floor level to avoid the tidal flooding.
We also bought a blanket, mosquito net and reed sleeping mat for each family. The Peoples Committees and neighbors also brought gifts like tea sets, thermos, and small amounts of money to the dedication of each house.
Our average cost for each 32 square meter house was$1012.50 and we spent $97 for a roof repair.
Our total cost: $4,147.Business Start-up
The start of a new career
Cocunut husk fiber
Coir spinning machines
We bought 101 coir spinning machines and gave them to people in two towns. Why 101? We had pre-ordered 100 machines, planning to give them to 50 people in each town. After distributing the first 50, one woman remained, asking why she wasn’t on the list we received from the Peoples Committee. Miss Phung, mid 50’s, blind in one eye, cares for her two aging parents. She lived about a block away, so we went to her house to check out her circumstances. We ordered a machine for her immediately, and also repaired her roof for $97.
As usual, we gave each recipient 100 kilograms of coir – shredded coconut husk fiber – to get them started. We got two price estimates for the coir which we thought were high, so we went to the factory and ordered it directly
Our total cost: $5,867, about $58 to give a family a way to earn income immediately. These machines are very popular and we plan to order another 100 for the next trip if we have adequate funding
Cows
We bought one cow for a husband and wife in their mid 40’s, both chronically ill. They cannot work regularly but are able to collect grass for the cow. Their two kids, 19 and 26, work in a factory in Saigon and send money home to help.
Our cost: $295.
Assistance to the Blind
Plans are still in place to build a center for the blind in A Loui district, but a more urgent need presented itself. One of the buildings in the main center in Hue, the one that houses the machines for making toothpicks and chopsticks, was damaged in a storm. We gave them $2,685 to repair the roof and interior of the building.
