I am now back at home having returned earlier today.
The past two weeks have flew by when I think back over the time I spent with the children at the Orphanage and the Hospital.
As such all that remains is for me to say that I hope you 'enjoyed' reading the blog and a very big Thank You to you all for giving up your time to read my blog and for all the support and encouragement you have given to me during my time in Hanoi as it really did help, especially when I was struggling your comments kept me going and remaining positive.
Wishing you all the very best.
XXX
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
There is More...
Just by chance upon speaking to the owners Luke and his wife Laina of Tamarind Cafe, a vegeterian cafe that I dined at pretty much everyday I was told about an Orphanage which is located about 80km from the city of Hanoi that they visit and help out on a regular basis as it receives no state funding and struggles to receive donations as it is out in the sticks. The Orphanage I was told houses approximately 150-200 children ranging from new born babies to teenagers up to 18 years olds with mental and physical disabilities. Over the last couple of weeks I got to know Luke and Laina very well and trusting my instincts believe them to be good trustworthy people.
It is soon Tet here in Vietnam which is the celebration of the Lunar New Year which is also a time when those financially able give to the less fortunate then them and as such Luke and Laina were due to pay a visit to the Orphanage that they had spoken with me about so I asked if I could go along to see for myself the good work that the Orphanage carried out.
We loaded the car up with boxes of biscuits, sweets, rice, cooking oil, toys, cleaning products and off we went.
When we got to the orphanage the grounds were very quiet, as it was cold and raining all the children were inside. We were shown around, introduced to the children and were able to give them the small things that we had taken for them, which were gratefully received...
I cannot stress enough what a humbling experience it was to be able to give to the chilren such small things that brought them such joy. On the one hand I had a warm positive feeling that I was able to bring a small moment of happiness to these children but on the other hand there was/is a part of me that is angry and if I am honest feels guilty for the inequalty of lifestyle between me and them, why do they have barely little to speak of and yet still be more than satisfied with what little I could take for them? It just feels wrong. More upsetting then thinking about what they dont have by way of material items is the love and care that they don't get something we are so very fortunate to be surrounded by whether it be from our parents, partners, family and friends. It is therefore understandable why the minute these children see you and receive a smile from you that they come running just wanting a little bit of your affection and time.
The little boy in the orange top that I am holding in the picture above came running at me, by-passing the trailer of treats and just wanted a hug.
The visit became even more emotionally difficult when we visited the babies and toddlers who all have disabilities. They lay in their cots talking amongst themselves and playing with the odd toy they held but as soon as we walked into the room all attention was turned to us and their little arms were reaching out just to be held and carried...
Once we had visited the children I spoke with the director of the Orphanage to find out a little more about the place and ascertain whether we would be able to help them out in some way. He told me that the washing machine had broken and given the number of children they looked after they ideally they needed two working machines particularly given the childrens disabilities their clothes are constantly soiled which meant they got through a great deal of washing. They also needed a television as this stimulates the children and when the weather is cold and they cannot play outside it keeps them entertained. Unbelieveable a television for us is the norm and yet here it is a luxury.
I left the orphanage with a mixed bag of emotions which admittedly I quickly put aside as we got into the car because I had a challenege on my hands. I needed to work out what we could get for the Orphanage with such little time left in Hanoi given my flight the next day. With Luke and Laina happy to help we stopped at the electric store and got prices for the items the Orphange needed and worked out that thanks to your generosity and kindness we we were able to buy...
...Two of these
...and one of these.
These items will be delivered to the Orphanage today and will make life that tiny bit easier for them thanks to you.
I would also like to thank Luke and Laina for helping me to be able to do some good where it is greatly needed.
It is soon Tet here in Vietnam which is the celebration of the Lunar New Year which is also a time when those financially able give to the less fortunate then them and as such Luke and Laina were due to pay a visit to the Orphanage that they had spoken with me about so I asked if I could go along to see for myself the good work that the Orphanage carried out.
We loaded the car up with boxes of biscuits, sweets, rice, cooking oil, toys, cleaning products and off we went.
When we got to the orphanage the grounds were very quiet, as it was cold and raining all the children were inside. We were shown around, introduced to the children and were able to give them the small things that we had taken for them, which were gratefully received...
I cannot stress enough what a humbling experience it was to be able to give to the chilren such small things that brought them such joy. On the one hand I had a warm positive feeling that I was able to bring a small moment of happiness to these children but on the other hand there was/is a part of me that is angry and if I am honest feels guilty for the inequalty of lifestyle between me and them, why do they have barely little to speak of and yet still be more than satisfied with what little I could take for them? It just feels wrong. More upsetting then thinking about what they dont have by way of material items is the love and care that they don't get something we are so very fortunate to be surrounded by whether it be from our parents, partners, family and friends. It is therefore understandable why the minute these children see you and receive a smile from you that they come running just wanting a little bit of your affection and time.
The little boy in the orange top that I am holding in the picture above came running at me, by-passing the trailer of treats and just wanted a hug.
The visit became even more emotionally difficult when we visited the babies and toddlers who all have disabilities. They lay in their cots talking amongst themselves and playing with the odd toy they held but as soon as we walked into the room all attention was turned to us and their little arms were reaching out just to be held and carried...
Once we had visited the children I spoke with the director of the Orphanage to find out a little more about the place and ascertain whether we would be able to help them out in some way. He told me that the washing machine had broken and given the number of children they looked after they ideally they needed two working machines particularly given the childrens disabilities their clothes are constantly soiled which meant they got through a great deal of washing. They also needed a television as this stimulates the children and when the weather is cold and they cannot play outside it keeps them entertained. Unbelieveable a television for us is the norm and yet here it is a luxury.
I left the orphanage with a mixed bag of emotions which admittedly I quickly put aside as we got into the car because I had a challenege on my hands. I needed to work out what we could get for the Orphanage with such little time left in Hanoi given my flight the next day. With Luke and Laina happy to help we stopped at the electric store and got prices for the items the Orphange needed and worked out that thanks to your generosity and kindness we we were able to buy...
...Two of these
...and one of these.
These items will be delivered to the Orphanage today and will make life that tiny bit easier for them thanks to you.
I would also like to thank Luke and Laina for helping me to be able to do some good where it is greatly needed.
Thanks to YOU
Family, friends, colleagues and Moneysupermarket.com thanks to your kindness and generosity we had an abundance of happy faces at the Bo De Pagoda, here are just a few...
I don't think there is anything more that I can add to let you know that the small things we were able to buy for the children have brought them some happiness, I hope this will give you something to smile and be happy about too.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Mission Accomplished and..
...I am pooped!
Having spent a week and a half at the Bo De Pagoda I have been putting a great deal of thought into how the very generous donations you have entrusted me with to be spent on the children should be spent. The task has not has not been easy because the Pagoda receives many donations by way of clothes, sweets and treats for the children by visitors. That is not to say however, that the children have everything they need, because that is far from the case.
What the children lack is fresh fruit and much milk, so I have been taking in fresh fruit for them to eat/drink at snack times. The other thing I noticed was that they do not have much by way of variety in games to keep them entertained and I have seen no sports / outdoor games equipment at all, this is really sad especially given how much time they are made to spend outside.
So the mission began. This afternoon after spending the morning at the Pagoda Matthew (fellow volunteer from Fance)and I armed with: a carefully considered shopping list, money, a dictionary and much enthusiasm commenced our shopping trip on foot.
The first item on the list was a basket ball net together with a basket ball (great as a team activity and fun too) and after much bartering was easy enough to buy. The shop next door had skate-boards and Matthew and I both agreed although an impromptu purchase the kids would love it and it would certainly keep them moving so we bought one! Next stop was to buy some balloons, strange purchase you might be thinking but the children love them, you have to remember that they have very little and what they do have is very basic, but they get much enjoyment from the simple things, you might be strugglig to believe this but until yesterday when I saw how happy a child was after a volunteer had repaired a balloon for him with sellotape I would also have struggled to see why balloons were on my shopping list. The fun that the children were having playing with the balloon made it all the more worthwhile eventually finding them at a stationary stall.
Next on the list were water paints; we walked and walked and asked so many people but we could not find the paints anywhere, we even stopped at an artist's studio where we asked an artist mid work if he knew of anywhere where we could buy some paints for children, however, something got a little lost in translation here because he thought we wanted to become art students! Having been to the indoor and outdoor markets, traipsed through the crazy streets of the Old Quarter weaving and around the traffic, wandered around a supermarket, a rather plush department store and around the block for what felt like several times just by chance we stumbled across a little sweet shop within the courtyard of a fenced off large building, to my joy this little sweet shop also had a set of paint pots amongst its varied small toy collection. I was chuffed to bits and relieved not to have been defeated, the owner looked at us puzzled, on reflection I can understand this given Matthew and I were shouting 'hooray' and 'yeah' over and over!
Carrying our bags of shopping on the way back it was clear that we are very excited about going to the Pagoda tomorrow and seeing the faces of the children light up as they get to paint, skate and play basket ball!
Having spent a week and a half at the Bo De Pagoda I have been putting a great deal of thought into how the very generous donations you have entrusted me with to be spent on the children should be spent. The task has not has not been easy because the Pagoda receives many donations by way of clothes, sweets and treats for the children by visitors. That is not to say however, that the children have everything they need, because that is far from the case.
What the children lack is fresh fruit and much milk, so I have been taking in fresh fruit for them to eat/drink at snack times. The other thing I noticed was that they do not have much by way of variety in games to keep them entertained and I have seen no sports / outdoor games equipment at all, this is really sad especially given how much time they are made to spend outside.
So the mission began. This afternoon after spending the morning at the Pagoda Matthew (fellow volunteer from Fance)and I armed with: a carefully considered shopping list, money, a dictionary and much enthusiasm commenced our shopping trip on foot.
The first item on the list was a basket ball net together with a basket ball (great as a team activity and fun too) and after much bartering was easy enough to buy. The shop next door had skate-boards and Matthew and I both agreed although an impromptu purchase the kids would love it and it would certainly keep them moving so we bought one! Next stop was to buy some balloons, strange purchase you might be thinking but the children love them, you have to remember that they have very little and what they do have is very basic, but they get much enjoyment from the simple things, you might be strugglig to believe this but until yesterday when I saw how happy a child was after a volunteer had repaired a balloon for him with sellotape I would also have struggled to see why balloons were on my shopping list. The fun that the children were having playing with the balloon made it all the more worthwhile eventually finding them at a stationary stall.
Next on the list were water paints; we walked and walked and asked so many people but we could not find the paints anywhere, we even stopped at an artist's studio where we asked an artist mid work if he knew of anywhere where we could buy some paints for children, however, something got a little lost in translation here because he thought we wanted to become art students! Having been to the indoor and outdoor markets, traipsed through the crazy streets of the Old Quarter weaving and around the traffic, wandered around a supermarket, a rather plush department store and around the block for what felt like several times just by chance we stumbled across a little sweet shop within the courtyard of a fenced off large building, to my joy this little sweet shop also had a set of paint pots amongst its varied small toy collection. I was chuffed to bits and relieved not to have been defeated, the owner looked at us puzzled, on reflection I can understand this given Matthew and I were shouting 'hooray' and 'yeah' over and over!
Carrying our bags of shopping on the way back it was clear that we are very excited about going to the Pagoda tomorrow and seeing the faces of the children light up as they get to paint, skate and play basket ball!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Ships Ahoy...Ok Not Quite
Life at the Vietnam Children's Hospital on the floors where I am spending my time can get very tedious for the children who are long term patients their, this is because there is very little by way of entertainment for them; there are no televisions, dvd players or electronic games, in fact what they have can easily be noted as follows: books, crayons, photo-copied pictures to colour in and some make shift games. I am sure you will agree that this is not much and is likely to have very little or no effect in taking the children's minds off their pain and suffering.
My aim when I am at the hospital is to try to keep the children entertained and have some fun with them to take their minds off the fact that they are stuck in hospital this is by carryig out arts and crafts activities and playing games with them etc.
Today at the hospital Huan (in the picture below) who has been a patient for over a month now (so you can imagine how bored he may be getting), asked me to make a paper boat to which my response was a very enthusiastic nod with a big smiley face, because having made lots of paper boats and Emu's with my brother as a kid I thought to myself yes this is is going to impress him and he is gonna love it! You will note however, that Huan is not looking very impressed...
Why you might wonder, well this is how my 'boat' turned out...
...a piece of paper folded several times. All I can say is I tried and I tried but I just couldn't remeber how to do it, yes I was mortified but it got worse when Huan called his little friend over to show him my disaster of a boat who you will see was as equally unimpressed - oh dear!
I can confirm that I felt like a bit of a 'silly billy' to say the least given the enthusiasm and confidence I had shown when I was first asked to make it. I had to redeem myself before the afternoon was over! So what did I do? I moved on rather swiftly back to the activity I had started with which was making animal face masks such as cats, rabbits and elephants. I can say without doubt and you will agree from the picture that this was a success and saved the day.
In the end not only did we learn how to make face masks, but we also learnt the different names for the animals in English and Vietnamese.
To summarise my afternoon at the hospital, I would say we had a good laugh at my lack of boat making skills, we learnt how to make masks, we had a Vietnamese and English speaking lesson but most importantly I hope the children forgot about where they were for a just few minutes during that time because that is what it is all about.
My aim when I am at the hospital is to try to keep the children entertained and have some fun with them to take their minds off the fact that they are stuck in hospital this is by carryig out arts and crafts activities and playing games with them etc.
Today at the hospital Huan (in the picture below) who has been a patient for over a month now (so you can imagine how bored he may be getting), asked me to make a paper boat to which my response was a very enthusiastic nod with a big smiley face, because having made lots of paper boats and Emu's with my brother as a kid I thought to myself yes this is is going to impress him and he is gonna love it! You will note however, that Huan is not looking very impressed...
Why you might wonder, well this is how my 'boat' turned out...
...a piece of paper folded several times. All I can say is I tried and I tried but I just couldn't remeber how to do it, yes I was mortified but it got worse when Huan called his little friend over to show him my disaster of a boat who you will see was as equally unimpressed - oh dear!
I can confirm that I felt like a bit of a 'silly billy' to say the least given the enthusiasm and confidence I had shown when I was first asked to make it. I had to redeem myself before the afternoon was over! So what did I do? I moved on rather swiftly back to the activity I had started with which was making animal face masks such as cats, rabbits and elephants. I can say without doubt and you will agree from the picture that this was a success and saved the day.
In the end not only did we learn how to make face masks, but we also learnt the different names for the animals in English and Vietnamese.
To summarise my afternoon at the hospital, I would say we had a good laugh at my lack of boat making skills, we learnt how to make masks, we had a Vietnamese and English speaking lesson but most importantly I hope the children forgot about where they were for a just few minutes during that time because that is what it is all about.
Friday, January 21, 2011
The Michelin Clan
Please meet some of the members of the Michelin Clan at the Bo De Pagoda...
As you can see I also become a fully fledged member of the Clan and it was without any hesitation ...
Why without hesitation you might ask(?) putting aside the remotely humorous element to this blog the reason why is because it is very cold here given the winter season. I admit the temperature is not as low as it is in the UK and there is no ice around or snow to be seen, however, what I will remind you of is that in the UK our homes, places of work, study, restaurants, cafes etc all have indoor heating and in some places even outdoor heating! Here in Hanoi and at the Pogoda having heating is not the norm nor is it the case therefore being dressed as though you are going to be spending your day outside in low temperatures is something that one must get accustomed to very quickly, can you imagine that? If not I assure you it is not nice or a comfortable way to spend your day or night, yet it is the way of life for these children as are the consequences of living this way.
You will see in the picture above the cheeks of the little boy I am holding are covered in rashes, this is due to the cold temperature that he is living in furthermore what you canot see is that the rash on his face has become so severe that parts of it have become septic and seeping, yet he is a little boy that plays and smiles without complaint or grumble let alone to cry. We have much more then we think or acknowledge to be thankful for.
As you can see I also become a fully fledged member of the Clan and it was without any hesitation ...
Why without hesitation you might ask(?) putting aside the remotely humorous element to this blog the reason why is because it is very cold here given the winter season. I admit the temperature is not as low as it is in the UK and there is no ice around or snow to be seen, however, what I will remind you of is that in the UK our homes, places of work, study, restaurants, cafes etc all have indoor heating and in some places even outdoor heating! Here in Hanoi and at the Pogoda having heating is not the norm nor is it the case therefore being dressed as though you are going to be spending your day outside in low temperatures is something that one must get accustomed to very quickly, can you imagine that? If not I assure you it is not nice or a comfortable way to spend your day or night, yet it is the way of life for these children as are the consequences of living this way.
You will see in the picture above the cheeks of the little boy I am holding are covered in rashes, this is due to the cold temperature that he is living in furthermore what you canot see is that the rash on his face has become so severe that parts of it have become septic and seeping, yet he is a little boy that plays and smiles without complaint or grumble let alone to cry. We have much more then we think or acknowledge to be thankful for.
Love and Affection
I actually don't think I need to say anymore, the title together with the photograph speaks volumes, but I do want to add more because I want you to fully appreciate the the love and affection that the little boy sharing his drink (Chung) has for all the other children. I apologise to Chung in advance because I don't think I can emphasise enough the warmth and care this little boy has and gives everybody around him.
Chung an orphan is autistic, he has nobody except the nanny at the Pagoda allocated to look after him. Other then what Chung wears and holds at any given time he has nothing and these are therefore his only possessions and yet today when Chung was given a carton of drink and a packet of biscuits his first reaction was not to go and hide or sit in a quiet corner away from everybody to eat and drink these things himself instead he chose to surround himself around the other little toddlers and babies and made sure that he shared what he had. To say that it was the most heart warming and generous action I have seen for a long, long time would be an understatement.
Witnessing something like this just puts everything into perspective and reminds me more then ever that the materials things are not what we need and material things are not what provides happiness, it is the kindness of our hearts that makes all of the difference in the world and most importantly to peoples lives whther they are our loved ones, friends or simply strangers.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
5th, 6th and 7th Floor's
At the Vietnamese childrens hospital I am a visitor for the children who are patients on the fifth, sixth and seventh floor's which described as numbers alone puts no context around the children that I have been spending my time with and getting to know, yet I can't get the images of these children out of my mind. To try and give you an understanding of what I mean let me explain; the fifth floor is for children who have kidney problems, the sixth floor is for children who need blood transfusions for varying reasons and the seventh floor is for children who have cancer.
If you were to meet these children you would see immediately that they are upbeat and happy to be colouring, painting and playing games with the other children - their fellow patients and the volunteers at the hospital to keep them entertained and pre occupied from thinking about their health problems, but then when you look a little deeper you would see that on the fifth floor the children have catheters on their tiny little wrists, on the sixth floor the children are tricked/coerced into being sat in one place due to blood being pumped into their little bodies and on the sixth floor the children have little or no hair because it has fallen out due to treatment they are receiving to battle cancer; all of the children are aged or 10 under.
I am lost for words and cannot think of any that can describe how I felt when I met the children or how I feel about their situations now. I will tell you though that the first thought that came to my mind as soon as I walked out of the hospital was that a part of me had decided that I could not go back because it was to upsetting. I have however, decided that not going back is not an option and in fact now want to spend as much time as possible with these children who can only be described as beautiful in every way, full of giggles, smiles, fun, mischief and everything that a child should be despite the ill health they have to deal with.
I am upset to see the pain these children are suffering from and I am so very sad to think that some of them won't make it to their adulthood but most of all I am upset and angry because it is without cause or reason that these children are suffering, this makes no sense to me at all. None of my upset, anger or frustration to not be able to do more takes away from the fact that I feel priviledged to be able to spend time with these children.
If you were to meet these children you would see immediately that they are upbeat and happy to be colouring, painting and playing games with the other children - their fellow patients and the volunteers at the hospital to keep them entertained and pre occupied from thinking about their health problems, but then when you look a little deeper you would see that on the fifth floor the children have catheters on their tiny little wrists, on the sixth floor the children are tricked/coerced into being sat in one place due to blood being pumped into their little bodies and on the sixth floor the children have little or no hair because it has fallen out due to treatment they are receiving to battle cancer; all of the children are aged or 10 under.
I am lost for words and cannot think of any that can describe how I felt when I met the children or how I feel about their situations now. I will tell you though that the first thought that came to my mind as soon as I walked out of the hospital was that a part of me had decided that I could not go back because it was to upsetting. I have however, decided that not going back is not an option and in fact now want to spend as much time as possible with these children who can only be described as beautiful in every way, full of giggles, smiles, fun, mischief and everything that a child should be despite the ill health they have to deal with.
I am upset to see the pain these children are suffering from and I am so very sad to think that some of them won't make it to their adulthood but most of all I am upset and angry because it is without cause or reason that these children are suffering, this makes no sense to me at all. None of my upset, anger or frustration to not be able to do more takes away from the fact that I feel priviledged to be able to spend time with these children.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
My Dilemma
Since my visit to Bo De Pagoda yesterday I have been battling with myself about a decision that I have had to make about the rest of my time at the Bo De Pagoda. Once I had made the decision I then had to figure out whether or not to share it with you; Rightly or wrongly I have decided to share with you the decision I was faced with making and have come to despite any consquences that I may have to face as a result of doing so.
Yesterday when talking to one of the other volunteers she quite casually threw in to the conversation that some of the children have HIV and it is not known which of the children do and which of them do not. Prior to this I did not have any knowledge of this so was taken aback and quite shocked to say the least, as this was part way through the day I still had a few hours left at the Pagoda with the children. On reflection leaving the Pagoda was not my immediate thought but I'd be lying if I said my safety was the first thing that did spring to mind immediately and how much risk I was at. I continued as I was for the rest of my stay and after leaving I raised the issue with the placecment co-ordinator who confirmed that what I had been told was true and the reason I had not been made aware of this is because tests are being carried out next month to establish which of the children are affected. I was not happy to say the least, however, as i was already in Hanoi being angry about the lack of information provided to me was not my biggest concern, my concern was 'what do i do about the rest of my placement?' My options as I saw them were to either call it a day or continue at the Pagoda to do what I came to do.
When I got back to my hotel I did some research into working with children with HIV and I learned that I am not at great risk with the work that I am doing if I am careful, this means:
- avoiding any blood or bodily fluids contact;
- making sure I have no exposed open wounds; and
- seeking medical treatment immediately if either of the above occurs.
I have therefore decided to continue with my placement at the Pagoda.
I came to the decision after taking into account many thoughts and questions I posed to myself which included the following thoughts and rhetorical questions 'if everybody walked away from these children they would have even less then what they have now which is near enough to nothing, these children did'nt do anything to deserve getting HIV but they have it so does that then mean they should be avoided and treated less favourably? does this mean they don't deserve to be happy and have fun? or have the life of a child who does not have HIV?'
If my being at the Pagoda and spending time with the children makes just the tiniest bit of difference in bringing a smile or a moment of happiness to their lives then I am not going to take that away from them. I won't lie the thought of leaving some money for the children at the Pagoda for me not continuing with my placement did cross my mind even if only very breifly but deep down I know that I would not have been able to do that because what I know and truly do believe is that spending time with somebody is irreplaceable and something that money will never in a million years be able to buy.
Once I had made my decision I started to worry about (and to some extent still am to be honest) whether I will be treated differently when I return home having spent time with children who have HIV. My only response to my concern is that I hope I don't and I hope that people can see why I have decided to continue here.
Yesterday when talking to one of the other volunteers she quite casually threw in to the conversation that some of the children have HIV and it is not known which of the children do and which of them do not. Prior to this I did not have any knowledge of this so was taken aback and quite shocked to say the least, as this was part way through the day I still had a few hours left at the Pagoda with the children. On reflection leaving the Pagoda was not my immediate thought but I'd be lying if I said my safety was the first thing that did spring to mind immediately and how much risk I was at. I continued as I was for the rest of my stay and after leaving I raised the issue with the placecment co-ordinator who confirmed that what I had been told was true and the reason I had not been made aware of this is because tests are being carried out next month to establish which of the children are affected. I was not happy to say the least, however, as i was already in Hanoi being angry about the lack of information provided to me was not my biggest concern, my concern was 'what do i do about the rest of my placement?' My options as I saw them were to either call it a day or continue at the Pagoda to do what I came to do.
When I got back to my hotel I did some research into working with children with HIV and I learned that I am not at great risk with the work that I am doing if I am careful, this means:
- avoiding any blood or bodily fluids contact;
- making sure I have no exposed open wounds; and
- seeking medical treatment immediately if either of the above occurs.
I have therefore decided to continue with my placement at the Pagoda.
I came to the decision after taking into account many thoughts and questions I posed to myself which included the following thoughts and rhetorical questions 'if everybody walked away from these children they would have even less then what they have now which is near enough to nothing, these children did'nt do anything to deserve getting HIV but they have it so does that then mean they should be avoided and treated less favourably? does this mean they don't deserve to be happy and have fun? or have the life of a child who does not have HIV?'
If my being at the Pagoda and spending time with the children makes just the tiniest bit of difference in bringing a smile or a moment of happiness to their lives then I am not going to take that away from them. I won't lie the thought of leaving some money for the children at the Pagoda for me not continuing with my placement did cross my mind even if only very breifly but deep down I know that I would not have been able to do that because what I know and truly do believe is that spending time with somebody is irreplaceable and something that money will never in a million years be able to buy.
Once I had made my decision I started to worry about (and to some extent still am to be honest) whether I will be treated differently when I return home having spent time with children who have HIV. My only response to my concern is that I hope I don't and I hope that people can see why I have decided to continue here.
Bo De Pagoda
A chaotic, busy, cluttered retreat are the words that came to my mind when I went to Bo De Pagoda. There are people of all ages rangeing from babies through to the elderly that reside at the Pagoda. Some of these residents are full time helpers, however, most of the children are orphans and some of the children are with a parent who is in need of help due to being dependent on drugs.
When I first got to the Pagoda it was play time and the children were playing outside in the court yard, some were in the rooms where babies were being put to sleep and some were playing in and around the gardens, if you are picturing a scene of madness and havoc you would be spot on!
What first struck me on my arrival at the Pagoda was how cold it was (7 degrees) and how some of the children were not appropriately dressed, I was really alarmed to see one child bare foot with no socks on, the child was unphased and when I tried to bring to his attention that he should be wearing socks he seemed totally uninterested and decided to steer clear of me, it is now my mission to make sure he is not bare foot again or at least when I am around!
The children were very welcoming and unphased by a new face,I guess with the number of people that must come and go strangers don't seem so out of the ordinary to them, if at all. Getting stuck in as soon as I got there is exactly what I did, as soon as I stepped onto the courtyard I was handed a little baby to play with as he was crying, all he wanted was a little hug and secretly so did I so it was a win win for us both and within moments we were both happy enough.
During my tour of the Pagoda some of the things that I saw were quite upsetting; babies in beds unattended and crying, some in need of changing, some with very sore looking rashes on their faces, some calling out for attention and yet some looking content and happy gurgling away in their beds. There were toys, clothes, food, the rsident dogs and things just everywhere, this is not a criticism simply a description given the number of people and children there it cannot be easy to keep order of such a place.
There is however, a routine which the volunteers have put together and are trying to implement for the children in an attempt to bring some order to the Pagoda. The routine consists of teaching and helping the children to brush their teeth first thing in the morning followed by studying various basic subjects including maths and english and then washing of hands in preparation for lunch and so forth. It's a great little timetable because it is the closest that most of these children will ever get to an education and being taught basic personal hygiene skills.
During playtime most of the children wanted to play games which entailed learning by play i.e. name the animal/object/fruit etc wanting to know all the different names/words in English. One sweet little girl just wanted me to read to her, so I pulled up two little chairs at the little table but before I knew it she had disposed of one of the chairs and jumped up on my lap, it makes me smile as I think about. She kept bringing to me book after book, she can't have been much older then three but was so engrossed with the books, I can honestly say I don't think she understood a word of what I was reading to her because I was reading in English but it was more the attention she was enjoying or maybe the fact that she was having a giggle at testing my skills under pressure waiting for me to buckle when one of the books she brought over to me was a colouring book which she wanted me to read/talk through to her(!) not one to be defeated or to offend by asking her to put that book away I managed to improvise making up a story of all the coloured pictures; you learn something new everyday and it seems I am going to have to as there is no time to dawdle around these kids!
When I first got to the Pagoda it was play time and the children were playing outside in the court yard, some were in the rooms where babies were being put to sleep and some were playing in and around the gardens, if you are picturing a scene of madness and havoc you would be spot on!
What first struck me on my arrival at the Pagoda was how cold it was (7 degrees) and how some of the children were not appropriately dressed, I was really alarmed to see one child bare foot with no socks on, the child was unphased and when I tried to bring to his attention that he should be wearing socks he seemed totally uninterested and decided to steer clear of me, it is now my mission to make sure he is not bare foot again or at least when I am around!
The children were very welcoming and unphased by a new face,I guess with the number of people that must come and go strangers don't seem so out of the ordinary to them, if at all. Getting stuck in as soon as I got there is exactly what I did, as soon as I stepped onto the courtyard I was handed a little baby to play with as he was crying, all he wanted was a little hug and secretly so did I so it was a win win for us both and within moments we were both happy enough.
During my tour of the Pagoda some of the things that I saw were quite upsetting; babies in beds unattended and crying, some in need of changing, some with very sore looking rashes on their faces, some calling out for attention and yet some looking content and happy gurgling away in their beds. There were toys, clothes, food, the rsident dogs and things just everywhere, this is not a criticism simply a description given the number of people and children there it cannot be easy to keep order of such a place.
There is however, a routine which the volunteers have put together and are trying to implement for the children in an attempt to bring some order to the Pagoda. The routine consists of teaching and helping the children to brush their teeth first thing in the morning followed by studying various basic subjects including maths and english and then washing of hands in preparation for lunch and so forth. It's a great little timetable because it is the closest that most of these children will ever get to an education and being taught basic personal hygiene skills.
During playtime most of the children wanted to play games which entailed learning by play i.e. name the animal/object/fruit etc wanting to know all the different names/words in English. One sweet little girl just wanted me to read to her, so I pulled up two little chairs at the little table but before I knew it she had disposed of one of the chairs and jumped up on my lap, it makes me smile as I think about. She kept bringing to me book after book, she can't have been much older then three but was so engrossed with the books, I can honestly say I don't think she understood a word of what I was reading to her because I was reading in English but it was more the attention she was enjoying or maybe the fact that she was having a giggle at testing my skills under pressure waiting for me to buckle when one of the books she brought over to me was a colouring book which she wanted me to read/talk through to her(!) not one to be defeated or to offend by asking her to put that book away I managed to improvise making up a story of all the coloured pictures; you learn something new everyday and it seems I am going to have to as there is no time to dawdle around these kids!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Rested, Recuperated and Ready To Go...
...well the best I can be. It has now now been just a little over 24 hours since I arrived into Hanoi having flewn from Manchester to London Heathrow, London Heathrow to Hong Kong and finally from Hong Kong to Hanoi, door to door it has taken approximately 22 hours to get here so I admit I am feeling a little jaded - must be the jetlag, nevertheless I am keen on getting started tomorrow.
Today I have done some sightseeing in Hanoi. I started at 8.30am with a visit to the Ho Chin Minh Museum followed by several other must see places. I have little free time so it seemed a waste to catch up on sleep plus I could'nt sleep last night yet in contrast I really had to fight the urge to sleep whilst on the back of a motorbike during my guided tour(!) the less said about this the better, except 'frightfully scary' are two words I would use to describe this afternoon's experience!!
Moving on swiftly, despite it being cold enough to have warranted bringing my scarf and gloves due to it being the winter season Hanoi is bustling with tourists with a good vibe and I am excited about being here.
The locals are friendly and helpful, vegeterian food is easy enough to seek out and green tea is available by the bucket loads everywhere; so what more could I possibly want? The truth is I have been wishing today away because I am keen to get started to do what I came here to do but on the same note I am also feeling a little apprehensive about the next few days. The wait, however, is now almost over because tomorrow morning at 8am I am being met by the co-ordinator who is going to take me to the hospital and Pagoda to show me the ropes so I can get stuck in and make some use of myself. I am nervous but ready.
In the meantime I am now going to try getting some sleep in my bed in my hotel room where it is safe to do so.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Hanoi here I come...
With only two, yes two sleeps until my annual leave begins and I fly out I thought it was now OK for me to share my news and excitement with you (if you haven’t heard it already). The title is a bit of a give away; Yes I am off to Hanoi, Vietnam!
Never having been to the Far East nervous is one way to describe how I am feeling. I should clarify though that I'm not going to Vietnam in pursuit of checking out the famous setting of ‘Good Morning Vietnam’ or chasing/racing cars cue Top Gear or even hanging around Harlong Bay in the hope of bumping into Bond, James Bond cue ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ (though that would be rather good)!
I am off to Hanoi, Vietnam for a very different purpose that is to do some volunteer work at the Vietnam Children’s Hospital, Vietnam's National Hospital of Paediatrics. The hospital consists of 22 departments with the number of patients under treatment reaching up to 1000-1200 with the ages ranging from infancy to nearly 17 years old. The majority of the children are sadly afflicted with difficult to cure ailments that require treatment by specialists. Most of the children are from low-income families with parents working in agriculture and some are orphans. You will therefore appreciate that life can be lonely for these children particularly at visiting times when there are no visitors to visit them and so this is where I come in. I will be at the hospital to care, feed, wash, play, entertain, and generally have as much fun as possible with the children to do utmost best to distract them from their illness and any sadness they may be feeling.
I will also be volunteering at Vietnam Orphanage at Bo De Pagoda. Bo De Pagoda is a place of Buddhist worship. The female monks who live in the pagoda aim to help people and act in a peaceful and respectful way toward others and as such Bo De Pagoda houses approximately 50 children (mostly orphans). There are also children who attend the kindergarten who have disabilities (Down syndrome, deaf, mute, and limb deformities). Here my role will be similar in that I will be caring by way of feeding, washing, playing, carrying out activities both fun and educational with the children.
I am not going to pretend this is going to be easy because it is going to be tough and already now as I type my emotions run high and I hear a little voice in my head telling me to toughen up.
So folks wish me luck I think I am going to need it!
x
PS A big thank you to those of you who have so very kindly donated money to be spent on the children, I assure you that I will be putting it to the very best of use, namely putting smiles on the childrens faces!
Never having been to the Far East nervous is one way to describe how I am feeling. I should clarify though that I'm not going to Vietnam in pursuit of checking out the famous setting of ‘Good Morning Vietnam’ or chasing/racing cars cue Top Gear or even hanging around Harlong Bay in the hope of bumping into Bond, James Bond cue ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ (though that would be rather good)!
I am off to Hanoi, Vietnam for a very different purpose that is to do some volunteer work at the Vietnam Children’s Hospital, Vietnam's National Hospital of Paediatrics. The hospital consists of 22 departments with the number of patients under treatment reaching up to 1000-1200 with the ages ranging from infancy to nearly 17 years old. The majority of the children are sadly afflicted with difficult to cure ailments that require treatment by specialists. Most of the children are from low-income families with parents working in agriculture and some are orphans. You will therefore appreciate that life can be lonely for these children particularly at visiting times when there are no visitors to visit them and so this is where I come in. I will be at the hospital to care, feed, wash, play, entertain, and generally have as much fun as possible with the children to do utmost best to distract them from their illness and any sadness they may be feeling.
I will also be volunteering at Vietnam Orphanage at Bo De Pagoda. Bo De Pagoda is a place of Buddhist worship. The female monks who live in the pagoda aim to help people and act in a peaceful and respectful way toward others and as such Bo De Pagoda houses approximately 50 children (mostly orphans). There are also children who attend the kindergarten who have disabilities (Down syndrome, deaf, mute, and limb deformities). Here my role will be similar in that I will be caring by way of feeding, washing, playing, carrying out activities both fun and educational with the children.
I am not going to pretend this is going to be easy because it is going to be tough and already now as I type my emotions run high and I hear a little voice in my head telling me to toughen up.
So folks wish me luck I think I am going to need it!
x
PS A big thank you to those of you who have so very kindly donated money to be spent on the children, I assure you that I will be putting it to the very best of use, namely putting smiles on the childrens faces!
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