Day 13...1,100 Wheel Chairs Strong in Can Tho.
I got up early and climbed to the top of the hotel to catch the sun come up over the Mekong. I think I got some pretty good video of the river and the assorted fishing boats and junks already hard at it. You get a bit mesmerized watching it all.
A check on Laura yielded no improvement. She is still running a fever. We arrange for her to stay in the room until we are finished with the distribution. We also hired a private car to take her back to HCM rather than endure a crowded ride on the van. Erin and our Vietnamese host Angela will ride with her and drive straight to the International Hospital in HCM City l to get her a proper check up. A quick health inventory and everyone else seems to be OK.
Our final distribution is huge. There are over 250 people at this one and the remaining 850 wheelchairs have already been spoken for. It was a quite a scene at the distribution site. Once again the Red Cross was there to help manage the logistics and direct traffic.
With Angela as my interpreter, I worked my way through the crowd finding out as much as I could about the recipients.
One man told me he had left his village at 3 AM to make the journey into town. He can't walk but has a little bicycle repair shop. He said that with the wheelchair he could now move around to get parts and even do house repair calls. He was thrilled. Another women showed me her crippled feet and said that she has had to crawl through the dirt and mud for 30 years. She farms a small plot of land and now she can finally get up off the ground. Another young man is wearing his school outfit and is also crippled from the waist down. He startled me when I came up to me and said " hello' in perfect English. he wanted to show me his English skills. He told me that he had struggled to find transportation to get through high school but got his diploma. he has now been admitted to university. He will study computer science. He said the wheel chair relieves his parents of having to carry him around. He is a bright young man and he will be successful.
The local district heads and the head of the charitable organization that supports the handicapped in the region all gave nice talks and thanked us and the Free Wheel Chair Mission for sending the wheelchairs to the Can Tho district. They prayed that we could send more. Getting more than 250 of the disabled into their wheel chairs, registered and then loaded up was quite a scene. Before long, however, we were waving good bye to the final person.
I must say that the distribution process has truly lived up to our expectations. We have driven collectively now about 2,000 KM in and around Cambodia and Vietnam. We have met so many great and courageous people. We have given out over 650 wheel chairs directly and seen another 1,000 ready to be taken further out into the regions for distribution.
A very satisfying and rewarding trip so far.
Now we are heading back to HCM to check on Laura. She is already at the hospital and under going an exam. Our work is not yet done for the day.
After another 6 hour trip, we arrive safely back in HCM City and check into our hotel.The report on Laura is favorable. She had contracted a virus but antibiotics should take care of it in a day or two. Erin and Laura finally get to the hotel and checked in. We all breath a sigh of relief. Angela has been a great help throughout this ordeal.
Our hotel is located right on the Saigon River and it is a great spot to finish up our journey.
Day 13 is in the books and we are all safe and secure.
I got up early and climbed to the top of the hotel to catch the sun come up over the Mekong. I think I got some pretty good video of the river and the assorted fishing boats and junks already hard at it. You get a bit mesmerized watching it all.
A check on Laura yielded no improvement. She is still running a fever. We arrange for her to stay in the room until we are finished with the distribution. We also hired a private car to take her back to HCM rather than endure a crowded ride on the van. Erin and our Vietnamese host Angela will ride with her and drive straight to the International Hospital in HCM City l to get her a proper check up. A quick health inventory and everyone else seems to be OK.
Our final distribution is huge. There are over 250 people at this one and the remaining 850 wheelchairs have already been spoken for. It was a quite a scene at the distribution site. Once again the Red Cross was there to help manage the logistics and direct traffic.
With Angela as my interpreter, I worked my way through the crowd finding out as much as I could about the recipients.
One man told me he had left his village at 3 AM to make the journey into town. He can't walk but has a little bicycle repair shop. He said that with the wheelchair he could now move around to get parts and even do house repair calls. He was thrilled. Another women showed me her crippled feet and said that she has had to crawl through the dirt and mud for 30 years. She farms a small plot of land and now she can finally get up off the ground. Another young man is wearing his school outfit and is also crippled from the waist down. He startled me when I came up to me and said " hello' in perfect English. he wanted to show me his English skills. He told me that he had struggled to find transportation to get through high school but got his diploma. he has now been admitted to university. He will study computer science. He said the wheel chair relieves his parents of having to carry him around. He is a bright young man and he will be successful.
The local district heads and the head of the charitable organization that supports the handicapped in the region all gave nice talks and thanked us and the Free Wheel Chair Mission for sending the wheelchairs to the Can Tho district. They prayed that we could send more. Getting more than 250 of the disabled into their wheel chairs, registered and then loaded up was quite a scene. Before long, however, we were waving good bye to the final person.
I must say that the distribution process has truly lived up to our expectations. We have driven collectively now about 2,000 KM in and around Cambodia and Vietnam. We have met so many great and courageous people. We have given out over 650 wheel chairs directly and seen another 1,000 ready to be taken further out into the regions for distribution.
A very satisfying and rewarding trip so far.
Now we are heading back to HCM to check on Laura. She is already at the hospital and under going an exam. Our work is not yet done for the day.
After another 6 hour trip, we arrive safely back in HCM City and check into our hotel.The report on Laura is favorable. She had contracted a virus but antibiotics should take care of it in a day or two. Erin and Laura finally get to the hotel and checked in. We all breath a sigh of relief. Angela has been a great help throughout this ordeal.
Our hotel is located right on the Saigon River and it is a great spot to finish up our journey.
Day 13 is in the books and we are all safe and secure.
1 comment:
Well, you continue to supply us with more great commentary and pictures of your amazing trip. I know it can't compare with actually being there, but I can see, all the joy and excitement on the faces of the recipients. It's got to be overwhelming to actually be there, and knowing that you're changing the lives of these people.
Thanks again for sharing.
Have a safe rest of your journey.
xoxxo
Doug & Maile
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