Today, as planned, we headed to the orphanage for a visit aimed at cleaning the blue baby cottages. After some final preparations yesterday and a restful Sunday, I met Viet at UNIS at around 7:30, and soon, the bus he had helped me book arrived. Volunteers began arriving, and we loaded up the bus with the cleaning supplies, clothing and toy donations, and bags of diapers we had accumulated. We also borrowed the double strollers that the UNIS Thuy An Service Group often brings. By the time we left, we had a total of 7 in our party to work out at the orphanage, plus two charity missionaries who were tagging along to learn more about the orphanage.
After roughly 4 hours of cleaning and working, we prepared for departure and gave the several bags of diapers and two mosquito nets we had purchased at METRO to the caretakers. We had had a long day of scrubbing and cleaning and our group was tired, and left the orphanage by 2:45. Soon after we left, stormclouds, which had been accumulating overhead during the end of our work, released a torrential rain, so our timing for departure was perfect.
After a few calls to orphanage director for help with directions, we managed to find the orphanage, and quickly went to work cleaning. Some of our group helped keep the children buys while others cleaned their cribs. We also dropped off the clothing and toy donations brought from Hanoi and a play mat we purchased at METRO, which it seems the children and caretakers where anxious to get their hands on. As the day progressed, some mopped and swept, some cleaned the moss-covered walls and floors, while others continued on the cribs and the metal waste containers beneath. At around 12:00, our group took a break for lunch, but we returned in the afternoon to finish scouring the small moss-covered courtyard and benches and continue cleaning cribs. We also painted some touch ups on the walls clearly in need of a new paint job.
After roughly 4 hours of cleaning and working, we prepared for departure and gave the several bags of diapers and two mosquito nets we had purchased at METRO to the caretakers. We had had a long day of scrubbing and cleaning and our group was tired, and left the orphanage by 2:45. Soon after we left, stormclouds, which had been accumulating overhead during the end of our work, released a torrential rain, so our timing for departure was perfect.
(Just a little about the volunteers- group consisted of some friends from Church as well as from the UNIS school, one of whom is a lone scout here in Vietnam who is actually preparing for his eagle project right now too. It was wonderful working with these friends- the had great attitudes and willingly went ahead with the work.)
While at Thuy An, I checked on the status of the irrigation/piping system, to see if it was complete. Unfortunately, it appeared that the irrigation system piping hadn't been completely laid but was almost done, with only a few pipes still to be laid, to hook the water tank into the pipeline. However, a platform of brick and mortar had been constructed for the water tank. This means I may make another visit to Thuy An; this may involve photographing the finished pipeline, donating more diapers (they are still in desperate need as the few I've given have been quickly used up) and more cleaning (I have yet to plan the details).
It was wonderful to see the visible improvement in sanitation in the facilities we cleaned today. A special thank you to the volunteers and, of course, the donors who made this all possible!
(Pictures will be up tomorrow- sorry for the delay!)
While at Thuy An, I checked on the status of the irrigation/piping system, to see if it was complete. Unfortunately, it appeared that the irrigation system piping hadn't been completely laid but was almost done, with only a few pipes still to be laid, to hook the water tank into the pipeline. However, a platform of brick and mortar had been constructed for the water tank. This means I may make another visit to Thuy An; this may involve photographing the finished pipeline, donating more diapers (they are still in desperate need as the few I've given have been quickly used up) and more cleaning (I have yet to plan the details).
It was wonderful to see the visible improvement in sanitation in the facilities we cleaned today. A special thank you to the volunteers and, of course, the donors who made this all possible!
(Pictures will be up tomorrow- sorry for the delay!)