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Return to the Tam Ky Orphanage

Two years later, not much had changed. The rainbow on the wall still greeted us, just as it had every day for two months in 2007.
The bathrooms at the baby orphanage. Clearly, it's a storage area, too.
I can't tell you how happy it makes me to be here. Absolutely thrilled to be giving away all those clothes and shoes and toys.
Will it fit you? Who cares?! It's new clothes!!!
She wasn't so sure she liked me. It's a common predicament for me in Vietnam.
Chilling in the doorway; sitting on the pot. Literally.
Stuart with his little buddy, Tu, who was quite happy to see his 'big brother' again after so long. I don't think Tu had grown an inch.
Audrey with the woman who does all she can for these kids--Me Ba. Her vast love for the kiddos here awes me. She is a wonderful, wonderful woman.
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B is for Babies

This precious little one weighed in at less than 3lbs. at birth.

Today we were, after much planning and procrastinating, able to get out to the Thanh Hoa orphanage. Located much closer to the beach than the city, it’s a good-sized orphanage that is home to more then sixty children from the area. We’d gone at the request of an adoptive mom who had brought a little girl, Thuy, home from there last year. She had a letter and photos to be brought back to the caretaker and I volunteered to do it. It’s just taken me a few weeks to get it arranged with people to come along with me.

Giang, my student from two years ago, and Thang, a current student, accompanied the kids and me out to the orphanage with a bag of clothes and an envelope with the caretaker’s name on it. On arrival, the guard didn’t seem too sure what to do with us, questioning who we were, where we were from and what we wanted. The buildings were quiet (“Where are all the kids?” Audrey wanted to know. I assumed, correctly, that they were in class) and only a few adults roamed, looking us over a few times. Thang did all the leg work and tracked down the vice director of the orphanage who invited us up for a bit of tea and a little conversation. Continue reading “B is for Babies”