28th March 2010
The school that Karen works for supports one of the many orphanages for mentally and physically disabled children that exist in Vietnam. There are over 200 orphanages in Saigon alone. The majority of these children owe their disabilities to Agent Orange which was used by the Americans during the war, the effects of which are so very obviously still being seen today. Every so often a group of children from the orphanage come over to the school to use their facilities. So, Sunday morning we headed over to the school to lend a hand.
I think we were a little apprehensive as to what we would find, but we needn’t have worried. We went upstairs to the gym where we played some badminton and basketball with some of the more able children. Not full blown games of course, but just shooting some hoops and knocking a shuttlecock back and forth. Some of the children also had a go on the school’s trampoline and most of them loved the sensation of bouncing up and down.
The children don’t often get the opportunity to do much running about so they get tired very quickly. It was then time for some fruit, yoghurt and drinks before heading back downstairs where they could play with some other toys or use the yard where the teachers had set up some balloons and water pistols.
Of course, these were some of the the better children from the orphanage and there are many other children there who are unable to make the trip. You can only marvel at how they manage to overcome their handicaps to do things like shoot hoops and you can tell that even those with very litte movement are thorougly enjoying simply from the expressions on their faces. A very humbling experience, it certainly puts some of our problems into perspective.
After an enjoyable but tiring morning we headed off for a wander around the market. We ended up buying rather a lot of fruit and veg, including some of the more Asian foods.
A very active Sunday morning meant that after a shower I felt the need to “rest my eyes” for a little while. While I was resting, the cooker ran ouf of gas. Not a problem here in Vietnam, even on a Sunday. Within ten minutes of a man had arrived with a new gas bottle on his bike, and swapped it with the empty one. You’ve got to love this city!
Late afternoon was time for a real treat. Afternoon tea at the Hotel Intercontinental in Saigon. Quite a modern and understated hotel. We were served five courses with five different teas, starting with a white and a dark chocolate, then a chilli stuffed with fish paste and a mini quiche, followed by a selection of mini sandwiches, then four mini desserts, with a pineapple panna cotta as the piece de resistance. The whole thing was delicious and very filling. We had gone out with Karen and Bryer, one of her friends who was great company. The perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon, and one I could definately get used to.
