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Aileen Hays

Fw: picture of Blake

I was just looking for Aid Expedition blogs as I'm trying to get ideas for
the scrapbook that I am creating.  I saw that Blake is in desperate need
for pictures of himself from the trip.  I have one to add!  Enjoy!

Kathy

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Fw: [AE2008] final numbers

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Caroline Ticarro-Parker <cntpar@catalystfoundation.org>
To: AE2008@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2008 10:46:37 AM
Subject: Re: [AE2008] final numbers

ok final edited post:

Our expedition is over - most of us are home now and going through
some culture shock and of course dealing with jet lag. For such a huge
group, we were an amazing team that worked hard with an exhausting
schedule in just 8 short days. We want to thank all those that have
followed our blogs, donated money, toys, stickers, hats, t-shirts and
everything else. Your generosity is amazing and so much appreciated.

Here are our final numbers
over $53,000 raised and priceless in-kind donations

350 children & 40 chaperones went to camp (including transportation,
lodging, meals & clothes) to see the ocean and have fun! (they
traveled by bus up to 14 hours to get to camp!)

250 bikes given to every child in our scholarship program in 5
different towns

10 kg. of rice, 10 kg. of dried beans, 5 kg. of sugar, 1 box of
instant noodles and some candy :) to 280 families (that's enough to
feed a family of 4-6 people for a month!)

700+ "fun bags" given to school children in 5 different villages - the
fun bags were 100% made with donations of toys, clothes, stickers and
drawings (mostly from school children in the U.S.)

350 "fun bags" given to all the children that attended camp.

2 new houses started in Rach Gia (Kien Giang)
2 houses renovated in Tan Hoi Trung (Dong Thap)
1 new house started in Tan Hoi Trung
1 house renovated in My Hiep (Dong Thap)
1 new house started in My Hiep
2 houses renovated in Sa Dec (Dong Thap)
....all in 5 days
*we also funded the construction of 2 new houses (1 in My Hiep and 1
in Sa Dec)

for medical check ups, dental exams & fluoride treatments:
in Rach Gia (Kien Giang - day 1 - 82, day 2 - 275, day 3 - 182, total=
539
47% were treated for parasites, 100% of the patients work and live in
the garbage dump
in Tan Hoi Trung (Dong Thap) day 4 - 277 total (192 under age 18, 2
needed follow up)
in My Hiep (Dong Thap) day 5 - 313 (203 under age 18, 5 needed follow
up)
in Sa Dec (Dong Thap) day 6 - 231 and 7 kids at our orphanage
in Saigon - District 7 day 7 - 91 girls
...a grand total of 1458 patients in 7 days
with your continued support we are convinced that we are at a place
where we can continue to develop plans for more preventinve health
care, and sustainable health care.

$1600 in scholarships given to 21 winners from the "My Vietnam" Art
Contest, 9 honorable mentions received special prizes

after flying thousands of miles to get to vietnam we then traveled:
120 miles via plane to Rach Gia (Kien Giang)
70 miles from Rach Gia to Cao Lanh (Dong Thap) by bus and two ferries
- 6 hours
10 miles from Cao Lanh to Tan Hoi Trung (Dong Thap) by bus and tuk tuk
- 1 hour
15 miles from Cao Lanh to My Hiep (Dong Thap) by bus - 45 minutes
25 miles from Cao Lanh to Sa Dec (Dong Thap) by bus and one ferry - 1
hour
85 miles from Sa Dec to Saigon/HCMC by bus - 4 hours
15 miles from edge of Saigon to our hotel by bus - 1 hour
75 miles from Saigon to Long Hai (for camp) by bus - 3 hours
80 miles from Long Hai back to Saigon by bus - 3 1/2 hours
*our bike team traveled 100 miles from Cao Lanh to Saigon in 12 hours
and survived!

30 prints from the winning entries of the Little Red Fairy "My
Vietnam" Art Contest auctioned off during our last day for a total of
$6,670 to fund a boys scholarship program starting this fall...

We're already looking forward to the next expedition (i
think!)...thanks again for all your support! More pictures will be
posted soon!

THANK YOU for being the Catalyst for positive change for the children
of Vietnam!

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Blake was on this trip too....

As most of you are fully aware, Blake is a saint for being married to me. I just looked through the whole blog and realized that I hadn't put any pictures of sweet Blake on the site. Then I realized that I didn't have any pictures of Blake! But he was there--keeping things running smoothly for the Hays family and for the distribution team. The other two guys in the pic are our friends Pete and Erik.

Even more pictures

The Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh
Inside the Cu Chi tunnels. Tri and I look crazy--because we feel crazy in there. Joshua was as happy as a clam!
My new friend, Phuong. She's a Buddhist nun and soon to be my new penpal!

More pictures...random...

Joshua and Long catching jellyfish at the beach. Woman selling char-broiled seafood on a stick at the beach. I ate squid--and liked it!
Tri and Joshua eating yet another bowl of some type of noodle soup!

Flush toilets--these are a few of my favorite things...

One quick story... We American volunteers were ready for a non-stop day of play on the beach. After a couple of hours in the morning, however, the girls from Kien Giang wanted to go back to their rooms. They wanted to take showers and spend time in the "cold room". These girls had never been in a home with a shower--so they kept running in and out of the showers!

They also had never experienced flush toilets. Toilets in rural Vietnam work on a gravity system. The Catalyst social worker, Minh, said that the girls stayed up until 11 p.m. flushing the toilet! Oh the things we take for granted!

A sweet story--Caroline asked one of the girls if she was having fun. She said yes and that she had never had people asking her if she was having fun before.

Kids with Goody Bags!

Picture of Chau My Hong and me

This is Chau My Hong--the previous house pictures in Kien Giang are of her home--beginning to end. She was a very beautiful, sweet girl with a much brighter future because of the Catalyst Foundation.

Pictures from Camp

Making masks!

The kids loved having their pictures taken with polaroid cameras. Most of these kids had never had a photograph of themselves. We made popsicle stick frames for the photos.
EVERYBODY LOVES TWISTER!

Camp for 300 kiddos in Long Hai

After work in Kien Giang, Dong Thap, and a day in Saigon--we met 300 kids from the aforementioned provinces and programs in Long Hai for the Catalyst 2 day Summer Camp.

This is where we gave out the goody bags, played games on the beach, did lots of arts and crafts, played twister and jenga, made friendship bracelets, and generally gave a bunch of kids a real good time!

A highlight for me was seeing the girl whose house I had worked on for 3 days in Kien Giang. It seemed to be a highlight for her too--because she came running and screaming and gave me a big hug. Made me feel so great!

Tri and his soccer buddy from the park in Dong Thap

Tri's take on the trip

Hey,

Alright here goes as much as I can remember.  At the island that we stayed at we just kind of hung out to  get ready for the main trip.  The next day we went to the poorest province (state)--Kien Giang.  We distributed bikes, rice, beans, candy, and toys to the kids that lived there.  They lived literally in a garbage dump.  At the Dong Thap province, we got to ride motorcycle/car vehicles called tuk-tuks.  Tuk-tuks have a lot of space so we can travel around in small areas where buses can't go.  We distributed the same things at the school there.  We mainly distributed stuff to girls. 

 

I played soccer with the kids at every province.  They didn't play with shoes and they were really good.  At the camp the kids from all the different provinces came.  We played games and sports.  Joshua and our friend, Long, caught jellyfish and put them in a bucket.  We dug a little jellyfish pool and put water and jellyfish in it.  There was not enough water and different parts of the jellyfish were sticking out of the water, which is not good for them.  Atleast 5 kids and some Vietnamese kids helped us dig out the pool and add water to it.  Our best friend, Long, can sing the best I've ever heard a 9 nine year old sing.  He does the perfect imitation of Alvin and the Chipmunks singing.  By the way, we went to a place called the Tax Market in Saigon.  We bought Alvin and the Chipmunks movie for one $. 

 

Eighty percent of the people in Vietnam rode motor scooters.  Ten percent rode bikes and ten percent rode cars.  Our family made a grown up friend named Eric.  We went to his parents' house and he let me and Joshua drive a moped!  I made it go really fast past my mom who was standing on the road.  We also went to a place called the Cao Dai temple.  Every day there are four services and they last about forty-five minutes!  At the Cu Chi tunnels we learned much about Vietnam and the amazing tunnels that they built to sneak attack the American army.  They also used the tunnels for protection and they could fit a maximum of 10,000 people in the tunnels.  We went through the tunnels and they were so small.  My dad had to squat and walk at the same time just to get through the tunnels.  Joshua loved to go extra far with the tunnel guide, who I think he liked.  By the way I ate two more bowls of pho!

 

The food both amazes and disgusts me there!  Overall though--the food was really good!  I felt really happy to help the really poor kids and it was a really good experience.  I liked the trip a lot!!  Bye,

                                                                              -Tri

 

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Picture of Pete!

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Kien Giang home finished!

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Kien Giang House

I spent 3 days building a house for a family in Kien Giang. The house was built on the site of their original home that had apparently been destroyed by storms, weather, and wear. The family consisted of a mother, father, 13 year old daughter, 11 year old son, and 9 year old son. The mother and father worked alongside us. I'll always remember the mother hauling concrete or sand from the street through little paths to the home--barefoot and smiling the whole time.

Above are pictures of the house at the beginning and middle. Also pictures of the mother and father. And a picture of the daughter. The daughter is in Catalyst Foundation's scholarship program--so one day she came home with her new bike and supplies. One thing about the house...when I first saw the size and setting of the house that we were building I couldn't believe that this was an improvement. It's a two room very small home in the middle of a haphazard graveyard. But these people were so happy to have this new home.

Info about the kids pictured below

All three of these children attended the camp that we held at Long Hai the weekend of March 28-30th. I have good memories of the little boy pictured playing in the ocean and laughing the whole time. The flirty little girl that you see--I played "this little piggy" with her a bunch and she thought that was the funniest thing! She also enjoyed having her picture taken, making a beaded bracelet, and playing games.

The girl with the bicycle is one of the girls who received a new bicycle, beans, noodles, 10 kilograms of rice, and a fun bag. It was so great to see those shiny new bicycles at some of the homes there in that awful dump.

Pictures from the Kien Giang garbage dump

Many of the children in Kien Giang who are participating in the scholarship program live in the dump. Literally in the dump--and they pay rent to live there. There are lights over the trash piles so that the people and children can pick through the trash at night. Then they sell things that they find for money. The government will soon cover up this dump and then the families will be homeless. Catalyst Foundation is building homes in what is called the Rainbow Village for these people. They are partnering with Habit for Humanity in this endeavor.

One thing that was remarkable about visiting this terrible place was the smiles and greetings of the people that we met there. That evening I was talking with the boys about it and I said--"that made me sad". Joshua said, "Caroline said don't be sad, because we're helping them."

So I'm telling you--"Don't be sad--we'll help them."

Saigon Tonight

Hey y'all!

Still no pictures to post.  Too complicated I think--but I might give it a go tomorrow.  Tonight we're in Saigon for one night--in a pretty nice hotel with internet access so I can take a break and fill everybody in.

 

So much to tell!  I've been on the home team and laid brick and dug holes and hauled gravel and tied rebar--and met some amazing people.  The people on the Catalyst team are all wonderful--and we've really gotten to know the families of the people that we've built the houses for.  We've gotten to go way back little trails and paths and seen a side of life that is totally new to me.  I'll have pictures and stories to show when we return.

 

We visited the dump where some of the families live.  There are not words to describe the extreme poverty that we witnessed.  And in the midst of it all--people smiled at us and waved and went about their business--cooking breakfast, washing clothes, etc. 

 

Tri, Joshua, and Blake were on the school and distribution team.  They've visited many schools and organized and gave out the bikes, rice, etc.  Tri has had a great time taking on the local Vietnamese kids in soccer.  Joshua has been the expert at getting the bikes ready to be given away. 

 

Pete!  Don't forget about Pete!  At the first site all the kids learned to say "Hello Pete!" and they said it all the time!  He's the actual leader of the Home Team and has done a great job of guiding his crew and ending every day with cold Saigon beer!

 

Anyway--don't you all worry!  We're doing great and we'll come home soon with lots of stories.  I can't wait for you all to see the joy that the stickers, drawings, toys, and bicycles give these kids.  Oh yeah!  Yesterday I gave out a bunch of the pictures that kids from Drippin' and from NC drew for us to bring.  It's pretty cute to see a bunch of little Vietnamese girls holding pictures of the Alamo!

 

Love you all!

Aileen

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Distribution Team--Tri, Joshua, and Blake

Most of the trip Blake and the boys were on the Distribution team. They visited schools and distributed bicycles, rice, beans, and "fun bags" to children who are a part of the Catalyst Foundation scholarship program. They also handed out pictures that American kids drew and played games with the school kids at each school.

Blake was the king of the kids and organizing distributing rice and bikes and food. Joshua seems like he's always been here--and Tri is making friends (surprise :))! Joshua was in charge of getting the bikes ready to be distributed. Tri really enjoyed communicating with the Vietnamese kids. He also had a great time taking on the Vietnamese boys in soccer. He was impressed by their skills--they play barefoot! One point of pride was that he was the only American kid who scored during one of the games!

Above are some pictures of the distribution.

Dong Thap

This little boy was a neighbor boy who happily helped us to lay brick. He also enjoyed practicing the English he had learned at school--i.e. "Hello" "What is your name?" "How old are you?" What a sweetie!

The picture on the left is one of the houses that we worked on in Dong Thap. Dong Thap was very quaint and rural.

I'm out of order with this posting. I wrote this for the main Catalyst blog and then just sent it on to our blog. I'll add some pics.

The first thing people noticed about Dong Thap was that it was "not as
poor". The big adventure of Dong Thap has been the Tuk-tuks. These
are little motorcycle/trucks that the teams used to truck out to the
work sites. It was a ride through skinny roads and paths past rice
fields, duck farms, and Vietnamese country living. The home team
split into three and one group got to use their carpentry skills and
completely finish a house! The other group continued their finely
honed bricklaying and latrine-digging talents. The children at the
home sites enjoyed practicing their English on us and helping us with
the bricks.

One of the great treats when working on a house is looking up to see a
girl ride by on her brand new Catalyst bicycle. She's always sitting
up tall and proud! We all yell--"Catalyst bike!" so everyone working
will stop and take a look! As far as the distribution team goes--our
kids had a great time riding the tuk-tuks and have become a well oiled
machine when distributing bikes, rice, sugar, noodles, and beans.

The medical team continues to methodically labor away--they're studs!
Their big excitement was when a group of nearby homebuilders fell
through the roof of the home they were building. Caroline just about
had a heart attack when she heard--thought it was our group. But it
wasn't us--and the medical team triaged the guys, stitched them up and
sent them on their way. Mission accomplished!

The evening of Day 4 ended with an official dinner. Lots of courses--
curried rabbit, lotus seeds, lotus flower salad with beef, clam soup,
fresh mango and grapefruit. Bruce Whittaker was the toast of the
evening. He sat at the official table with the local government
officials where there was much toasting and congratulating and
celebrating. We had to carry him back to the bus--(just kidding :) ).

We're here!

We're here and everybody's doing great! The boys did just fine on the flight--and so did Blake and I! We're happy to see Pete and old friends from the last time I did this trip. Today we took a boat ride to the island of Phu Quoc and we've spent the day playing at the beach and the pool. Resting up and adjusting to Vietnam before all the work starts tomorrow.
So far...favorite funny Vietnam moment would be seeing the government officials who processed our passports and visas in the airport texting their friends between travellers! Other big change--everybody wears helmets on their scooters now--New law.
I'm really proud of both boys--they've been great travellers!
Don't know how to post pictures yet--just the "we're here" message.

When you can't speak the same language...

a nice picture will convey your message. We'll be bringing pictures from students from Rooster Springs Elementary, Dripping Springs Presbyterian, New Hope Presbyterian in Asheville, and our good friends the McMahons in NC. Thanks everyone!