Physiotherapy for kids in Vietnam.: How wonderful to have a loving extended family

Each day here just gets better than the last. Had a great sleep, and went for a walk this morning. Slightly perturbed when the coffee shop was closed then went into two back to back intense meetings to get the POD (Program of Development) off the ground. We are trying to identify 4-6 like children who will come to CHIA and spend each day in much the same way as our kids with a disability do in many Western countries. These are kids who stay at home and receive no type of education at all. Our plan is to provide a model where the benefits of proper positioning, movement opportunities and education are provided with the goal being to gradually encourage the community to take over more of the roles that initially CHIA will support. This includes helping our Vietnamese friends work out how to structure a whole days worth of activities and learning opportunities for children who are very severely disabled, and train the carers to be able to work with the children safely and effectively (when the carers may not have extensive education or literacy skills). We have three fantastic children who I guarantee will blossom with this opportunity, and have seen two more possibilities and one child left to assess. The challenge is to find the right carers. Unfortunately, the kids will have little of the type of equipment and facilities that I would consider as necessary in Australia- such as standing and walking frames, however, as our goal is to roll this model out into the more rural and remote communities, I have to remember to keep my list of wishes low. The fact these beautiful children will achieve the dignity deserved by any person, in being seen as someone who deserves the right to learn and socialize with their peers is actually more than enough. I hope that all the kids will be able to get to the centre, as transport is a main issue and money is tight. CHIA are very stretched with all the programs they provide, so if anyone reading this feels this project is worthwhile (and with my whole heart I can say it absolutely is), please check out the Children's Hope In Action website. The funding you provide will help many of the children you see in my blog.
Sooo, where was I? Went to see a dear little girl today, who spends most of her day being looked after by both of her Grandfathers. Extended family is the norm here. These men were fantastic, and again, I feel blessed to have met this family. The little girl is perfect for the POD, however, one of her Grandfathers seemed a little sad when we discussed it (even though they expressed interest), and I fear he will be lost without his little girl to look after.
This afternoon, we had a staff meeting, which started with 'team building'. Normally I'd run for the hills at the sound of this, but it was totally hysterical. After the meeting we had cake for two of the staff (birthdays)- one of them the lovely girl who I call 'daughter' because she'd like to marry one of my children. Finished the working day with planning and programs for the kids of the POD.
Debriefing was a few glasses of wine and chips on the balcony of the Cua Dai hotel were we are staying ( a really nice way to end the day).
We hopped a taxi to "Chips and Fish" over the river and met a bunch of expat friends of Robyn's, who all turned out to be wonderful company. By the way, the chips here (and the first non Vietnamese meal I've had since leaving Australia) are SENSATIONAL. My husband and kids won't understand the attraction, but the fried eggplant was also great.
Tomorrow we are going to Tam Ky to see my friend Mrs Hanh and I can't wait. I love her to death, so should be a fun weekend. Holidays here Monday/Tuesday, but we've decided to work Tuesday anyway as we have so much to do. Have a great weekend everybody, and hey, I'd love to hear from anybody- as much as I love it here, it would be great to hear from home!
Sandie