Update from the Team

Breakfast view

Debbi's class with Albany Y's Kristen Usher

Melissa and our Y hosts at celebration night here in HCM City tonight

We had our grand finale tonight at the Y here in the city, after a day of park visits and Y preschool ...

Hong Kong airport ... Still traveling with Y pal Jessica Aaron for Seattle for a few more hours!! 

Update from Melissa!

So after a day's recovery in the city, an emotional & heartbreaking time in the school with the children, we load up the bus again today for about a 5 hour journey to the town of Mui Ne on the eastern coast. With luck our driveshaft on the bus will hold as our last two trips the driveshaft fractured!

Last evening of of our YMCA youth volunteer hosts gave me a motorbike ride around the city at night! This was thrilling and a brilliant way to see the city from the vantage point of a local!! The people here are so resilient & so gracious ... I am already so impacted by this culture.

Here is a great photo of Mr. Doug Gray!

update from Melissa

We are having our first and only rest day on Monday, spending time in the city resting up after our inspirational week of work at the school.

Update from Bryan

 We wrapped up the work at the school yesterday by painting murals on the classroom walls. It was a lot of fun and showed everyone's creativity. We also had a community celebration and dinner with local officials at the end of the day. We are heading back to Saigon today. It will take an entire day by bus. Dave, I drew the Trans Am for my mural as you can see. Talk to you all soon. Hope you have a great day.

Tonight's sunset in Rach Gia

Update from Melissa and Team!

Big push today! We finished painting doors, windows, walls ... And grouted tile flooring in front of the school rooms, all the while cleaning off little footprints! I can mark off my bucket list being crushed by mobs of small children as we placed temporary tattoos on arms and hands! We are exhausted but happy, and feel much goodwill, teamwork, and happiness. This culture is full of strength & resilience!

Debbi Dean's 6am Jump Start tshirt on Barbara Sledd at the school today!

Update from Bryan

Just got back from work day #3 and we basically completed the majority of the work. This is unbelievable. I did not think we could get everything done in that amount of time. We finished up painting, scraped tile floors, cleaned the floors, cleaned the desks, rehung the classroom doors, and grouted tile. We also taught English in some of the classes. Awesome day of work. Attached are some events of the day. Take care and have a great day. We are getting ready to head out for dinner. 

Update from Melissa!

Twas a scorching hot day of door and window painting ... And teaching English to some extremely bright youngsters! These kids are soaking up every second of our visit. It is remarkable that they already can count and say ABC's in English, a tribute to their hard-working faculty! Today we taught colors and naming body parts. We have also learned how to identify children who are the minority Khmer. This helps us understand cultural differences and expectations needed by the kids.

More painting and teaching tomorrow, and the beginnings of grout work on the outside floor tiles!!

Photos of the progress on the school

David Snellen working! 

Bryan Mullins at work mixing paint

Update from Bryan and the team

We just completed our second day of work and got doors and windows painted. We also had a blast with the kids at lunch time. We are all assembling right now to head out for dinner. 

Photos and update from Bryan Mullins

We had a great time on the Mekong Delta yesterday and learned a lot. We have gotten to Rach Gia and checked into the hotel. Everyone headed off to the school worksite this morning other than me unfortunately. I must have picked something up on the plane ride over or possibly before I left Lexington. It has finally caught up to me with the weird sleep schedule and such. I started taking antibiotics and it seems to be working, but Jeff and I decided that I should stay back and rest today to make sure I recover. It bummed me out and I prayed about it a lot and it seemed like the best thing to do. I just have aches, low fever, etc. I am grateful it is not a stomach thing. It still has not dampened my spirits and cannot wait to rejoin the team tomorrow. Here are some picks. 

* Bryan is feeling much better now and will be able to join the group tomorrow! 

Update from Melissa and Team

Today our team began sanding, painting, and the teaching of English and fun games to the students at our school near Rach Gia on Southern Vietnam.

The Y's mission of youth development made me reach outside my comfort zone today and entertain children! Imagine being swarmed by smiling faces and easy laughter. Always I believed that if our world could remember to view this world through the eyes of its children, prejudice & hatred would not exist. I witnessed this first hand this day. Our summer camp songs worked just fine, and I places about 25 temporary tattoos on tiny arms & hands. The children at one point ran out in front of the school courtyard and promptly fell over a drying fishing net! Just like American kids, they were not paying attention! Same issues, same smiles, 6000 miles from my home.

Me, Barbara, and Kristin from Albany on the Mekong Delta

Update from Melissa Bellew

What an exhausting & brilliant day traveling to the school site via the Mekong Delta water tour!

Our team is bonding - we are already employing the Y's core values and planning our work at the school. We had lessons in Vietnamese with our fabulous young hosts and experienced river life on the Delta and its fragile ecosystem and human poverty. When you walk in another's shoes the insight gained is priceless. Tomorrow we see the school and the kids! The work days begin!

Melissa

Chris from Albany & Brian, on the Mekong River

Update from Melissa Bellew

School supplies for kids loaded up! 

Me (Melissa) and friend Mai from Houston

Update from Melissa Bellew

Debbi's 6am class shirt on the journey ... Where will it be seen next???

Notre Dame Cathedral downtown Ho Chi Minh City

Melissa Bellew, Membership Director at North Lexington Family YMCA

Update.

Amazing few days of acclimation & bonding, learning from our Y Vietnam hosts, dinner at the local Y. Traveling tomorrow to a school in Rach Gia to begin work on Wednesday ... We have studied Vietnam history, sampled local foods & culture, learned Vietnam phrases, and examined the war years from Vietnam’s viewpoint, touring the Cu Chi tunnels today... I fired 10 rounds on an M16 with guidance from the locals...

Photos are from our first walk in the city. The first morning we saw a team member from Houston have her shoulder bag cut from her body by a passing scooter (she was uninjured but shaken), so we all were reminded quickly of this country's extreme poverty, desperation, & burgeoning tourist trade ...

We learn from this different culture while tuning our YMCA mission into skills hourly ... Much work for us to do and Roger Carbajal (Association Board Member) became an uncle for first time today with twins ... Niece & nephew - all shared in his joy!