A very special birthday

Excerpt from Little Feather Foundation.

"Last week Nha had been having such a hard time. Breathing had become very difficult and he needed the help of oxygen to give him some relief. While Nha spent a lot of time sleeping, he looked comfortable and peaceful. 

Despite providing Nha with a diet of a high caloric formula, he is not gaining any weight - in fact, he has lost some. Sometimes this happens when a person begins to get closer to the end of their lives and their body begins to slow down gradually. We will continue to do everything we can to keep Nha comfortable, and we still hope that by continuing to feed Nha a good, nutritious diet, he might gain a little bit of weight back, or at least, stop losing it. 

Hydrocephalus, and the complications that come along with the disease can be very unpredictable. Most of the children who suffer from untreated hydrocephalus seem to swing back and forth between being stable and being very unwell. The road ahead is unknown - we often have no idea about what could be behind the next corner or the where the next turn may take us. For Nha, we are taking each day as it comes.

However TODAY told a different story. Around this corner told of a happier time! Nha had the best day he’s had in such a long time! He was alert, smiling and spent the morning being kissed and cuddled, read to and sung to and being filled up with lots of love. Nha was given a big thick blanket to keep him warm and a soft teddy bear to keep him company. Today was a GREAT day!

Like for many of our children, we can never be too sure about what will happen next, but we will be with Nha all the way making sure he doesn’t have to go through it alone and making sure that for the time we have with Nha, we will celebrate with him and help him to live life as much as he can. 

Our role as palliative care providers is about giving life to days, not about giving days to life"

It was Ngas birthday so it was time to celebrate!

The birthday boy

The staff getting in the spirit

Bai

Our special guest Stewart who came to sing for Nha

Dancing with Bai

CAKE!

Sorry Kelly I just had to 

and I deserved it

I love this shot!

The physio getting on down

Picasso Village HCMC - Creating families

In Vietnam there are still so many victims of the war...and sadly most of these are children.  Children that are given up for whatever reason by their family (because they are poverty stricken), babies who are tragically wrapped in plastic bags and left at temples or in rubbish bins (some survive, some don't) and children with the physical deformities from the dioxin in Agent Orange.  

Its quite simply of epidemic proportions.

There are many different types of centres for the children.  There is Go Vap where Kelly and I work and it is one of the better ones. The staff are caring, the facilities are clean and the children are treated well.  There is also the other side.  Thankfully I have not experienced this first hand, but I acknowledge there are some terrible places out there and next time I visit I am prepared to confront this as I think it is important to know.

There are also some pretty special places in HCMC and Kelly and I were taken to one such place last week.  

This place is called Picasso Village.  Its a home environment that is created where there is no bloodline of family.  There are 24 homes and each home has a 'house mother' this mother is given the special role of raising 11 children as her own, a massive commitment of time, love and work, on top of this she must also commit to not marrying.

Picasso Village was set up by Pablo Picasso's grand daughter, a compassionate and benevolent woman  who wanted to create a special place for the children.  A home.  She wanted each child to have a family headed by a mother--a single Vietnamese woman chosen from the ranks of teachers--and a chance to make something of their lives.  

Its a place where children can stay until they  learn a trade and become independent adults.  If they study they can also stay until they have completed their courses.  Its really an amazing concept and something both Kelly and I wish was more prevalent.

With thanks to Son Michael from Kids without Borders and Misa (who grew up in Picasso Village), we were welcomed into the centre.

There are abundant trees, a swimming pool, sports equipment, sports field, kindergarten and more.  Its a stark contrast to the minimal that is usually provided to 'care' for children.Although its heartbreaking to think these children had to grow up in this village without the tenderness of a mother and father, I can't help but think this is the best place to be raised in HCMC.

So here are photos of our day with Misa and the lovely Spring (an intelligent and determined young man who has been there since age 4).  

Two worlds meet

The children's rooms

This house is lucky enough to have wifi and a TV

haircut day

The older boys in their unit.  They no longer have a 'mother' but a manager

Two worlds meet

Both Kelly and I were very taken by this young man.

Spring and I

Our delicious meal prepared by Misa's mum