Our rental 3 ton truck showed up at Hung's house at 5 am to pick up all of the supplies, then the
truck and another rental van came to our hotel to pick up all of us and our
suitcases and more supplies we brought with us from the US. Today we headed South
to the Mekong Delta, stopping by Long An at Dr. Hue's house to pick up - yes -
more supplies and all our our stored equipment in many large boxes, had
to rent another truck to haul the rest of our load to our hotel in My
Tho. Met the local Red Cross to go over the logistic and our schedule
for the next 8 days. The team was taken on a boat tour on the Mekong River,
stopping by the island of Thoi Son to taste tropical fruits in the
orchard and coconut candy factory.
Our team on the bank of the mighty Mekong River, the world 12th longest
river, 7th longest in Asia, a trans-boundary river begins in the Tibetan
plateau, known as the "roof of the world" the highest plateau in the
world at almost 15,000 ft. snaking through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand,
Cambodia, and Vietnam. Here in the Mekong Delta the river has 9
tributaries (Nive Dragon River Delta) that empty into the South China
Sea. Recently it has been dubbed "biological treasure trove". Over
10,000 new species have been discovered in previously unexplored areas
of the Mekong Delta, including a species of rat thought to be extinct.
Tien Giang province is situated on the northern most part of the Mekong
Delta, including a couple of the 9 tributaries of the Mekong River.
Padraic and Dr. Shannon from Buffalo, New York celebrating their second
trip to VN with the Director of Tien Giang Red Cross Dr. Lang and vice
director Mr. Tam. It is really nice to be back to VN and see old Red
Cross friends again. We are treated to a feast as a
welcome dinner with all the Red Cross staff.
Dr. Lien the formidable lady I hug with my right arm in this photo, she
is the first Red Cross director in VN I met after 10 years of searching
for ways to bring dental care to people living in rural villages, it was
Dr. Lien who really believe in my effort and vision, she is the one who
truly knows and values the importance of good dental health, and she
took it upon herself to make it possible for our team to return years
after years to help the children of her province. Standing from left to
right Dr. Lang, the current Red Cross director, Dr. Paul from Maine,
Dr. Lien the retired Red Cross Director, Lan (me), Van from Houston,
sitting from left Dr. Hue from Long An, Dr. Mikey from New York City,
Robin from Main (Paul belongs to her as you can guess.)
Below, Dr. Mickey, Robin, and Phuong, enjoy delicious vegetarian spread
(Paul, Trang and Van are also vegetarians on the team). The food is
absolutely out of this world, prepared with love by Ms Thuy, our cook
for the past 9 years.
Inventory of our supplies
before going to bed, get ready for the first clinic day tomorrow.
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