On Saturday we took the plane to Rach Gia, the capital city of Kien Giang and the city where Brianna was born. We quickly got our luggage (they don’t have a carousel, but Brianna noticed that the airport is bigger than Grandma & Grandpa’s airport in Missouri). After checking into our hotel, we took the bus to the school that the Catalyst Foundation built earlier in the year. The school consists of only 3 rooms, but it provides a safe environment for local girls, and later in the year boys will begin attending the school as well since the Catalyst Foundation received a grant from a family that recently adopted a child and they want to help the local community!
After a quick tour of the school, Brianna and I along with our friends David, Dorothy, Liam and Maia left to visit the Kien Giang Orphanage which is where Brianna and lived until they were adopted.
We found that there has been a lot of progress in the local area! More buildings are being renovated, and the community is becoming an area that attracts tourists due to its close proximity to Phu Quoc Island. The homes and community are still in great need, though, and there is a long way to go.
The orphanage visit started out a bit confusing since the director was not in, and she forgot to mention to anybody that we were going to visit. Fortunately, we had an interpreter with us and we were able to get it straightened out and tour the facility. We visited each of the buildings/homes where Brianna and Liam lived. They are also building a new nursery on site! Unfortunately, the orphanage is full to capacity. I learned that they also have “abandoned seniors” at the facility, but I didn’t see any interaction between the seniors and the children.
We had a pleasant ride back to Rach Gia and found that that our Distribution Team had been hard at work. All of the children on the aid expedition are assigned to the Distribution team and they had been packaging sugar, rice & beans so that we could pass them out the following day.
The evening ended when we had dinner at the same restaurant where Brianna and I went after the Giving and Receiving Ceremony when I adopted her!
After a quick tour of the school, Brianna and I along with our friends David, Dorothy, Liam and Maia left to visit the Kien Giang Orphanage which is where Brianna and lived until they were adopted.
We found that there has been a lot of progress in the local area! More buildings are being renovated, and the community is becoming an area that attracts tourists due to its close proximity to Phu Quoc Island. The homes and community are still in great need, though, and there is a long way to go.
The orphanage visit started out a bit confusing since the director was not in, and she forgot to mention to anybody that we were going to visit. Fortunately, we had an interpreter with us and we were able to get it straightened out and tour the facility. We visited each of the buildings/homes where Brianna and Liam lived. They are also building a new nursery on site! Unfortunately, the orphanage is full to capacity. I learned that they also have “abandoned seniors” at the facility, but I didn’t see any interaction between the seniors and the children.
We had a pleasant ride back to Rach Gia and found that that our Distribution Team had been hard at work. All of the children on the aid expedition are assigned to the Distribution team and they had been packaging sugar, rice & beans so that we could pass them out the following day.
The evening ended when we had dinner at the same restaurant where Brianna and I went after the Giving and Receiving Ceremony when I adopted her!
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