Camp!

The students had a great time at the beach and so did all of the volunteers! We were able to play beach games with the kids, do many different arts & crafts, play board games, and swim in the China Sea. We had to create a human chain to create our “swim area” – we were at the beach with several hundred children who had never seen the sea before and could not swim! There was a school of jellyfish nearby and a few people got stung, but our Catalyst Kids were having fun catching them in their pails. The water was very clean, but later in the day many people found that they had VERY itchy skin. One of the doctors on our team thinks it was sea lice. Fortunately after being out out the water for about 10 minutes the itchiness goes away, and we all jumped in the pool when we went back to the hotel just to play it safe!
The students were incredible throughout the day. They started by all getting showers and clean clothes (the first shower ever for many of them!). Later in the day, some of them wanted to go and take another shower because it felt so good. After dinner, we had a talent show and many of the girls sang and danced traditional Vietnamese songs and dances for us. They all previously drew pictures for our art contest. The fourth place winners (divided by ages groups) took home approximately $100. The Grand Prize winner took home $2,000,000 Vietnamese Dong which is about $125. Remember, the average Vietnamese family only earns $200-$300 per year! The pictures they drew were spectacular.