We are coming down to the wire! In 2 weeks we will be leaving for our second aid expedition! We are excited and looking forward to our adventure. However, I have done very little to prepare! Last time I felt like we prepared for months, this time it's this thought that keeps popping up, but no action! We have collected a ton of stuff to bring; stickers, crayons, markers, tooth brushes/paste, clothing, but I feel like we don't have enough! I don't know if there is ever enough!
We have so much, and yet the families we work with have nothing. I feel that we arrive, work and leave and the families are a bit better off, but in the big picture have we made that much of a difference? I try and remember a saying that I believe Caroline Tico-Parker (founder of Catalyst) once said, "One person can't change the world, but you can change the world for one person." If our trip changes the world for one person, it's so worth everything! The big picture is over whelming. So many people in our world need so much, not just the people of Vietnam. I can't help to think if each one of us makes a point to have a positive impact on one person in this world, what an amazing world this would be!
So, those are my thoughts today! I try and focus on what I can do, and not what I can't. We will make a difference in some one's life and the greatest gift of all? They will make a huge difference in ours!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Two months and counting
This trip is creeping up on me! I did manage to create a donation page! The address is www.firstgiving.com/marthawylie
We need to raise at least $1,500 for Catalyst in order to participate in the expedition. The donations go directly to the projects in Vietnam, I cover our costs from airfare to food. So, if you are so inclined, feel free to visit our donation page, every little bit helps!!! Thanks!
We have decided where we will spend our first week! The first 3 days we will be in Saigon, doing day trips. The next 4 days we will be staying on the island of Phu Quoc. We are staying at a quaint little resort called Phu Quoc Seastar Resort. $35.00 a night will get us a beach villa and breakfast! Sure can't beat that with a stick!
The 2nd week we will be working on the expedition. Not a lot of details on that yet. I do know that we will be staying in one location this year rather than traveling to a new location every other day.
I will update as we get closer and have more details.
We need to raise at least $1,500 for Catalyst in order to participate in the expedition. The donations go directly to the projects in Vietnam, I cover our costs from airfare to food. So, if you are so inclined, feel free to visit our donation page, every little bit helps!!! Thanks!
We have decided where we will spend our first week! The first 3 days we will be in Saigon, doing day trips. The next 4 days we will be staying on the island of Phu Quoc. We are staying at a quaint little resort called Phu Quoc Seastar Resort. $35.00 a night will get us a beach villa and breakfast! Sure can't beat that with a stick!
The 2nd week we will be working on the expedition. Not a lot of details on that yet. I do know that we will be staying in one location this year rather than traveling to a new location every other day.
I will update as we get closer and have more details.
Monday, December 7, 2009
I am very excited that Maya and I will once again return to Vietnam with the Catalyst Foundation! We will be leaving at the end of March for 2 weeks. One week is expedition work and one week will be tourist stuff. Our plans at this point include a trip to Hanoi, Sappa and Ha Long Bay. Nothing written in stone as yet, but I know the plans will be great!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Final Numbers!
Final Numbers:
This post is copied from our fearless leader - Caroline
Our expedition is over - most of us are home now and going through some culture shock and of course dealing with jet lag. For such a huge group, we were an amazing team that worked hard with an exhausting schedule in just 8 short days. We want to thank all those that have followed our blogs, donated money, toys, stickers, hats, t-shirts and everything else. Your generosity is amazing and so much appreciated.
Here are our final numbers:
over $53,000 raised and priceless in-kind donations
350 children & 40 chaperone's went to camp (including transportation, lodging, meals & clothes) to see the ocean and have fun! (they traveled by bus up to 14 hours to get to camp!)
250 bikes given to every child in our scholarship program in 5 different towns
10 kg. of rice, 10 kg. of dried beans, 5 kg. of sugar, 1 box of instant noodles and some candy :) to 280 families (that's enough to feed a family of 4-6 people for a month!)
700+ "fun bags" given to school children in 5 different villages - the fun bags were 100% made with donations of toys, clothes, stickers and drawings (mostly from school children in the U.S.)
350 "fun bags" given to all the children that attended camp.
2 new houses started in Rach Gia (Kien Giang)
2 houses renovated in Tan Hoi Trung (Dong Thap)
1 new house started in Tan Hoi Trung
1 house renovated in My Hiep (Dong Thap)
1 new house started in My Hiep
2 houses renovated in Sa Dec (Dong Thap)....all in 5 days*
we also funded the construction of 2 new houses (1 in My Hiep and 1 in Sa Dec)
for medical check ups:
in Rach Gia (Kien Giang - day 1 - 82, day 2 - 275, day 3 - 182, total= 539
47% were treated for parasites, 100% of the patients work and live in the garbage dump
in Tan Hoi Trung (Dong Thap) day 4 - 277 total (192 under age 18, 2 needed follow up)
in My Hiep (Dong Thap) day 5 - 313 (203 under age 18, 5 needed follow up)
in Sa Dec (Dong Thap) day 6 - 231 and 7 kids at our orphanage...
a grand total of 1367 patients in 6 days
after flying thousands of miles to get to Vietnam we then traveled:
120 miles via plane to Rach Gia (Kien Giang)
70 miles from Rach Gia to Cao Lanh (Dong Thap) by bus and two ferries - 6 hours
10 miles from Cao Lanh to Tan Hoi Trung (Dong Thap) by bus and tuk tuk - 1 hour
15 miles from Cao Lanh to My Hiep (Dong Thap) by bus - 45 minutes
25 miles from Cao Lanh to Sa Dec (Dong Thap) by bus and one ferry - 1 hour
85 miles from Sa Dec to Saigon/HCMC by bus - 4 hours
15 miles from edge of Saigon to our hotel by bus - 1 hour
75 miles from Saigon to Long Hai (for camp) by bus - 3 hours
80 miles from Long Hai back to Saigon by bus - 3 1/2 hours
*our bike team traveled 100 miles from Cao Lanh to Saigon in 12 hours and survived!We're already looking forward to the next expedition (I think!)...thanks again for all your support! More pictures will be posted soon!THANK YOU for being the Catalyst for positive change for the children of Vietnam!
I am exhausted just reading about what we did!!! It seems surreal!
This post is copied from our fearless leader - Caroline
Our expedition is over - most of us are home now and going through some culture shock and of course dealing with jet lag. For such a huge group, we were an amazing team that worked hard with an exhausting schedule in just 8 short days. We want to thank all those that have followed our blogs, donated money, toys, stickers, hats, t-shirts and everything else. Your generosity is amazing and so much appreciated.
Here are our final numbers:
over $53,000 raised and priceless in-kind donations
350 children & 40 chaperone's went to camp (including transportation, lodging, meals & clothes) to see the ocean and have fun! (they traveled by bus up to 14 hours to get to camp!)
250 bikes given to every child in our scholarship program in 5 different towns
10 kg. of rice, 10 kg. of dried beans, 5 kg. of sugar, 1 box of instant noodles and some candy :) to 280 families (that's enough to feed a family of 4-6 people for a month!)
700+ "fun bags" given to school children in 5 different villages - the fun bags were 100% made with donations of toys, clothes, stickers and drawings (mostly from school children in the U.S.)
350 "fun bags" given to all the children that attended camp.
2 new houses started in Rach Gia (Kien Giang)
2 houses renovated in Tan Hoi Trung (Dong Thap)
1 new house started in Tan Hoi Trung
1 house renovated in My Hiep (Dong Thap)
1 new house started in My Hiep
2 houses renovated in Sa Dec (Dong Thap)....all in 5 days*
we also funded the construction of 2 new houses (1 in My Hiep and 1 in Sa Dec)
for medical check ups:
in Rach Gia (Kien Giang - day 1 - 82, day 2 - 275, day 3 - 182, total= 539
47% were treated for parasites, 100% of the patients work and live in the garbage dump
in Tan Hoi Trung (Dong Thap) day 4 - 277 total (192 under age 18, 2 needed follow up)
in My Hiep (Dong Thap) day 5 - 313 (203 under age 18, 5 needed follow up)
in Sa Dec (Dong Thap) day 6 - 231 and 7 kids at our orphanage...
a grand total of 1367 patients in 6 days
after flying thousands of miles to get to Vietnam we then traveled:
120 miles via plane to Rach Gia (Kien Giang)
70 miles from Rach Gia to Cao Lanh (Dong Thap) by bus and two ferries - 6 hours
10 miles from Cao Lanh to Tan Hoi Trung (Dong Thap) by bus and tuk tuk - 1 hour
15 miles from Cao Lanh to My Hiep (Dong Thap) by bus - 45 minutes
25 miles from Cao Lanh to Sa Dec (Dong Thap) by bus and one ferry - 1 hour
85 miles from Sa Dec to Saigon/HCMC by bus - 4 hours
15 miles from edge of Saigon to our hotel by bus - 1 hour
75 miles from Saigon to Long Hai (for camp) by bus - 3 hours
80 miles from Long Hai back to Saigon by bus - 3 1/2 hours
*our bike team traveled 100 miles from Cao Lanh to Saigon in 12 hours and survived!We're already looking forward to the next expedition (I think!)...thanks again for all your support! More pictures will be posted soon!THANK YOU for being the Catalyst for positive change for the children of Vietnam!
I am exhausted just reading about what we did!!! It seems surreal!
Friday, April 4, 2008
we are home!
We are finally home! We got in around 10 pm last night. I have never been so happy to see our little house!!!! The flight home was LONG! We flew straight from Singapore to NJ, about 18 hours. Maya barely slept, which means I barely slept. Maya was then up at 6 am! I feel like I've been run over by a truck!!!!!!
Glad to be home :)
Glad to be home :)
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The girls go shopping!!!!
goodnight Vietnam!
smoothies at Gloria Jean's
The Rex HotelOkay, we did some serious shopping damage today!!!!! Maya and I set out at 8:30 and just returned. We hit the Tax Store, which is a mall like place with 3 floors of everything you could imagine! For example we bought beautiful embroidered t-shirts, $2.00 each, au doi's for $4.00 a piece, embroidered wall hangings, $15.00, you get the picture! Now we just have to find space in the lugguage to fit everything!
Maya was a pro. She had her own purse filled with Dong, Vietnamese currency. I'm not sure how much she started with, but she has a little left over :) She insisted on paying for her own stuff with no help from me!
We ended our shopping spree with smoothies at Gloria Jean's, the coffee shop. It was soooo nice to have something ice cold! I still have yet to find an iced cold Diet Coke!!!
We leave tonight on a 7:50, pm flight to Singapore. In Singapore we have a 12 hour lay over. Fortunatley the airport has a transit hotel. We'll check in, catch a good night sleep and hop on a 22 hour flight from Singapore to Newark. We should arrive in Newark around 6 pm on Thursday. We are both excited to get home. We have been missing everyone!
So long from Saigon!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Back in Saigon
The Opera House
The Carvel HotelWell, it's our last night in Vietnam. to celebrate Maya and I just ordered room service! Spaghetti no sauce, just butter for Maya and steak and fries for me, we are soooooooo excited!!! The food this trip has been very, very traditional. At times I had no idea what I was putting in my mouth. I just opened and hoped for the best!!! So tonight we are jazzed to have a good solid meal! The only thing missing is diet coke! I have seen a diet coke in 2 weeks! Instead i went for a tiger beer!
Being back in District 1 is bring back so many memories from when I was here for Maya's adoption. We are staying in the Huong Sen Hotel, right around the corner from the Carvel Hotel which is where we stayed 9 + years ago. The area has developed beyond belief. It's more like 5th Ave! The smell is gone and the shops and resturants have sprung up! The prices have gone up a tad as well! Every shop we went into the shop workers looked at Maya and asked "Vietnam baby?, I give you a better price". We got some neat stuff! We are off to the market tomorrow to finish up our shopping. We have a flight out at 8 pm, so we have most of the day, YEAH!!!!
The largest change is that we can actually cross the street with relative ease! when we were here before gail and I never crossed the street! Maya and I crossed many today and did not totally fear for our lives. They finally have signal lites and cross walks! You still have to be careful, but most motorists obey the signals. In 1999 there were no signals and nobody obeyed any type of road rules!!! Crossing the street literally meant you had a very, very good chance of being run over!
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