I think it's your b .... Happy B ....

My birthday card ... I had a good laugh



Ms Van Anh, Uli & birthday boy and Ms Kim




Ms Kim who organised the cake and the beautiful basket.


The next day: Just before we were cutting the cake ... Ms Kim n Matt



Ms Kim is enjoying a piece of cake



Sharing the cake the with the receptionists and tour desk girls


Wednesday, 31st of August … A special day ….

Had breakfast in room today, we still had some bananas, not the one in pyjamas, the real one’s. And … 2000 dong each or 10.000 a kg ~ 46 cents!!!

Then at 9 am Mark Pham one of the volunteer at CoG came and we went lap top hunting!!! I thought we take his Honda, but no … it is not too far to the shops, we can walk. And walk we did, but it was ok.

First shop seemed ok, but not very friendly staff, about 8.500.000 million per laptop, mouse included, no discount.
Second shop, Thanh Nhan offered SAMSUNG laptops for a very good price. Mark asked about a discount … yes 50.000 dong. Then we were told a carry bag and a mouse was included in the price. Apparently Vietnamese people love to use the mouse instead of the touch pad!!! When you have an ‘8’ in your birthday you get a free 8 GB USB stick for free!!!
Little did they know … it is Matt’s birthday today, 31st of the 8th … Matt showed his passport and presto FREE USB sticks!!!
The shop wants cash … so we said we have to go to the bank and get the money. On the way to the bank we WALKED to another shop … a real big one and I thought … yes, that will be it. But no, what we had in mind was more expensive here, no carry bag, no mouse, no USB.
Now we had to convince Mark to take a taxi to the bank. Matt had his passport, but not the account details. We approached one of the girls and explained … “No problem” she said, “this is your account number Sir, I remember your name” Matt was flabbergasted. After all we have only been to the bank three times this year.

This is personal banking at it’s best!!!

Filled in the form, got the money and hopped in the next taxi back to Than Nhan, quan 3. Our sales assistant was happy to see us walking back in the shop. We filled in the forms, got the warranty papers, paid the cashier and then went upstairs to talk to the tech people to tell them what software we like and which version they should install. In Vietnam the computers come to the shop blank, without software. It takes about 45 minutes to install.

It was already 12:30, so we decided to pick the laptops up later this afternoon. Had lunch at the ‘Gon Café in De Tham street. We thanked Mark for his help; it would have been an up-hill battle without him!!!

Picked up the laptops at 5 pm … what a service … all with windows 7 operating system, MS office, Mozilla and the lot. Tested them, got proper invoices and then they call a taxi for us, carried them downstairs … helped loading them in the taxi, our friendly staff at the hotel helped unloading … wonderful. LED screens!!!

Now we go out and have a wonderful dinner!!! C ua tomorrow!!!

Internet frustrations ...

Monday – Tuesday …

The last couple of days we had either very slow or hardly any Internet or access to blogger, the program we use to write this blog. Uploading photos took over 15 minutes, it's usually done in one may be one and a half minutes.

On the positive side, we did some CBA - online banking recently, payed bills and checked the account. Brilliant, what would we do without ??? It is so easy and convenient, sit in your hotel in Sai Gon and check your credit card, your bank account, use Bpay to pay some bills ... just brilliant.
Next year it will be even better, CBA Sai Gon we will have Internet banking. That will be interesting. Money transfer here is a little more complicated. We have an AUD account; our funds stay in AUD unless you spend money. CBA converts it into VND upon withdrawal at a CBA ATM and give you the AUD balance on the printout.
For transfers to other banks you have to fill in an A4 transfer form. Yesterday we transferred some funds and when we got back to the hotel we received an e-mail from Vu, our banker at CBA. The receiving account is a US$ account. Transaction not possible. We have to find out if the organisation has a VND account.

Same problem with Company of Grace had a long chat with Hoa about money yesterday. CoG does not have a VND or an AUD account. I said sorry, we can only pay in VND ... I'm sure Hoa and Loc will find a way. After all, they would like to receive the donations.

Enough about Internet and money. We had a sort of a rest day on Monday. Breakfast at STELLA's with our friends Bob and Hien. Later Matt went and checked out the computer stores in the area. Whenever I wanted to find out something, there was the language barrier. I had the feeling people thought I was only a tyre kicker ... today I go with Mark and I'm pretty sure we will get results.

Tuesday went to the bank and transferred some money. Vu our banker was very helpful. We forgot to bring a passport, again!!! Id is required. Happened before, but this time we were lucky. Vu just searched for the photocopy he made a week ago and copied it again. It took us half an hour to get everything done.

Walked from the bank to the TAX department store. We had to buy a prize for Rose. She was the first one to answer our little quiz on Sunday.

Afternoon was massage time. Took a taxi to the hotel and when we were trying to go to the 4th floor we were told that it is been renovated and will open late September.

Back on the street we decided to walk back to our hotel as some sort of exercise. Took us half an hour, but it was a good.

Will now attempt to upload photos again ...

E I E I O ....

Do you recognise the song of the day ??? If your answer is YES ... send us a comment!!! The first correct answer will receive a nice souvenir from TAX-Department store!!!


Today is Sunday, the 28th of August. On the way home yesterday we bought some yoghurt and some breakfast cereal and some muesli. Matt went out this morning to get a banana. I asked for chuối pronounced "chewii", I was wandering why I had to wait so long ... then she came with a banana milk shake. Sorry no "sữa lắc" just "chuối". Ok now I got my banana plus VND 5000. Breakfast in room. It was nice and cosy, Uli had already moved the table and chairs and the tea was ready too.

9:10 we got a cab to go to church ... on Sunday ...!!! Notre Dame cathedral was already packed; lucky we got a seat in the middle, but far back. We thought service starts at 10 am ... Wrong!!! So we just made it to the 9:30 English service.

Short walk to Diamond plaza, very expensive shops and tastes. We strolled through and went to the supermarket. The taxi driver on the way home was trying all kinds of tricks ... so we got out and walked from the New World Hotel, which is not too far.

Rest is the name of the game today after all it is Sunday. Working on the blog and downloading yesterdays photos.

Home schooling

Saturday, 28th of August

Easy going, had to get some water first … every day we drink about 4.5 litre of water. We buy the bottle at the chemist for VND 6000 per 1.5 litre, in total VND 18.000 ~ AUS 0.85. Wherever we go we carry at least two 500mil bottles.

Went into town to buy some books. Found 2 big bookshops, but all they carry is American book, nothing Australian, not one book!!! Anyway, we found an interesting one, Uli is reading it right now. It’s written by an English writer, she married a Vietnamese guy and lives on the outskirts of Sai Gon. We do have her web site … see if we can contact her.

Then we were checking out laptops. Difficult … so many shops and all different brands. We assume we just need a standard laptop, nothing fancy.

In the afternoon we met with Hoan and Lin. Together they run a home school for underprivileged kids in district 8. Hoan showed us the way on her bike, taxi just followed her. We met Hoan’s friend and seven children, the max number of children they teach is 11. The girls are doing a wonderful job teaching the kid to read and write. Parents simply can not afford to pay for school fees, books, uniforms notepads and whatever is required.
Hoan pays for all the material and donate their time, 3 times a week for 2 – 3 hours. The HOAN LIN School is a perfect example how the local people help themselves. In Vietnam the gap between the rich and the poor is widening dramatically.
This is another project we support 100%.

After dinner we met with Hoan and Lin to discuss a project in Hanoi. Kid, a friend of Hoan, who is also involved in VAVA … is a teacher and he also runs a computer repair shop. Kid wants to buy a photocopier for his shop, we have to work out the details of an interest free business loan. Lucky we know a lawyer … who also works for the House of Grace Centre.

VAVA stands for Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange / Dioxin
http://www.vava.org.vn/index.php
Photos will follow ...

Friday's Hope school photos ... थे न्यू किड्स ओं थे ब्लाक

The unreadable part of the headline means: the new kids on the block !!!














Little pre-school girl just would not smile ...



... then Diep made a guesture for her to smile by pulling her face, so she did exactly the same.



Group photo ... not all were smiling!!!



The new water filter and dispenser systems are already installed, as well as the fans we paid for.

Here come the OLD kids ... the one's we are now supporting for the third year!!!





























After all that work we were invited to again taste the best crab meat ... and spring rolls we ever had!!! Thank you Mrs Than and Mrs Diep.

OUT AND ABOUT ...9:30 am - 5:30 pm ... a full day's work

Friday, 26th of August

10 AM meeting at he Hope school for hearing impaired children. Had a pretty nifty taxi driver, he avoided most of the traffic, only VND 65.000 ~ $ 3.50.

Upon arrival we were shown the newly installed water dispensers and the fans. Looking good and working well!!!

Had fruitful discussions about the sponsorship. Then it was time to negotiate the current school fees. It was not easy, but in the end we came to a WIN WIN compromise. CVSG to pay over $7300 for 18 students. Some need special food and tuition … for others it is just the school fees plus uniforms.

Then we were introduced to the six new children, one who is still in pre-school. We had small gifts for all of them, Annette’s Bananas in Pj’s was a real hit. The kid all loved their new bags.
Then it was time to meet the 12 students we were already supporting. Some of them have grown a lot in the last year. We recorded a video interview with each student and then Uli handed them a present. We had lots of laughs and there certainly is a difference in how they spoke in Vietnamese, some even answered in English.

Then we went to the famous crab place and had a delicious lunch. Crab meant in all variations. Their crab spring rolls are the best we ever tasted!!!

Spent the afternoon with our friend Hien at her new office. Took a taxi back home, just before it started to rain. Downloading all the photos again … so far ONLY 1200 photos!!!
Had to delay our dinner, it was poring and a thunder storm right over our heads. Took a brollie and a raincoat … when the rain eased up. After dinner more writing … it never stops!!!

Photos will follow !!!

Another busy day ...

Thursday, 26th of August

Another beautiful morning, breakky around the corner, then Matt had to put yesterday’s events to pen and paper … while Uli went in search for a bookshop.

It took quite some time to process all the photos. TaL specifically asked us not to put photos of the children on the net. So you did not get to see any … but at home when we do a ‘BACH GLANCE MAN TEIV” we will be able to show the photos.

By lunchtime Matt had completed his task and Uli got back exhausted from her excursion.
In the afternoon Matt went to the Peace Orphanage. See photos below. It was great to get the attention of the kids. The camera was in their hands and some good shots were taken; surprise surprise they knew exactly how to display the photos on the monitor and page back!!!

Later in the afternoon we had asked Mark from Grace Centre to come and help us with one of our cases. Lien Chau is studying in architecture in Danang. Last year we supported her and her sister by paying their UNI (HOC) fees. Mark rang Lien Chau and she was surprised to hear from us. She is very well; her sister is no longer at UNI, but looking for a job. We decided to support her and her little brother again for another year. Mark asked Lien Chau whether she would need anything … but she didn’t. Lien Chau sent an SMS with her bank details. Next week we will send VND 15.000.000 her way; ~ $ 750.
Then we went out for dinner with Mark. He is such a funny character; we had lots of laughs and heard interesting stories.

Then it was time for forty winks …

Our corporate sponsors ...

Just a quick entry before we go to the Hope School. We would like to thank our corporate sponsors which really make a difference each and every year.

We only want to name a few ...

Network Communication ... the OPTUS shop near you,

Dick Smith ... who came to the party 3 years ago and

Beaumont Tiles ... joined us this year.

Please visit their websites and buy their products.

Without our corporate sponsors our tasks to raise money would be a lot harder.

In a letter to thank Dick for his regular support Matt asked Dick why he was supporting us Dick sent this letter below.

Peace Orphange Photos ... today

Just some "HAPPY SNAPS" from the Peace Orphange. The first photo I discovered on the way.



It's so good to see the kids again and see how they interact, half the photos were taken by THAN (in yellow shirt) and MYHANH in purple. They had so much fun with the big NIKON camera, they know exactly how to replay the photo on the display. Both were very careful and always put the camera strap over their head.

E-mail from HOPE School

Dear Matt n Uli Hosang,

We was finished the process to fit the water filter systems and the fans, so when you come my school on Friday you will see them and you can immagine how happy our children are. We are also happy when our children feel cheerful and comfortable at school. From very very deep of our heart we would like to say thank you very much for your help to our children at Hy Vong Binh Thanh (HOPE) School. We want to inform that the price to buy the water filter systems have changed a little bit, it costs 4.500.000 vnd for each one instead of 4.100.000 vnd/one as I told you at the last meeting, the seller said the price was increase and the price of the fans is not changed. That 's all for you, we will have the meeting on Friday 26/8/2011 and we will give you all the receipts of the water systems and the fans.

We are looking forward to seeing you on Friday at 10AM.
Best regards,
Diep

Visiting more children ...

Wednesday, 24th of August

Today we met with Claude who is involved in the “Touch a Life” (TaL) project. TaL runs ten shelters in Sai Gon and six in different provinces including one shelter in Cambodia.
By taxi we went to the first shelter. It was in a quiet alley way and the kids were happy to see us. Most of the children are healthy but have no family; marriage break ups and other reasons. There were 15 children, (aged between 3 – 14 years) in this shelter, some already at school. The children were lovely, well behaved and we were sitting in a circle on the floor and played the crocodile game. Each one had to push down a crocodile tooth … until the croc snaps a finger, and then you’re out. It was good fun. The kids were singing songs for us.

The shelter had three sewing machines. The caregiver has sewn all the school uniforms for the kids and some of the older girls were already learning how to sew. Very good environment.

We then walked to the next project a beauty salon. TaL set up the salon and initially paid the rent. Now the salon is self sufficient Claude explained only occasionally do they help with rent payments.



The salon ... looks great and has got everything.

Another short walk to the main road, taxi to next shelter. Claude wanted to save some money; he asked us whether we would mind crossing the highway. No objections … so we got out at the right spot, only to find out that between the two major highway lanes was a lotus pond 6 meters wide, stretching as far as we could see.



Walking was the only option; in the mid day heat we walked approx. 2 km to find a crossing, then 2 km back.


Our crossing ...
We were sweating like pigs … if this is a proper comparison. Anyway, we arrived and immediately we had 20 children around us, the little one’s climbing up our legs like monkeys. Van the caregiver welcomed us. We had already met her and some of the kids on Saturday at the House of Grace. They had no power … it was very hot … no fans. After an hour Matt had to leave … it was just too much … Claude called for a taxi … but it did not arrive.


Someone crossing the ponds while we wait for a taxi

We were all waiting by the side of the highway. Waiting … calling … waiting. Nothing. After nearly an hour we finally managed to get a taxi on the highway. What a relieve.
Claude invited us to his house where we met with Bao again. At their home they look after 6 children, some as young as 18 month and the others up to 5years old.

The kids in Bao and Claude's care

The kids were great and we had a chat about the TaL project and how it is financed. Currently they need study books, note pads and backpacks for the kids, as well as lap tops. We will certainly support them. Before we left we exchanged details … and then back in a taxi again. Claude and Bao live in district 8, which is not far from D 1 where we reside. All in all about $ 25 just in taxi fares.



Skyline of Sai Gon from district 8 crossing the Sai Gon river.

Back in De Tham street, first lunch, it was already after 2 pm, then a big rest!!!

Afternoon admin time again … then we met with our friend Mrs Tam … had dinner and a drink in a piano bar.

Lights out at 10:30.



The girls at the Vietnamese restaurant



Mrs. Tam at the piano bar

2011 Progress report – so far:
We will support the following projects / children/ students / women:
- another 20 children in a different district in the Mekong delta;
- continue our support for the 20 My Trung children/students,
- buy 20 bicycles for the My Trung children;
- support 6 add. children @ the HOPE School for hearing impaired children Binh Thanh Distr;
- 3 children at Song Lo school, Binh Thanh district;
- 30 children in Binh Thanh district, some with school fees other just a donation;
- Buy Lap Tops for the HOPE School children;
- the newly opened Grace Centre (Hoa/Peter van Stone);
- Claude and Bao (Touch a Life) who run shelters
for orphans, pregnant & homeless girls / women
Teaching them the Christian way;
(over 200 children);
- Peace Orphanage – Phuong needs a lap top, she
is studying physio therapy
- and other project we can find which helps underprivileged children and adolescence.

So far we only spent VND 10.7 mill ($500) for urgent repairs and improvements at the Hope school.

The Bank will be busy soon!!!