Tuesday, 30Jan07

Highlights: Hoi An orphanage visit, Marble Mountain, Da Nang, Hoi An market

Today got off to quite the fulfilling start. There’s an orphanage about 5 blocks from our hotel that a passing tourist brought to our attention, so we paid a visit this morning. Forewarned that fresh veggies & fruits make the kids happy, we deliberately passed a small sidewalk market along the way. I picked up a ½ dozen eggs, tomatoes, a couple cucumbers & carrots. Meg and Anna got bananas & assorted fruits. I can’t recall if I’ve ever visited an orphanage before or not. In any case- it was a memorable visit.

This orphanage is located in a lot next to a Catholic chuch, but was not operated by nuns or overwhelmingly religious. The staff were all paid volunteers. We learned later there is a staff of 20, with a take-home salary of $19 per month here. Amazing how much people are willing to do for so little. The kids we met were great. There are 63 kids in this orphanage: 35 boys, 28 girls. They range in age from 1 to 19. They can’t stay here after their 20th birthday, but the headmaster has gotten several of the kids enrolled in colleges in nearby Da Nang, and many visit & spend the night frequently (usually on Mondays). The age breakdown is shown on the right of this pic.