We were happily received and shown around. The kids lit up when we walked in, as they were in the middle of reading lessons. We shook all of their hands & exchanged smiles and laughs. I let a few of them play with my camera, taking pictures of their own & showing them their own handi-work. Indeed, love of the instant-gratification of digital cameras is universal! Ha ha (=

Most of the kids go to local schools, so we didn’t see them. About a dozen or so have physical handicaps or some form of autism… and others were too young for kindergarten. They were the ones we met, being taken care of by the volunteers.

Tuan spoke great English actually. Amazing, coming from a 12 year old boy whose thin legs jut permanently out like open scissors. It was hard to distinguish the age of some of the handicapped kids. In the nursery, several lay flat in cribs, stunted in growth & waiting turns to be spoon fed by the caring nurses. One was 14 years old,, trapped in the body of a 6 year old. Another was 12.

There was a physical re-hab center with nurses and a visiting physician, working with the kids… stretching knobbed hands and fingers, working on scoliosis-bent backs, and misshaped limbs. It was heart warming to see the kids get a lot of care. For so many without mothers or fathers, they’re lucky here. We didn’t hear any stories of how the kids made it here, or what happened to their parents. It was enough that they were safe & cared for. Visiting & paying a little attention was all they were looking for & happy with. No one solicited donations or stuck a hand out for money.