Back to Nam

The last couple of weeks have gone by in an incredible blur.

Early in March, I headed to Australia to see my family, attend a fundraising dinner, and spend time with young Quan, who went to Brisbane for surgery on his face. It was an extremely busy three weeks, but all with good results.

Quan is out of hospital already and relaxing in the home of his host family. His mother has been very stressed, but she can now see the outcome: the neuro-fibroma is gone, and soon the swelling and pain will be gone too. Quan should return to Vietnam in about 10 more days.

The fundraising dinner, organised by the Vietnamese community in Sydney, was spectacular - over 700 people attended, including my niece and nephews! (Aren't I a proud uncle?) The money we raised will be used to support more children in central and southern Vietnam.

While I was in Australia, our kids in Hanoi were hit by a chicken pox epidemic, which also laid up some of the staff. Ouch. Our center has also been affected by the rolling blackouts that are hitting the whole city... although the electricity has been fine since I got back. Fingers crossed that the problems get sorted out.

Our next big challenge is to find a new center in Hanoi where we can all fit in. Our current building is way too small for the number of kids who visit us each day, and we never seem to have enough classrooms. The search for a new home has already begun, but I imagine it will take a while. I look forward to the day I announce our big move.

A few other interesting things have been going on... I will get back to regular blogging now, and write more in coming days.