Mekong continue

Sisters of the Holly Cross free clinic

this church can be the future clinic site

Sisters of the Holly Cross convent

sewing shop

this child has deformation of the upper limbs

day care nap time

Clinic pharmacy

Beautiful hand embroidery

This free clinic open 7 days a week except Sunday. There are 314 people living at the convent including sisters, the elders with out family, young women from the country, handicapped children, and a daycare center for local children. Some times these children are staying for days when parents have to work away from town.

Sisters operate with donations and with the labors earned by all who can work in the sewing shop, growing crops in the garden, making communion wafers, they are pretty self sustained in their campus. A highly skilled person can embroider a beautiful table cloth in seven days, earning $1.25 a day. Sewers can sew for 60 cents a day. All young people require to go to school, and some young women are attending medical training to become nurse practitioners and to work at the clinic. Volunteer physicians come by to help from time to time

It was amazing to see the people working together and the dedication the sisters have to help these poor people. The young women otherwise would end up in the streets in the City. Here they are being schooled and making a living for themselves and to support others. Some stay with the sisters, others go back home and make a totally different life for their family. We gave them some of the medical supplies and money to help them get more meds for their clinic.

It was a great experience to be in the Mekong, we were treated with much kindness, the people are happy.

We are back to Saigon now getting ready to go to Danang tomorrow. The heat is getting to us now, I am not moving as fast as I would like to. Thanks for your good thoughts, and more to come later....

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