We left for SS4 (Sponsor Society 4) early today. It’s about 45 minutes away on the shortest, but roughest road. We took the long way out and the short way back. SS4 Takes in people of all ages, not just children and seniors like SS3. We had an important meeting with the director, and then he took us on a tour of the facility. This director has been with the facility for 24 years, but has only been director for 4 years. One of our translators has worked there before and said that the place has improved tremendously under his leadership. He pointed out several improvements that other NGO’s (Non-Gov’t Organization) have made. He is very open others coming in and helping (others are still very suspicious) because of the history of the place.

20 years ago, a medical team came in and found a heart defect in a small boy. Because of this, they were able to save his life. That young man was trained in fixing motorbikes (the primary mode of transport) while growing up in SS4. He is now opening his own repair shop in Hanoi, with the intent of bringing in young people from SS4 to work there. It has been a tremendous success story.

We ate lunch at a traditional Vietnamese restaurant. I know, those who know me are thinking I am starving. I ate, with chopsticks, everything but the stuff with shrimp in it. It was delicious as well as beautiful. I sat with our Vietnamese friends who have been helping us and they all said I had tremendous form with chopsticks. No kidding. Tim thought that I ate Chinese food all the time. When I told them that I rarely did, they were a bit amazed. My wife is probably going to read this and throw a party, thinking it means more Asian food around the house. Maybe.

After we ate, we went to the Center for Women and Development. We had a meeting with them about what they are doing to rescue victims of domestic abuse and human trafficking. They have only had a domestic abuse program (they are the ONLY center in Vietnam) for a year. They are the only center for the rescue of victims of human trafficking in the north. After the meeting, we toured two shelters. The first was for domestic abuse and the second for human trafficking.

I have to say that the latter will, as anyone might imagine, break your heart. There were girls there the age of my own daughter and that always brings it home. I was talking with one of the social workers and she said that the borders (Laos, Cambodia, China and Thailand) are long and have many opportunities for human trafficking.

Speaking of her, she was very curious about what all we were doing and why. We are supposed to talk again later. More pictures up later tonight, so sometime in the middle of the day for those back home.

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