Rice University Humanitarian Medical Outreach in Vietnam

Vital Stats

Tiffany C

Houston, TX

People Doing It8

The Problem

Malnourishment is a prevalent problem in developing countries such as Vietnam, where food is scarce. Children from poor families in the Mekong Delta are especially prone to this condition since they do not have the luxury of a well-balanced diet. Also in the Mekong Delta, the same body of water is used for field irrigation, cleaning and feeding cattle, human waste disposal, laundry and cooking, etc. In backward parts of the country, the water is reused without purification. Therefore, local NGO’s have worked to build a water tank to provide a clean supply of water to the local population. Deaf and autistic children across Vietnam have been abandoned or orphaned by their own families due to social and economic pressures. The children receive minimal care and education, barely enough to let them become blue-collar workers. To make matters worse, they also face social discrimination by people who look down on them because of their condition. We will address and tackle this issue in Dalat at the Center for Deaf and Autistic Children.

Plan of Action

At the Health and Nutrition Center in Dalat, we will assist healthcare professionals in monitoring the weight of children in the K’ho, Bana, and Juru ethnic groups. We will also provide basic medical services to the sick and occasionally assist with English language lessons. At the Center for Deaf and Autistic Children, we will plan day-to-day activities and care for the children. Through these daily activities, we will strike a balance between relationship building and education. We will help them develop communication skills and strengthen their teamwork through instructive games. Since the center is also a clinic, doctors and nurses frequently check on the children and will oftentimes need assistance with daily tasks. Depending on our experience and comfort level, we may administer medication and monitor the conditions of these children. For the two remaining weeks of our trip, the team will serve the people of the Mekong Delta, a community whose economy depends on its extensive water network. The HuMed Vietnam team will first work in the public hospital shadowing the doctors and nurses in order to gain an understanding of the health issues in the region and the Vietnamese medicine practice. During the second week, we will assist with the installing of water tanks in poor villages and conduct training workshops on water sanitation, hygiene, and other health issues based on what we learned in the hospital the previous week.

Disability Rights

Discrimination

Education

Physical and Mental Health

Healthy Living