Que Son Hospital Benefits from Canadian and Japanese Gifts

Today we traveled out to the town of Que Son, in the district of the same name in Quang Nam Province. We were part of a delegation from Canada and Japan representing Global Village Foundation.

Five years ago doctors from Japan had visited this small hospital and vowed to return to donate equipment and supplies. Today, our Canadian family and friends helped them to deliver on that promise.

The journey by van was a rather bumpy and hot ordeal for two hours over mostly rutted country roads. The medical staff were so happy to see us! Ten of the twenty beds had already arrived as had the diagnostic machinery for ear, nose and throat diseases. Included in the gifts was a "kit" of supplies for the midwife who travels to outlying villages to assist at births, when the mother is unable to get to the hospital on the only means of transportation, a motor bike.

After the usual tea ceremony and speeches we were ushered through the ER, ICU and Operating Theater. The two pictures at left are of the "ICU", a small baby close to death with pneumonia and an elderly woman suffering from unknown ailments lay listless in their beds. It was very difficult to wrap our western minds around what we were witnessing. The Operating Room was so full of mould, that we did a quick turnaround. How crushingly sad and over whelming.

Thanks to our generous family and friends the beds and midwifery kits will alleviate some discomfort