Return after covid!

2022-08 Finally, we returned to the Lao PDR after being away for 30 months due to covid. We visited with colleagues, neighbors, friends, scholarship students, and graduates living in Vientiane. There was not enough time to return to our village in the north. Our first visit to the Lao PDR was in 1998, and we moved there in 2002, twenty years ago. Now the senior pediatricians Leila volunteered with are retiring, and other doctors we knew as children are assuming responsibilities.

It was wonderful to see everyone, but the best part was meeting with our scholarship students and graduates. We are very proud of their perseverance, accomplishments, and kindness. These graduates, whom we helped, are now helping other students from their home villages. They provide them with a place to stay, transportation, and help with applications and registration. They introduced us to college applicants we knew as small children carried to the children's development center in the arms of their older brothers and sisters. They presented other students from nearby villages deemed worthy of scholarships based on family hardship and academic performance. Their help has allowed us to extend our support to additional deserving students.

Currently, students are studying pharmacy, IT, Mathematics, law, economics, and Chinese. One of these students is studying in Vietnam. This year we are supporting at least nine students and waiting for admission results on a few other students.

The Butterfly Children's Development Center closed when we left the Lao PDR in 2013. Our annual return visits allowed relationships to grow and develop as the children evolved into secondary school graduates. Their ambitions grew with the possibilities we afforded them. Many decided to graduate from secondary school and continue their education in colleges and universities. Despite parental and societal objections, they continue to persevere.

The pandemic has made life difficult for most people, especially the poor. Many secondary school students opted not to continue their education, instead choosing to stay home and help their families. We plan to return to our village in early 2023 and visit with secondary school students. We hope to offer them an alternative to staying home and working as day field laborers for Chinese farmers. Our graduates have already proven that education provides a path out of poverty. They now serve as an inspiration to their younger siblings.

Here are a few photos from this short two-week visit. It is an honor to remain involved in their lives.