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Lost photos, found Photos and lost them again!!!!!

August 6th, 2010

Ok, so I lost a bunch of photos from our trip to Vietnam.  I  also lost friends/family photos from the last six months.

Here are my warnings and advice to all of you.
1. Back up your computers!!! Especially your photos. You can upload photos to Mobile Me.Use an external hard drive or use the Time Machine. Whatever! Just do it. Trust me, it is not fun to loose photos and files. I am still drying my tears.
2. Never, never check your camera and computer under the plane. I have never done it in the past, but I was stressed, late and hungry when checking my bags. I totally spaced. I believe if I had a granola bar in my purse, I would not have made the stupid mistake of checking my computer.
3. If you have photos synced on your Iphone from your computer and you want them back on a computer, do not do it yourself. Get an expert to do it. Someone form the Apple store or a tech guy should do it. I still had all my photos on my phone. I had 3,000 photos were on my Iphone, but I lost all of them because we tried to import them on to a computer. We lost them all again!!!!

I am back to work and I have a new computer and everything is backed up!!

Stay tune for a list of donations Soulgems has made!!!

Janelle

Blog delayed

June 29th, 2010

I have not been able to update my blog. The connection is spotty here and Annabelle is a bit sick. We did a 7 hour treck yesterday to remote villages. We passed out more crayons to the children. Adults there wanted them too. Annabelle and I are going to help a young Lao girl buy a bike today. She has $4o and we are going to give her the remaining $30. We are going to talk to her teacher and then go together to buy her the bike. Her name is Toi. She is very smart and speaks English. We will report more when Belly is feeling better.

Found photos on my Iphone

June 25th, 2010

Thank God for I phones. I did a sync with my Iphone before my computer was stolen and I was able to sync all my photos. I have all of them.

Three girls were rescued from forced prostitution recently in Hanoi. The Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation had their staff track down the girls and found them in China before they were sold to a brothel. It was a successful and happy story. The girls are back with their families. I will report more later. On our way to Laos!

Trying to recover

June 23rd, 2010

I am trying really here not to get too upset. Having my computer stolen has really made me depressed. I am trying to keep my spirits up and remember why we are here. We are suppose to visit a shelter tomorrow here in Hoi An. The thing is, all my contacts and addresses are in my computer. Hopefully tomorrow we will be back on track. We discovered we have more crayons in our luggage, so we will give those to childen as well.

There is something fun to tell you. Annabelle and I were able to teach a H’mong women how to make a pop top bracelet. She was so excited, because pop tops are free recycling material. She said she wants to make them here in Vietnam. I asked her if the H’mong women would wear them. She said probably not because it is not traditional. I was glad to hear that. I do not want to interfere with their customs.

Ok, we are off to discover Hoi An.

Camera and computer stolen

June 23rd, 2010

I did something really stupid and checked my computer and camara with luggage on my way to Hoi An. My camera and computer were stolen. I was hungry and tired. People kept cutting in from of me at check in. A cultural thing I guess. I was not thinking and checked my carry on. I never do that. We were about to miss our flght. I realized what I did when watching my bag go down the conveyor belt.
I will return to blog when I dry my tears.

Hill Tribe girls in Sapa disappearing

June 21st, 2010

Annabelle and I  visited with Chow, a  sixteen year old H’mong girl today. She has had girls friends disappear here from Sapa.

Forced prostitution is not as organized and corrupt in VIetnam as compared to the rest of South East Asia. There is trafficking, but it is done more on a individual basis. It is not operated by a large ring of traffickers. There are men from China who want a housewife/ slave and so they hire someone to come to Vietnam and kidnap Hill Tribe girls.Girls are kidnapped one, two and three at a time. They are given the date rape drug and then the men take the girls across the Red River to China.

There is no support here in Sapa for girls who are vulnerable to trafficking. There is no drop in center or shelter. There isn’t a place for family members to report that their child missing. It is very sad.  Because they do not have birth certificates or any papers that they are human beings on this earth, they can not get help.

All out of Crayons!!!

June 20th, 2010

Oh, how I wish I brought more crayons!!! The H’mong children went crazy over them. We ended up digging through our back packs for our mints, mini toothpaste tubes, candy, power bars, tea packets and even my crystal light packets so that everyone could have a treat. I was starving when we hiked back to town. I gave all my emergency food away!!!

I met a women today that lives here part time in Sapa, Vietnam. She is quite a character. She is in her sixties and drives her motor bike back and forth from Hanoi to Sapa. That is a long and bumpy trip! She is a writer and advocate for the Hill Tribe people of this area. She knows about trafficking here and we are meeting later so I can take notes.

I am also going to interview some H’mong women and listen to their experiences with trafficking.

Made it to Sapa, Vietnam

June 19th, 2010

Belly and I made it to Sapa via the sleeping train. We arrived 6 am in the morning. It was so much fun. We had hot chocolate as we zoomed by the the rice fields . People flashed us huge smiles and many waves our way.

Sapa is wonderful. The H’mong women spotted us right when jumped out of our jeep. We bought a purse and they have been following us all day.They are very sweet. Tonight we go to Cat Cat village to visit and learn. Belly and I are going to hand out our crayons to the children. So far the children are loving the crayons. We are happy about it and Annabelle gets a kick out of the smiles and giggles. We are on a hunt for a shelter for homeless children as well. We will keep you posted.

Nelly

Here in Hanoi Vietnam

June 18th, 2010

Wow, so we are finally here. We had a rough start. W received our visas the day we left the US. Long story, but it caused us a lot of anxiety. We arrived in the amazing country 10:30 am on the 16th. My poor daughter Annabelle was so exhausted that she threw up a couple times and then fell asleep for six hours. Keeping her up so she will adjust to the time change was not going to happen. So we lost a whole day. We rescheduled our visit to the Blue Dragon shelter for children and will visit them on the  22nd instead. Annabelle and I can not wait to hand out our 350 boxes of crayons to the children. The staff also requested legos, puzzles and games. We are going shopping for those things tomorrow.

At the Blue Dragon shelter many of the children have been rescued from a human trafficking or they are at risk. I am looking forward to learning  about  the issues. Got to go! Taxi is here!

Welcome!

June 11th, 2010

My daughter and I are frantically getting ready for our trip to Vietnam and Laos. We leave this Monday night. We are going to visit a shelter in Vietnam that houses and watches over children who are vulnerable to human trafficking. We will keep you posted. Have a great day!!!