Author: Team VHP

It’s been a long time coming, but the WIF grant is finally done and submitted.  Now it’s time to play the waiting game and we will know either way by March 31.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed for good luck.  

So far our group going to Vietnam is made up of 12-15 individuals and it’s a nice mix of health science students, undergraduates, and professionals.  I imagine there will be a lot of learning and teaching going on this summer in Hai An.  I certainly can’t wait.  

We are currently having bi-weekly meetings, but once April starts, we will be having weekly meetings to finalize paperwork, travel plans, and finish up workshops.  We will be doing fewer workshops this year as compared to last year because w we were overly ambitious last year with what we planned.  Lesson learned.  

The biggest piece of news to go with this update is that we will be buying our flights to Vietnam on March 5th.  We’re all pretty excited about that, though not excited about the cost.  Flights seem to be staying right around $1,500 regardless of the day or date of travel or departure point, which is about $300 more than last year, but oh well.  Not much we can do about it.

Until next time,
Justene 

It’s that time of year again . . . the first semester is winding down, the snow is starting to fall, and the hockey season is in full force.  With the resumption of UW Men’s Hockey at the Kohl Center begins one of VHP’s big fundraising activities, hockey concessions.

Every year, we work a Kohl Center concession stand selling a delighful array of sweets to excited fans.  New this year is the Cookie ala Babcock (fresh-baked large cookie with ice cream), which I must say looks delicious.  Wash it down with a large drink in a souvenir cup and you’ve got yourself quite the meal.  And the best part is that a portion of the money (~$200/game) goes towards our summer project in Vietnam.

This summer 2014, we are again returning to Hai An Clinic.  Since it’s our second trip there we are hopefully returning a little bit wiser and will be following a smoother path since a lot of the groundwork has already been done. 

Planning has already commenced for this project.  We are aiming to do overall physical exams for people, a little bit of preventative screening, address some oral health concerns, and perform a little bit of health education. 

Please stay tuned to read more updates about this project and the other good work we are doing in Madison and Vietnam!