In a few short days, I am off to Moscow to visit my in-laws and, from Moscow where my kids will remain, I travel to my beloved Bangkok. From Bangkok to Vientiane for 2 days and onward to Pakse for 10 days. It’s not enough time but it never is. Since I am on mom-time, I will get 10 times more done in a much shorter time than my pre-kid self could have.
My 2-day trip to Laos’ capital is filling up! I will be met at the train station by Valerie Baumal, CleanBirth.org supporter and artist. She and I will meet with Dee Harlow, CleanBirth.org’s liason in the capital. (Dee just won a $2,000 J. Kirby Simon Foreign Service Trust grant for CleanBirth.org!!).
Later that day I am meeting with PSI to discuss possible future programming and a factory that makes local birth kits.
Then Sunday, Dee and another volunteer are hosting a tea for the women I have nicknamed “CleanBirth.org Ambassadors.” These “Ambassadors,” who live in Laos and believe in our mission, have been so generous with their time and donations. I look forward to meeting them in person!
Following these packed days, I head to Pakse. There I will meet with a midwife from Australia and a British woman living nearby — both are interested in supporting CleanBirth.org. Later that day, I head to Salavan where I will remain for 10 days, training the new nurses and brainstorming with my partner organization about future programming.
It’s going to be wonderful and busy — Laos here I come!!
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