Sandpits, buckets and spades

Thursday 12th November 2009
Our trusty driver Mr Bah wasn’t able to take us to the orphanage for the last time today but instead kindly arranged for his friend to do the honours. Lyn is also unable to cone as she has work commitments so just Linda and I will be visiting today. We leave Hoang Trinh Hotel about 10.00 am after buying a cake to take with us for the children. With sandpit toys in tow we head off hoping that today we could finish the sandpit – our legacy to the children at Dai Loc as this would be the last time we will visit before returning home to Australia.

When we arrive, we are greeted by the children who are home from school for lunch. They run to give us cuddles and help us take our bags into the hall. We have also brought more colouring pencils and paper in the hope that we can get them to draw some pictures for us that we can keep as mementoes of our time at Dai Loc. The children are eager to draw lotus flowers and some of the work they produce is just beautiful. From the very youngest to the very oldest, they sit along the long table in the centre of the room, intent on their works of art. As each one is finished they proudly bring them to us with their names on them.

We carefully pack the pictures away and when they have all eaten lunch, we bring out the cake – so beautifully decorated. Like bees to a honey pot, they swarm around anxiously waiting for their piece. Before I have cut more than a few slices, the decorations have all disappeared from off the top and around the edges.

After the cake has been devoured, we head out to the courtyard to check on the sandpit and find that the edges have been meticulously completed. The sand we had arranged to be delivered is still not here so we get the House Mums to ring and try to get it delivered today. While we are waiting for the delivery we lay out a tarp on the floor of the sandpit to stop the dirt leeching through. The children run off to get the wheelbarrow, bags, dishes and anything they can find to carry what is left of the sand to the sandpit. I am amazed at there ability to problem solve and be resourceful.


We also lay out the tarp that has been sewn into a cover and watch as one of the mothers gets a machete to cut off the ends of bamboo they have gathered to use as poles down each side to weigh down the cover.


By the time the pile of sand is depleted, it has only covered a few inches of the base but is enough to lay in so we give them the sandpit toys we have brought with us. They look at them inquisitively but it only takes a few moments for them to work out what to do with the buckets, spades, moulds and trucks. Before we know it they are all in the sandpit, having taken there shoes off first and are the quietest we have heard them. The mothers watch with smiles on their faces and it isn’t long before they also have their shoes off and are in the sandpit too.

It is not long before the new sand is delivered and before it has time to be tipped out of the truck, the children and mothers are dragging bags, carrying dishes and pushing the wheelbarrow to take the sand to the sandpit. By now the weather is hot and very humid but it doesn’t deter them and even the little ones struggle with a wheelbarrow load of sand up the ramp and into the courtyard. They all pitch in and there is a sense of excitement to get it finished so play can begin.



In no time at the entire sandpit is full and the children can’t wait to get in and start playing again. Suddenly sand castles emerge and then moats and tunnels and they are all working together quietly to build sandcastle cities. There is no fighting or bickering and the older children are playing with the younger ones. The lours of the toys and the smiles on the children’s faces make the whole project a success. We take photo after photo to capture the moment and find it hard to take ourselves away from the fun and frivolity that the children are enjoying. Mum Xiam, Mum Ham, Mum Lien and the two mothers mothers, whose names I have forgotten gather around for photos and are sad that we will not be back. They thank us for giving the sandpit to the children and as we leave, they follow us to the car and we have one last group photo at the front of the orphanage before leaving. The children wave goodbye and run back to the sandpit to finish their castles, smiles on their faces – a memory I will always treasure.

As we drive down the driveway, we are greeted by some of the older children who are just now returning home from school. We think their introduction to the sandpit will be a happy one and we picture the children all playing together, constructing castles out of sand and wish them all magical moments in their life that will be special to them. We are glad we have been able to finish it and are pleased that the children and mothers were so eager to join in and help make it happen. The sandpit will stay at Dai Loc for many years, and hopefully, many children will be able to play in it – giving them some respite from life’s reality even if for just a few minutes, to build something from their imaginations, something that can be fun, something they can share and something that will make them smile.
When we first came to Dai Loc, there was no laughter, just shy curious faces staring at us through steel barred windows and now as we leave we remember the laughter as they ran beside the care as we drove down the driveway one last time….

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