"World Food Programme"
POSTED BY MEGHAN
PHOTOS COPYRIGHT HEATHER BRAND
ON 06.21.08 9:16 AM

Yesterday we flew from Little Saigon to Bangkok and toured a major distribution center for the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations food aid agency that has been helping people in need since 1963. I was very interested to learn about the WFP’s streamlined delivery and logistics system that expedites humanitarian aid and food to people suffering around the world. Click here to learn more about the world’s largest international food assistance organization.

Song of the Day: "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan

Click on any photo to zoom and see the full photograph.

The view from our hotel window this morning.

There are so many scooters!

A police officer directing traffic.

The World Food Programme warehouse where they pack supplies to be shipped.

Our group was given a tour of the facility. (Shannon's filming at the top of the stairs.)

World Food Programme sends out four flights a day from here.

A typical shelter kit.

We still love Frank's goatee and want him to keep it when we're back on the trail.

Water is an essential relief aid.

Workers packing up the next shipment of supplies.

Mom posing for a photo with several Marines at the warehouse.

Riding the bus to our next stop. Love the drapes!

Driving through Bangkok.

The view below the highway.

The cargo terminal for the World Food Programme.

We also listened to a presentation from World Food Programme representatives.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

"Operation Smile"
POSTED BY MEGHAN
PHOTOS COPYRIGHT HEATHER BRAND
ON 06.18.08 9:16 PM

We started our day in Nha Trang and visited the nearby Operation Smile clinic, where the dedicated doctors and nurses from the U.S. and many other countries arrange for local children with facial deformities to receive free plastic surgery. After touring the facilities and meeting the remarkable staff, my mom and I were able to reconnect with Phuoc Thi Le, a little girl for whom my mom helped facilitate cleft palate surgery in 1997. I still remember her as a baby when she came to Phoenix for her surgery.  She is a very sweet, poised 11 year-old girl who looks absolutely beautiful!  It is easy to take for granted how much I have been given in life; seeing up close the daily challenges faced by so many people around the world is incredibly humbling and certainly puts my priorities into perspective.  Meeting the selfless people who volunteer at the clinic as well as the patients and their families has been a transformational experience that I won’t soon forget.  Check in tomorrow - we have several other countries on our itinerary, so there will be much more to come.

Song of the Day: "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley

Click on any photo to zoom and see the full photograph.

Mom and I were both so excited for the day ahead.

The locals have an amazing ability to balance large amounts of grain and produce on their bikes.

The girl in the pink dress is Le. She is the girl who Mom brought to Phoenix to undergo cleft palate surgery 11 years ago!

Saying hello to everyone in the Operation Smile facility.

Here's Mom with Le and her father.

Le is so beautiful and grown up. The last time I saw her she was a baby!

Today's footwear ensemble.

Le and her father.

A patient with his mother.

There were so many families.

Another child waiting to be seen by the doctors.

Le helped us pass out toys to the children.

I was playing with this little boy and his mom.

His mask was so cute. (He took my hat after this photo was taken.)

Families waiting for their children to be examined.

We met the nurses who draw blood during the examinations.

This little boy was somewhat apprehensive.

Mom talking with another mother about her son's cleft palate.

These children are so inspirational.

A mother who was excited to get help for her son.

A doctor giving an initial examination.

These kids were so cute!

A mother who just received confirmation of her child's surgery.

Walking through the halls.

Another loving mother with her child.

The medical sterilization area.

Outside the facility.

I can't believe these babies could sleep with all the noise!

This boy was so curious about Heather's camera.

Some lost shoes.

This girl had the most beautiful smile.

And she loved the camera!

Mom doing an interview with CNN's John King.

A smiling policeman outside.

Le again!

Mom and John King.

Le watching Khue, Newsweek's photographer, at work.

Parents looking at the charts to see if their children were cleared for surgery.

Everyone wanted to see the results.

The reason for Operation Smile's incredible mission.

Taking a photo at the end of the day.

THANK YOU OPERATION SMILE!