'Tis the Season (Part 3): Friends Donate Large Box of OTC Medicines for Those in Need

Part three in a series of short stories of friends and family back home who have gone out of their way to extend their own generosity to those in need here in Vietnam.

This is a story about friends finding a unique and personal way to make a helpful contribution to people in need.

Two of our close friends in Seattle make a unique donation in the form of a box of medicines to be dispensed to anyone or any organization who needs them.

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Valerie and Kalid are two very close friends of ours who we've had the pleasure of knowing for the past few years. We're all a part of a larger group of friends who meet on a regular basis for cooking parties, movies, and board games...sometimes these all happen in the same evening.

Val and Kalid were among the first group of people we told about our plans to move to Vietnam, and although saddened that we would be leaving the group for a bit they couldn't have been more supportive. Every conversation we had with them about the trip involved their offer to help us in any way, shape, or form we needed.

Val is a pharmacist by trade. So when Val heard that we had purchased and delivered medicines to Vietnamese villagers in Vietnam, she, too, wanted to help since such activities were right up her alley.

In one of the boxes delivered by my three MBA friends there was a smaller box filled to the brim with over-the-counter medicines and supplements of all kinds. From what I could tell with my non-doctor/pharmacist eye, the contents of this box could alleviate a wide range of common ailments.

I asked my wife what the medications were for. She said that they were to be used for anything, we could give them out at will. She explained that this was Val and Kalid's donation to our work. It would be up to us to make sure they get used by the people who need them.

On December 26, Thuy and I took a portion of these medicines to an impoverished health and care center in Dong Nai province. The owner of the center was very appreciative of the medicine, telling us that they were exactly what his center needed. This was especially true for the various skin creams he received, as many of his patients are incontinent and must wear diapers at all times.

A full report of our visit to this center will be provided in an upcoming post. To say that the center and its staff does the Lord's work is an understatement. However, the center is, to say the very least, in dire need of outside support.

Val and Kalid, thank you so much for the box of medicines. Thuy will make sure they are put into the hands of people who need them the most.