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Daughters of Our Lady of the Visitation
The Visitation Congregation is located in Hue, in the Thua Thien prefecture in central Viet Nam,
660 km from Hanoi and 1080 km from Saigon. Hue is considered the fulcrum of Vietnam's
two rice baskets, the Red River delta and the Mekong delta. After the war in Viet Nam,
qualified nurses and doctors fled the country or were dispersed for political reasons.
Consequently, there is a severe lack of medical training. Many times, on a routine visit,
the Sisters find a child gasping for air or dying from sepsis and dehydration in the
parent's arms. Due to lack of knowledge in medicine and proper care, these
children often die. Local townspeople are diagnosing diseases by troubleshooting
and guessing the outcomes of the illnesses, often with the aid of superstitions.
People without any formal education or training are administering medicine to
patients without knowing fully the pharmacological aspects of the medicine and
care, and this practice is widespread in Viet Nam. Improper administering of
antibiotics for ear infections has led to deafness. For example, at the School
for the Deaf in Lai Thieu, there are 420 deaf students, but only 19 of those
were diagnosed by doctors as deaf at birth. 401 students became deaf by the
WRONG administering of medicine and care.
Typically only the very rich or the politically connected in Viet Nam get an education.
The Communist government makes it especially difficult for the nuns to get a
medical education, as Catholics are considered politically subversive. But
Sr. Marie Pauline of the Visitation Congregation believes that administering
to the sick is God's will and that it is desperately needed in the rebuilding
years of the now unified Viet Nam.
The School of Nursing and Medicine is located in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
The Daughters of Our Lady of the Visitation plan to send four sisters to nursing
school, and the course requirement for certification is four years. The sisters
will room together in one apartment and will share all cooking and cleaning.
They will travel by bus to their classes. Class work, study and travel will take
16 hours per day. Weekends will be spent on their vows and enriching their
spiritual lives. The cost to send the Sisters to school for certification is below:
Tuition and Fees per year - $200
Room and Board per year - $600
Books and Supplies per year - $100
Travel and Expenses per year - $100
Total Cost per Sister per year - $1,000
Four Sisters for Four Years - The Goal! $16,000
You have the opportunity to help make the sisters' dreams of
training in the nursing profession a reality, and enrich the
lives of some very fine people in the process. This is what you can do:
- Donate by Mail: Clip the coupon from the inside front
cover of your catalog. Complete the coupon, including the amount
of your donation. Then write a check for the amount you specified
on the coupon (make the check payable to Autom). In the "Memo"
line, write "Donation." Send both the coupon and the check to Autom in the
postage-paid envelope attached to the order form in your catalog.
Your endorsed check can be used as a receipt, but Autom also will
send you a receipt for your records. Your donation is tax deductible.
- Donate via the Internet: Click here to donate now! Follow the instructions given,
fill in the amount of your donation, and enter your credit card information on our
secure site. Your donation will be processed within 24 hours of your data entry;
your credit card statement will show a debit to Autom. After receiving your donation,
Autom will send you a receipt for your records. Your donation is tax deductible.
- Autom will match your contribution. You are welcome to donate any
amount that you wish, no matter how small or large. Like you, Autom is
committed to this wonderful cause, and will match your donation dollar for
dollar up to $100.00 per person. Autom will inform the sisters each week
of our progress so they can plan ahead, and we will send your donations
to them on a monthly basis.
- Bless You! Sometimes it takes so little to make a big difference in
the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves. The Sisters are so very
grateful for your participation in this fundraising effort on their behalf.
Sister Marie Pauline told us that she and the Sisters will pray for us every
day, and that is a blessing indeed!
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