Davis-Vietnam Community Outreach Project

We are so excited to announce our travel plans for this summer! We are going to have quite an adventure, trekking through the jungles and communities of Northern and Central Vietnam with a few of our good friends. We will be in Vietnam in August, for a total of three weeks. The focus of our journey will be our community outreach project, and our volunteer efforts in a local orphanage. We hope to share more information as our trip comes together, and share pictures and stories as we travel! We are also looking forward to exploring Vietnam's natural beauty including its National Parks, wildlife, and ocean. We are excited about meeting people from local villages, staying in stilt houses, hiking in the jungles, and learning about the history, culture, and landscape of Vietnam- as well as reach out to the orphans of Ba Vi and support their needs.

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Davis-Vietnam Community Outreach Project

Goals/Fundraising Plan

Goals

Volunteer our time and services in Ba Vi Orphanage, in Northern Vietnam

Make a connection with the community of Ba Vi Orphanage by developing relationships with the children and workers; learning about daily life in the orphanage; observing the needs of the children, staff, and building; and beginning a dialogue about how to extend and continue our support

Purchase much needed supplies and materials for the children at the orphanage

Travel through Northern and Central Vietnam to learn about the country, language, culture, landscape, and local villages

Visit the Cuc Phuong National Park to view one of last remaining preserved habitats in the country, and the endangered animals and indigenous Muong Hill Tribe that lives within the park.

Visit and make a contribution (donation, possibly also volunteer some time) the Endangered Primate Rescue Center (operated by the Frankfurt Zoo) within Cuc Phuong National Park.

Bring photos, stories, and information back to the children of La Rue Park CDC and Russell Park CDC in Davis, CA; help the children develop a sense of global citizenship, an awareness of other cultures and ways of life, a sense of responsibility to care for others in need, as well as knowledge about the country of Vietnam and the people and animals who live there

Plan future support efforts

Expenses

5 volunteers (Melissa Chordas, Lisa Heritage, Reagan Carosino, Chris Carosino, Palina Chordas) from Davis California are traveling to Northern and Central Vietnam from August 1 – 21, 2010. The following figures reflect the actual costs of travel and living expenses for the trip, excluding any donations/contributions we will make.

Cost of airfare: $1206.00 per person

Cost of trip once in Vietnam: $1,300 per person (including guide, interpreter, transportation, lodging, food, etc.)

Total cost per person: $2,500.00

Total cost for group: $12,500.00

(This figure does not include cost of Visas, passports, vaccinations, malaria medication, and health and safety related travel supplies including DEET, sunscreen, Sipro, etc. or equipment such as leech socks, backpacks, hiking shoes, etc which each person will need to obtain)

Fundraising Goal for Community Outreach Project

Fundraise $2,000 to purchase supplies for the orphanage. We will take most of the funds with us to Vietnam to purchase supplies there. We may purchase some supplies in America to take with us if transport is feasible. This includes the following items which the orphanage has already specified as an area of dire need:

-Board books and picture books in English

-Baby formula

-Educational basics including paper, pencils, etc.

-Some clothing for the children

We would like to use about 250 dollars for a donation to the Endangered Primate Rescue Center. This will help to support their efforts to rescue primates from smuggling and illegal trade, as well as support habitat preservation, breeding programs, education, and program development.

We would also like to fundraise $600 per person coming on the trip. This will help pay for the cost of food, lodging, interpreter, transportation, and expenses while we are volunteering.

5 people x $600 = $3,000 total to help cover volunteer costs

Total Fundraising Goal: $5,250

Italian Wedding Soup with Homemade Meatballs (recipe)

Today a friend gave us a ton of greens from a weekly produce basket. I decided to try and use them by making homemade Italian Wedding Soup, with fresh greens, Israeli couscous, and homemade meatballs. I have never made meatballs before, and even though I was winging it, I was really happy with how they turned out. The quality of meat makes such a huge difference. We have been getting our meat from the UC Davis Meat Sale. Every couple of weeks UC Davis offers meat from their animal sciences program for sale. It is extremely fresh (slaughtered and butchered on site), and raised naturally- free of unneccessary antibiotics. The animals are raised in small numbers and recieve vetrinary care from UCD. The meat is SO delicious, and ground beef goes for about $2/pound. I just made up the recipe as I went along, and added what I happened to have, so I thought I'd share the basics here:

Ingredients for Meatballs:

fresh ground beef (2.5 lbs)
1 sweet yellow onion, finely diced
2 fresh eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons garlic pepper
2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed
freshly ground salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, using hands. When evenly mixed, use hands to shape into small meatballs. Each one should be about 2 tablespoons worth of meat mixture. This recipe should make enough to completely fill 2 cookie sheets. Bake until cooked through (~8-12 minutes).



Ingredients for Soup:

free range chicken broth
Vegetable bouillon cubes
1 pound organic Crimini mushrooms, diced
several large bunches freshly picked seasonal greens (you could use any- I used chard, kohlrabi, mustard greens, arugula, spinach, bay leaf, and a few varieties of lettuce)
Israeli couscous (I used around 2 cups, dry, for a huge stockpot of soup)


For soup:

Put a stockpot on the stove, and fill with 50% free range chicken broth, 50% water. Bring to a boil. Add vegetable bouillon cubes (Use the amount of water added to broth to determine number of cubes- ratio on package, usually 2 cups per cube).
Add diced Crimini mushrooms, simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add choped greens and bay leaves, cook for another 5 minutes. Add Isreali couscous, cook for a final 5 minutes.

Vegetarians can eat soup plain (if you are eating with people who don't like to use chicken broth, you can use veggie stock exclusively), meat eaters can add meatballs as desired. A bowl of soup with 4 meatballs is well balanced. Garnish bowls of soup with parmesan cheese, and serve with freshly baked rustic bread.

Quick and Easy Banana Bread (recipe)

This is a nice recipe for those forgotten bananas that are starting to look a little spotty:

Ingredients

3 ripe bananas
1 Tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9 x 3 bread pan.

Step 2: Peel bananas, and place them into a small bowl. Add cinnamon and milk, and use a fork to mash mixture together until evenly mixed and creamy.

Step 3: In a mixer bowl, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then, add the banana mixture, stirring well until evenly mixed.

Step 4: Add dry ingredients, and mix until flour has disappeared, then stop. Transfer into baking pan. Bake until cooked through and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean (1hour to 1hour 15 minutes).

Step 5: Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then enjoy warm!



Variations: add crushed walnuts, dried cranberries (or both) with dry ingredients. Enjoy with honey or butter on top.

Next time I make it, I am going to try brown sugar instead of granulated, and crumble some on the top... we'll see how it turns out!