Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/149404
Vietnam's orphans secluded areas far from the "regular population." I was first exposed to this type of intense segregation years earlier in the United States when I started working around babies infected with AIDS. When our bus stopped at the children's facility, we were welcomed by a large group of caregivers and children. We started by running an "Her sadness changed, her eyes widened, and the biggest smile I have ever seen grew across her face." Tina Allen The Full-Circle Moment We had the opportunity to finish our volunteer work in a facility that serves children affected by HIV and AIDS. Here, all of the children are infected with the virus and will live in this facility until they are old enough to be on their own. My work with pediatric massage started with my desire to facilitate touch therapy for children who society felt were untouchable; ending at this facility in Vietnam made me feel as if my spiritual journey had truly come full circle. In the beginning of my work, I was naive and surprised to find that those who would benefit most from touch could be considered untouchable. It seems unfathomable that infants and children would be deprived of touch, especially when their life is complicated by a diagnosis that makes cuddling and nurturing seem so appropriate and beneficial. As our bus traveled down the long road to this children's facility, we passed a large, ominous building. Our translator described it as the facility for adults infected with AIDS and the parents of the children kept in the structure we were traveling to. The stigma surrounding this entire area permeated the air. The adults and children were separated in educational session that was met with excitement and participation from all parties. Afterward, we had the opportunity to explore the grounds and work with children in their individual rooms. While some volunteers helped provide massage to aid in afternoon naps, others provided hand-holding, hugs, and pushes on swings outside. During all of the commotion, I suddenly noticed my teaching doll was missing and remembered seeing a little girl holding it. Smiling to myself, I tracked her down so I could take a picture of her holding it. We approached the little girl, only for her to look up at us with saddened eyes. My translator asked if she had the doll, and I quickly explained, with the translator's help, that I wanted to give it to her in exchange for a photograph. Her sadness changed, her eyes widened, and the biggest smile I have ever seen grew across her face. She leapt off her bunk and ran down two flights of stairs to a hidden room, where she lifted a mattress and recovered the doll. The doll had been with me for nearly two years, traveling from country to country, training hundreds of caregivers, and it finally found its destination in the arms of a little girl in Vietnam. Tina Allen is the founder and director of the Liddle Kidz Foundation. She is the recipient of the 2012 Massage Therapy Foundation/ Performance Health Humanitarian Award. For more information on the foundation's Global Volunteer Outreach, visit www.liddlekidz.org. www.abmp.com. See what benefits await you. 71