Day 7 Rest

Big wildfire ahead.

Even the guys in the Tour de France get to rest sometimes. After 6 days peddling over 500 miles in 95-105 degree heat we needed a rest. We drove to Miles City, MT to clean up (first shower in 3 days) and visit some relatives. Tomorrow we head for North Dakota!

Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen’s father left her when she was very young. She is living with her mother and step father, one older sister and 2 step sisters. When she has step father, her life has become more hardships, stress and suffering. She sells lottery tickets every day. If she can not sell all the tickets for that day, her step father will beat her and will not allow her to go back home until she sold the day’s quota. So some days she needs to go live at friend’s house.

The mother is sells fresh fruits and her step father is hired laborer on small fishing boat. Neither of her parents finished elementary school. They each earn about $1 per day but it is unstable.

Her mother wants to send her back to school but she can not do because their income just enough for their daily food. But her step father wants to send her step younger sister to school than her who also dropped out of school like her. Tuyen wishes that she would become a teacher. It seems that her simple wish is very difficult to be true because now, she has no time and money to study.

To help provide scholarships for girls like Tuyen please visit www.catalystfoundation.org to donate today. One scholarship provides for her school expenses and food for her family.