Check out the photos from Poppy's Mt Fansipan fundraising trek, which she blogs about here.

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Well, the thousands of squats, lunges, push ups and walking expeditions may have paid off for the killer 7 day trek up Mt Fansipan, in what was some of the worst conditions they had had in months (including torrential rain and thick fog), however nothing could have prepared me for what I was to experience at the Thuy An Disability Centre, which is 1.5 hours out of Hanoi in Vietnam...but I guess that’s why they call it the Vietnam Challenge!

Take a look at some of my photos from the trek and our visit to the Centre.

I signed up for the fundraising Challenge in late 2009 thinking I had a year to physically prepare my body for the intense mountain climb, and that the second half of the Challenge - volunteering at a disability centre in a remote village - would be a breeze, considering I work in the disability sector and have hands on experience with people who have all levels of disabilities.

From the time I arrived at the Thuy An Disability Centre I was continuously flooded with emotions. My heart was drawn immediately to the children who had the more severe disabilities. One child in particular stole my heart, Leanne, who is just one of over 100 children who live permanently at the Centre.

Through the beautiful smiles and laughter were innocent children who wanted to learn, be challenged, be hugged, be loved, and cared for. No doubt the carers at the Centre were doing a marvellous job, however they are grossly under-staffed, and ashamedly under-resourced.

Myself and the 10 other volunteers that participated in the Challenge (and raised money to get there) spent most of our days teaching the Centre's staff about new therapeutic exercises that could be used for the children with physical disabilities. Unfortunately for these children, their day only comprises of meal times and physical therapy - no means of education, not even drawing, colouring-in, painting, or playing with toys. This is probably what devastated me the most.

We did our best to share the knowledge we have, and we have plans to send over some new equipment, but what we wish we could really send is love, hugs, time to laugh and play, and adequate levels of staffing. I guess it just reflected how wonderful my job is and I can’t wait to go back over again sometime soon.

Since I’ve been back in Australia, 2011 has kicked off to a flying start; planning programs, organising outings for our clients, my university enrolment, blogging for carecareers.com.au, and even the opportunity to be involved in some upcoming media events for the carecareers campaign.

It’s going to be a pretty exciting year, with different goals and a different focus in my role at Cerebral Palsy Alliance. I will soon be a trained Life Needs Link Worker which will mean that, after an intense training course, I will begin looking at each client’s life with a more holistic, proactive and lifespan approach. My career always manages to keep me on my toes, allowing me to experience new and exciting challenges. :)