Volunteering Projects in Vietnam

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Volunteer Feedback from Vietnam

Michelle

I am absolutely loving it over here. I never want to go home!
I've decided to come back in december for 2 months and then go back and finish uni then move over here for a few years.
I've been teaching the kindi kids in the mornings and cuddling babies and doing physio and cutting hair and everything else that you can do over here. I really love it.
I went to TuyHoa last week and taught sign language at a deaf school - they loved it soo much. But iwas homesick from Danang so i came back.
We are attending a wedding tomorrow as it is one of the cooks daughters weddings, i have a been made to do a solo song - so im a bit nervous about that - i guess that's what you get for singing mindlessly around the house. Haha.
It's really good fun and the people are amazing. Im happy to say i have a family in Vietnam.

Aiden

I've been volunteering in Tuy Hoa for a week now and absolutley love it! There's a very nice group of volunteers (Shae, Bede, Michelle, Phil etc) and Nguyen does a fantastic job 24/7. I really enjoy all the placements, if I had to pick a favourite I think it would have to be doing art at the disabled (deaf) school, closely followed by the Home of Affection - but they're all really great and there's no way I'll want to leave in 5 weeks time!
Weekends away are a great feature too! Last weekend we went down to Jungle Beach, a beach resort in the middle of nowhere made entirely from bamboo - we practically had the place to ourselves which was a real treat. And as tomorrow is a public holiday we're about to get the on the overnight train to Da Nang tonight to meet up with some of the GVN crew there for a long weekend in Hoi An which I've been told is a lovely town.

Hope you are well!
Aiden

Julie

Great to hear from you, I am having the most amazing time in Tam Ky the time is going very quickly we have a great group of volunteers! I have found the teaching placement a little difficult especially with the lesson planning but every one here has been so helpful and supportive.  The children and the babies are all so beautiful we all want to take them all home with us. I am helping the nurses with some training at the baby clinic at the baby orphanage the week is very busy but enjoyable just had the week end in hoi an was nice and relaxing lot's of shopping
Mrs hahns cooking is amazing and she just looks after us so well all the staff here are fantastic nothing is ever too much bother to them! i am having the most incredible journey, a very challenging rewarding and very humbling experience. Take care,

Julie

Tiffany

My first month with the program has been fantastic. Everything went smoothly from when I was picked up at the airport. Induction at Danang also went well. The Vietnamese vocabulary exercise was particularly amusing and really useful. It was great to see so many people volunteering from all over the world to welcome the new year.

I absolutely love the variety of tasks we engage in at the Tam Ky placement. Helping infants to adults, from those that have a normal learning ability – to those who have more challenging ones, from teaching to playing games, it has all been a wonderful experience.

I have some experience in events management, and have found the program in Tam Ky to be exceptionally well planned and run. Our placement manager Mr. Tuan Pham keeps us well organized (getting to and from places, help plan our sessions, helping us get art/craft supplies, developing photos, going to the ATMs, buying local delicacies, etc), keeping us all on track (with fund raising and weekly meetings). Our driver Mr. Hung is a man of few words, but he is oh-so funny. He is also quite a talented driver –dodging near collisions, buffalos and cows roaming the roads and flooded back roads. Mr. Hung also participates in the weekly soccer matches with the children and also gets involved hands on playing with the children.

Our cooks, Mrs. Hanh and Grandma always make sure the table is set and food is ready to meet our sometimes tight and busy schedules going from place to place.

The university interns (Anh and Phuong) have been provided good assistance with interpreting and getting hands on with the children.

I have been so very fortunate to start my placement with a wonderful bunch of volunteers who really came with heart, dedication, love and friendship towards those they have been able to help. Although they have completed their part of the program, Mei Yen Cheong, Angela Sanders, Kelly Sanders and Jill Doctor are already planning ways to raise much need funds from their respective home countries to support some of the initiatives and come back to Tam Ky.

Not only have my former fellow volunteers showed dedication to the cause, I am very pleased to be in the company of Mr. Viet and Mr. Tuan – who show admirable strength and passion for what they do. And it is seeing this in their emails, in conversation with them and seeing them in action that constantly reassures me that I have chosen the right NGO to be involved with.

Kind regards,

Tiffany

 

Michelle

It is now two weeks since I arrived in Vietnam and things are going well. After spending a few days in Danang, we took a train with 6 other volunteers to Tuy Hoa, a town of 100’000 people. I mainly teach in the morning at a little school or at the fishing village, a new experience for me and three afternoon a week go to the disabled children’s orphanage and try to give them some affection, massage and a bit of physio. Then three evenings a week I teach again in a school for street children as well as for a teacher there who wanted so much help to learn English.

So as you can see I am quite busy and spend the rest of the time with other volunteers. We are a small group in this placement and it suits me fine, a bit like a family. At the end of this month we will all go back to Danang as Tuy Hoa and Tam Ky are closed for the Tet celebration. Mr Viet is a really nice person and everybody likes him very much.

This week-end we went to Nha Trang with other volunteers, it was nice to see another town in Vietnam, much different from Tuy Hoa, many foreigners, bars and big hotels which we never see over here.

Best regards

Michèle

Sarah

Yes all has been going well despite an overwhelming first week I've really enjoyed the rest of it and now that we're in a routine and all know what we're doing it's even more enjoyable. Our placement coordinator, Mr T, is just fantastic he's so supportive of us, speaks very good English and is so wonderful with the children.

My general weekly schedule is going to the baby orphange every morning where I go between helping the mothers with the feeding, folding washing and just giving hugs and comfort. Then about 10am we do an activity with the older kids, most of them are about 3-4 years old. Do things like painting, music, dress up and we had a 'spa day' on friday where we clipped their nails and painted them. The kids are gorgeous and given their backgrounds they're all very well behaved and generally jsut good kids in near of some love and affection.

In the afternoons and evenings I go between the Home of Affection where I teach 2 English classes a week. I find this challenging as I have no teaching experience but it's also been quite rewarding as I can see them improving too. I also teach English at Economic Zone, which I really enjoy. These guys feel like you're sitting down having a chat with friends, I really enjoy going here and really provides a whole other dimension to the day and mixes it up from just being around babies and younger kids.

Cheers
Sarah