Volunteer Programs in Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Why did you decide to volunteer with A Broader View?

Chantelle: I've decided on Vietnam, as I know since the time of the war there has been a lot of poverty and lots of disabled kids as a result of the war. When I started to investigate the various options and countries to volunteer, I've decided to do 2 projects one working with homeless disabled kids in Vietnam and the other to teach English in China, as I know the mayority of the country still can't speak English, so there is a very big demand for English teachers. Smaller towns / schools can't afford to employ a full time Western English teacher, therefore I wanted to offer my services to help these less fortune kids to learn a little bit of the Western culture and of course basic English. Working in Asia is a great experience, it's not just rewarding for the students but as a person you grow and learn so much from the different cultures.

Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer.

Chantelle: I started in China and worked for nearly 2 months at government owned school. They asked me to teach basic English to all the Grade 1's and 2's. I had 5 or 6 classes of Grade 1's and similar for the Grade 2's. There is approximately 30 kids per class, I taught 3 to 4 lessons daily which is anything between 30-45 minutes per class. My job was to entertain the kids - I had freedom to teach anything I wanted to, as long as it's fun and very simple, as the grade 1's doesn't know a single word in English. Therefore you can teach how to greet someone for 30min... I played games and got the kids to learn simple English songs with body movements as the kids really likes to do something funny! They always gave me at least one assistant if translation is required or if the kids becomes to noisy, so that really worked very well. As you only need to teach 3-4 lessons daily you have a lot of freedom to explore the city or town where you are based, and all the volunteers are introduced to each other and spends weekends together doing some fun activities. Some schools only have one volunteer but some have 2-3 depending on the size of the school. The kids in China were adorable.

In Vietnam I worked in morning at a disabled centre from 8:30 - 11:30 then from 2:30 - 4:30 I worked in a school with homeless kids.... and sometimes I also worked on a farm just outside the city with orphans. At the disabled centre my only instruction was to play with the kids and to help them with basic things like to put a sock on and to remove it again or a jacket or something like that. The whole day you just help the kids to draw, or build puzzle etc... very basic things, and I also helped some of the teachers with basic English lessons as their English is very limited. Working with disabled kids were so much fun, and they always run to greet you at the gate, they are soooooo happy to see you. At the school for the homeless kids I taught basic English and I assisted the teacher with the drawing lesson, as there is approximately 4-16 kids if everybody attends. Some of them have no idea how to draw, I just have to assist the kids in choosing colours or help them draw simple things like a tree or flower, very simple things. The kids there also really enjoys it when volunteers visit them to distract them from their financial situation.

What made this experience unique and special?

Chantelle: I really loved my experience in both countries... the smiles of the kids made my experience really so rewarding and special. Everybody made an effort to make me feel comfortable and to experience the culture and highlights of their country. Vietnam was absolutely amazing... I definitely want to do another project there, it in one word AWESOME. The volunteer coordinators was super friendly, and they always made an effort to make my experience special. They took me out for sightseeing and we often went out for lunch and dinner, and of course they also let you try out new dishes... and it was all really yummy :-)

How has this experience impacted your future?

Chantelle: Honestly my life can never be the same after my volunteer project, it just opened my eyes to appreciate the smaller things in life... and not take anything in life for granted...