Plan My Gap Year - Volunteer in Vietnam from $465

This July I spent a month volunteering through PMGY with CSDS in Vietnam and I can honestly say that it has been the best month of my life. Initially I was supposed to go to Sri Lanka but with the terrorist attacks I thought it was better to change destination and, throughout that whole process, PMGY was very helpful. I ended up going to Vietnam, which was a country that I had always wanted to visit, and I had a fairly good idea of what to expect of it due to the handbook that was given to us before our trip but even so I was still amazed by what it had to offer!! Vietnam is amazing and so complex and, even better than only being a tourist in it, I was able to have a great volunteering experience with CSDS in the Sakuranbo Kindergarten teaching children between the age of eleven months and seven years old. My coordinators were amazing and super helpful in every circumstance. I will be forever grateful for the experience that Huyen, our project coordinator, provided me and my friend Rita and for her availability and kindness towards us in every circumstance. The accommodation was also amazing despite being in one of the secondary houses. For the future volunteers I would advise you to go to these projects with an open mind and determination! I recommend this experience to everyone who wants to get to know a beautiful and rich country while making a difference!

This July I spent a month volunteering through PMGY with CSDS in Vietnam and I can honestly say that it has been the best month of my life. I had a fairly good idea of what to expect of Vietnam due to the handbook that was given to us before our trip but Vietnam still was able to amaze me!! The country is amazing and so complex and, even better than only being a tourist in it, I was able to have a great volunteering experience with CSDS. My coordinators were amazing and super helpful in every circumstance. I will be forever grateful for the experience that Huyen, our project coordinator, provided me and my friend Rita. The accommodation was also amazing despite being in one of the secondary houses. For the future volunteers I would advise you to go to these projects with an open mind and determination.

In July of 2019, I traveled to Hanoi, Vietnam to embark on what would be one of the best experiences of my entire life! Through Plan My Gap Year, I volunteered in Sakuranbo Kindergarten for a month, teaching English to children between the age of eleven months old and seven years old.

Initially, I was supposed to go to Sri Lanka. However, taking into consideration the events that had taken place months earlier, I was not able to volunteer in that country. Plan My Gap Year was amazing in helping me change my destination and making the change as smooth as possible.

Although I did not go to my first chosen destination, I am so incredibly grateful that I went to Vietnam and was able to get to know its culture and beautiful places. When I arrived in the country, I stayed with a local organization: CSDS. They were great and helpful with everything I could need. I would like to specifically highlight my project coordinator, Huyen. She was so sweet and always willing to help me and my friend Mafalda, whether with things related to our project or other personal issues. I am incredibly grateful to her.

Overall, I am extremely happy with my decision to do volunteering through PMGY. It was one of the best experiences of my life! Not only did I have the opportunity to discover amazing Vietnamese places and explore its culture, but I also met incredible people along the way, both Vietnamese as well as other volunteers from different parts of the world. 100% recommend!

I participated in the 3 week childcare project in Vietnam, Hanoi and it was everything I wished for and more.

The support prior to arrival and whilst you’re in the country is incredible. This was my first trip long haul trip alone and because PMGY made it so easy, the whole process was stress-free.

The volunteer house was not what I expected, it was much better! It is a very large house and the CSDS team are located on the bottom floor so there are always staff to help us out if we needed it. They took the time to go through our projects with us so we had a chance to have any questions we had answered.

In regards to food at the house - I was very impressed. It is varied food choices each night and the sesame seed tofu was my absolute favourite, I miss it now I’m back home!

My project was amazing and I feel so grateful and lucky I was able to participate in this experience. I worked alongside children with special needs and practiced specific methods in helping them to train fine motor skills. I learnt so much whilst I was there and the staff (even though they didn’t speak English) were so patient and kind the whole time.

The country is beautiful and there is so much to do on your weekends off! I wish I stayed longer as we only got a chance to do a few things but everything I done I have loved - Sapa being my favourite and a must see. The local people are wonderful and kind and I have never felt so safe in a country before.

My advice, if you are hesitant, is to just do it, I promise you will not regret it. I met the most amazing people, had wonderful food, an incredible placement and some memories I will never forget and hold in my heart for a lifetime. I can’t wait to book another trip with PMGY for next year.

Deciding to travel to Vietnam to work on this program was probably one of the best decisions of my life. My only regret is that I didn't stay longer. I was a bit worried that I would feel homesick, but the volunteer house truly felt like home.
Before I left I received the handbook which outlined everything so I felt pretty confident as to what to expect when I arrived.
The in-country support is amazing. The CSDS office is in the house, so there was always people available to talk to, or they could easily be contacted via Facebook. They helped us plan trips, and always made us feel welcome.
The accommodation was much better than I expected. The food was varied, the rooms were fairly spacious, and there was never a queue for the showers.
I did the teaching project, and taught at a local community class for young University students. They were all so lovely, eager to learn, and more than willing to take you exploring on the weekend. In fact, one of the students invited me to a Pagoda for the weekend which was an amazing experience - definitely not something that would have happened had I just been on holiday.
My only advice is to stay longer than you think you'll want to - it truly is an amazing experience and one that I definitely did not want to end.

This has been my fourth time volunteering with/through PMGY, and once again I am incredibly impressed by the program and every member of the staff. The real experience allows you to see much of the country and experience all your touristic needs, while at the same time making an impact and immersing in the culture. The Vietnamese coordinators (Hung and Nhung) were fantastic, and really bridged the gap between the volunteers and the locals. They were there to answer any and all questions, and were as much friends as they were coordinators. As far as the volunteering, we built a playground in the jungle, and worked at Friendship Village. Both were impactful and incredibly rewarding. Friendship village was a very cool experience, especially as an American, to be able to speak and work with Vietnamese veterans and agent orange victims in order to help relieve some of the pain that is still unfortunately persisting after the war. Would highly recommend this, or any PMGY program!

Two friends and I decided to work on the childcare program in Vietnam. We spent two weeks working in a hospital called "Peace Village" with disabled kids. Our experience was really nice, we took care of them playing games and trying to teach some English and also some Spanish. We met really intelligent and interessant kids from whom we learnt a lot! We passed a really good time with them and we have gained an incredible experience there!

I've spent 2 weeks in the childcare program in Vietnam. I've been working with two girls in a hospital called "Peace Village", which is a hospital for disable kids. We've been taking care of them trying to do some activites and trying to teach them some words in english. It has been an amazing experience for us, because we have learnt a lot, and I'm sure that if we have the opportunity to do it again, we will do it!