IVHQ - Ho Chi Minh City

As soon as I stepped off the plane, the Green Lion welcomed us into their family. We arrived to help people and make an impact on the community but we left with so much more.
When we began our placement, the staff at the Food Outreach felt like we had come home. Then the Vietnamese people that we were cooking for, made us feel welcome and we truly felt like we had impacted their lives in a special way. My favourite memory was learning that Vietnamese people show respect by offering you or taking something from you with two hands. I then witnessed this from most of the people that I served food to, as they accepted the tray of food with two hands.
The Green Lion coordinators were wonderful, always ready to help and became our friends that we hung out with after placement and a few tears were shed when we had to leave them. The food and accomodation were great and I would recommend taking less clothes and buying so much more from the local markets!
The other volunteers placed there showed us around the accomodation and the local community and even after two weeks, we have made lifelong friends. Even though the placement was amazing, hanging out with like-minded people and talking about their experiences at their placements was the highlight of my night, each day.
This was my first time to South East Asia, but the Vietnamese people; the local community, the Green Lion and the country at large, were always welcoming, friendly and supportive in every way and it has truly made me happy that I chose to volunteer with IVHQ. Upon arriving home, I see the world in a different way and money does not seem so important to me anymore, because I know, even though some people in this world may not have a lot of it, they are still good, happy people that are ready and willing to help others out.