IVHQ - Ho Chi Minh City

Since coming home from my trip, everyone has been asking me how it went. My answer every time is that I loved every aspect of. I will never forget the experience, the people, or the memories I made. Everyone at Greenlion was friendly, accommodating, and felt like family. The volunteers were all wonderful and extremely welcoming as well. The services provided from the school was impeccable. I was fortunate enough to sit in on a few different volunteer programs. I was on the medical placement and the experience was definitely eye opening. The daycare was really fun and went by really quick. Teaching English was by far my favourite. The students were lively, engaged, and fun to work with.

An experience that really stood out to me was during a daycare shift. I am fortunate enough to be one of the volunteers that was able to fluently understand and speak Vietnamese. At the daycare, the children are mainly exposed to English speaking volunteers. It is already hard for those with special needs to communicate, so imagine trying to communicate with a foreigner! I was working with a young girl in a wheelchair and she looked really uncomfortable and she was un-cooperative. I looked her in the eyes and asked her in Vietnamese, are you okay? Are you hurt? I immediately saw her body ease and her eyes showed she wanted to say something, but physically she couldn't. She smiled.

I had volunteered with hopes of making a difference, and I felt like my time and presence was truly appreciated. Volunteering has definitely made a difference in my life thanks to IVHQ.