The aim of the program is to provide English language speaking environment for children to practice and improve their confidence in using a foreign language in communication.
PROJECT'S ACTIVITIES:
Nghia Tan Primary School teaches about 1,800 children aging from 6-11 years old who start learning English at grade 3 (9 years old) and some start learning French at grade 1 (6 years old). English and French in these schools is an optional subject as the government does not have financial support though all recognize the importance of language skills.
COMMUNITY CONTEXT:
Nghia Tan Primary School is located in Cau Giay district, Hanoi, which is about 8km from the Old Quarters. There is very little chance for the children and teachers to meet foreigners to practice English and exchange communication skills.
VOLUNTEER'S REQUIREMENTS:
Volunteers should like to work with children, maturity and initiative spirit.
Minimum stay preferred 3 weeks.
VOLUNTEER'S TASKS:
Volunteers will be expected to help with the following tasks...
- Improving listening/speaking skills for children - Improving pronunciation for children - Organizing games and other activities in classrooms - Assisting local teachers in managing the classes. Normally volunteers will teach about 20 hours a week. No placements in Summer (June – July - August). Volunteers will always work with a local teacher. - Volunteers can attend as well a Community English Class in VPV office; it takes place in the afternoon, for children living in the neighbourhood. Volunteers can join this class one or two days per week, depending on their schedule.
HOSTING SITUATION:
Volunteers will stay in a dormitory with rooms shared with other volunteers. Sometimes project stay may be arranged. Living conditions will be Vietnamese standard with separate bathroom, single bed with mattress. Food will be provided at accommodation. Meals will be mostly local food, which vary from the daily cooking schedule. Volunteers, especially those who are vegetarian may be required to do some cooking by them. During working-days food is provided by the host placement.
The aim of the program is to jointly bring care, love and happiness to the children through volunteers’ activities.
PROJECT’S ACTIVITIES:
The Vietnam Friendship Village opened in 1998 and was established to treat and care war veterans and children who are suffering from the effects of Agent Orange, a herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. Armed forces in its herbicidal warfare program during the Vietnam War. There are currently around 120 children and 40 veterans living in the 11 houses that comprise the Village. Established by George Mizo, an American Veteran of the Vietnam War, in collaboration with American, German and Vietnamese governments, the Village aims to provide rehabilitation through medical care and physiotherapy, as well as basic education and vocational training for children. In 2004, an organic gardening project was started at the Village with the aim of increasing awareness of the consequences of war, and to demonstrate strategies for healthy living among those still suffering its effects. The garden now provides around 60% of the vegetables eaten at the Village. It is hoped that in the future the garden can provide all the fruit and vegetables needs for the Village, and eventually grow enough to sell and raise further funds for this much needed community center. The aim of Friendship Village is to give every effected child the chance and opportunity to lead normal, happy and fulfilled lives. Clearly, given the circumstances this is no easy task, and although, thanks to the dedicated work of those at Peace Village, tremendous advances have already been made, there still remains much work to be done.
COMMUNITY CONTEXT:
Friendship Village is about 2km far from the VPV headquarters and 15km from Hanoi center. It takes around 10 minutes to get there by bicycles from VPV office.
VOLUNTEER’S REQUIREMENTS:
Volunteers should like to work with handicapped children and maturity and initiative spirit. Preference given to volunteers with background or experience in medical work or disability. However, volunteers without experience or background will still be able to join in different work as children are very excited with foreigners. Besides, volunteers should be patient, creative and active in that working environment.
Age:
18 or over
Minimum stay preferred 2 weeks.
VOLUNTEER’S TASKS
Here are some possible tasks that you can do there...
-Caring for and playing with disabled children -Assisting teachers in special education classes -Feeding the children during lunch time -Gardening -Calling for charity or Subscription (depends on volunteers)
Working hours:
There is no fixed timetable for the volunteers, their working times depend on the tasks they choose for themselves. A usual working day could be from 9 am to 4 pm with a lunch break from 11 am to 2 pm.
HOSTING SITUATION:
Volunteers will stay in a dormitory with rooms shared with other volunteers. Living conditions will be Vietnamese standard with separate bathroom, single bed with mattress. Food will be provided at accommodation. Meals will be mostly local food, which vary from the daily cooking schedule.
The aim of the program is to jointly bring care, love and happiness to the children through volunteers’ activities.
PROJECT’S ACTIVITIES:
Established by a German non-profit organization, the Thanh Xuan Peace Village provides supervision and care for over 110 second and third generation children who are victims of Agent Orange, an herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. The center has about 50 staff members amongst which are caretakers, physiotherapists, massage therapists, teachers, cooks and doctors. Facilities at the Peace Village include dormitory residence, two physiotherapy treatment rooms, an aqua-therapy pool, a playground, a communal dining hall, classrooms, technical training workshops, computer lab, and health clinic. The aim of Peace Village is to give every effected child the chance and opportunity to lead normal, happy and fulfilled lives. Clearly, given the circumstances this is no easy task, and although, thanks to the dedicated work of those at Peace Village, tremendous work has been made, there still remains much work to be done.
COMMUNITY CONTEXT:
Peace Village is situated in Thanh Xuan District in South West Hanoi, close to Ha Dong. It is a 30 minute bus ride from the city centre. There is easy access to the internet and other services that the volunteer may need in the area.
VOLUNTEER’S REQUIREMENTS:
Volunteers should like to work with handicapped children and maturity and initiative spirit.
Preference:
Volunteers with background or experience in medical work or disability. However, volunteers without experience or background will still be able to join in different work as children are very excited with foreigners. Besides, volunteers should be patient, creative and active in that working environment.
Age:
18 or over
Minimum stay preferred:
2 weeks.
VOLUNTEER’S TASKS:
Here are some tasks that you can do there...
-Caring for and playing with disabled children -Feeding the children during lunch time -Calling for charity or Subscription (depends on volunteers) -Charity campaign for books, old clothes, old shoes for the children (depends on volunteers)
Working hours:
You will work from 8.30 am to 4 pm (Mon – Fri) with a lunch break from 11 am to 2 pm. You can't have lunch in the center but there are a lot of street restaurants around. For those living at Thanh Xuan Dorm, you can come back to the dorm for lunch.
HOSTING SITUATION:
Volunteers will stay in a dormitory with rooms shared with other volunteers. Living conditions will be Vietnamese standard with separate bathroom, single bed with mattress. Food will be provided at accommodation. Meals will be mostly local food, which vary from the daily cooking schedule.
The aim of the program is to jointly bring care, love and happiness to the children through volunteers’ activities.
PROJECT’S ACTIVITIES:
The Phuc Tue Caring Center is a non-profit, non-government day care organization based in Hanoi for the care of mentally and physically impaired children. The Center was established in June 2001. There are now 2 centers around Hanoi that provide care and education for approx 50 children and young people (aged 2 to 22yrs old) who are suffering from the effects of agent orange, autism, down syndrome and Japanese encephalitis. The Centre`s aim is to look after these children and help to integrate them into normal society. Number of staff - 12 teachers. All of them graduated from Hanoi National University of Education. Ms. Huong, the director, is also the enthusiastic teacher that founded this center. Number of children - Approximately 74 disabled children divided into 4 classes. The number of children changes from time to time. The center’s mission is to provide opportunities for children with mental and physical impairment to receive an education and to feel included with their local community. In particular, the center provides assistance for those children suffering from developmental disabilities including Down's Syndrome, Autism and Cerebral Palsy. As well as early grade academic learning, the education programs include physical education and therapy, yoga, painting and poetry.
COMMUNITY CONTEXT:
Phuc Tue center is situated in Tay Ho District in North West Hanoi, close to West Lake – the largest lake in Hanoi. There is easy access to the internet and other services that the volunteer may need in the area.
VOLUNTEER’S REQUIREMENTS:
Volunteers should like to work with handicapped children and maturity and initiative spirit. Preference given to volunteers with background or experience in medical work or disability. However, volunteers without experience or background will still be able to join in different work as children are very excited with foreigners. Besides, volunteers should be patient, creative and active in that working environment.
Age:
18 or over
Minimum stay preferred:
2 weeks.
VOLUNTEER’S TASKS:
Here are some tasks that you can do there...
-Caring for and playing with disabled children. -Feeding the children during lunch time. -Calling for charity or Subscription (depends on volunteers). -Charity campaign for books, old clothes, old shoes for the children (depends on volunteers).
Besides, the volunteers can also help the center do gardening to provide food for the children (In the second branch).
Working hours:
You will work from 8.30 am to 4 pm (Mon – Fri) with a lunch break from 11 am to 2 pm. You can have lunch at the center with the staff or eat out; there are a lot of street restaurants around.
HOSTING SITUATION:
Volunteers will stay in a dormitory with rooms shared with other volunteers. Living conditions will be Vietnamese standard with separate bathroom, single bed with mattress. Food will be provided at the center or volunteers can eat out. Meals will be mostly local food, which vary from the daily cooking schedule.
Thuy An Orphanage was founded in 1979 with the aim to provide good shelter and care for children with disabilities and orphan. At this moment, there are about 150 children who are abandoned or who are from very poor families who cannot afford caring for the treatment of disabilities. The orphanage is providing housing, education and basic care for the children, as well as providing vocational training with the hope that children can stand on their own feet with a job in the future. VPV is working with the orphanage to start up an organic garden with the aim to provide extra food for the children, and at the same time provide opportunities for labor rehabilitation for them.
Work:
Volunteers will help with clearing the site, preparing soil, weeding, planting vegetables and fruit trees, cleaning a fish pond and redecorating the flowers in the garden. Additional activities may include planting trees, moving bricks for construction, collecting garbage and playing with the children or exchanging with local volunteers or staff.
Study theme:
Disadvantaged children in Vietnam
Accommodation:
Shared rooms in project site. Sleeping on floor. Showers and toilets available. Food prepared by vols with support from local people.
Location:
Thuy An, Ba Vi, Ha Noi.
Travel terminal:
Hanoi Airport, 2 hour drive to the west.
Qualifications:
Interest and motivation working with children in difficult situation.
Leisure:
Vietnamese Day, International Day, self-organized city tour and excursions, etc.
Hosting Fee:
5,000,000 VND, about 170 EUR to be paid in local currency upon arrival.
Chua La Orphanage is part of Chua La Pagoda. It was built in 1996 when Head Monk, Thich Truyen Tu, returned to the countryside and sold his parent’s land, in order to purchase 2 hectares of muddy land to build a pagoda in Nha Be town. At first the pagoda was named Huyen Trang, but due to the roofs linking together with coconut leaves it got its name Chua La, meaning Leaf Pagoda. Today, in this peaceful and quiet space in the outskirts of HCM city, the Leaf pagoda is bringing up orphan children and helping old people in need. At the moment, there are about 40 children of ages from 4 to 17 years old. In addition, there are 20 old people in Leaf Pagoda, with most of them coming from the surrounding countryside in the South and have had a difficult life. Children have had opportunities to learn and speak foreign languages with English being the most studied. They can also speak some Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. The standard of living here is low, almost all of their food is donated, and they only buy tofu.
Work:
Volunteers will spend time with the children and help improving their English, organizing games and other activities for them. Volunteers will also help redecorating the houses and classrooms, planting vegetable, cleaning the area. Volunteers will get closer to the children’s life and try to build up wider horizon for the children and encourage them to learn better for brighter future.
Study theme:
Disadvantaged children in Vietnam.
Accommodation:
VPV’s Dormitory in Saigon. Shared rooms. Sleeping on floor. Showers and toilets available. Food prepared by vols with support from local people.
Location:
District 7, Ho Chi Minh City (or Sai Gon – southern part of Vietnam).
Travel terminal:
Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN)
Qualifications:
Interest and motivation working with children in difficult situation.
Leisure activities:
Vietnamese Day, International Day, self-organized city tour and excursions, etc.
Hosting Fee:
5,000,000 VND (about 170 EURO) to be paid in local currency upon arrival.
Ky Quang Orphanage is run by Ky Quang Pagoda, which was built in the early part of the 20th Century in 1924 and is quite famous in Ho Chi Minh City. The pagoda is now a place of charity for unlucky children and also helps treat diseases. Now, the pagoda is taking care and bringing up more than 200 children in the South of Vietnam. The children here have unfortunate backgrounds as many have been abandoned by their parents and relatives. Every few months, the monks find a new baby left in front of the pagoda gate. The head monk sometimes receives phone calls from hospitals requesting him to take in abandoned babies. At the moment, about 200 children are living in the Pagoda, their ages ranging from 5 days old to 40 years old. 90 of these are orphans that are suffering from cerebral-palsy, blindness or Down's syndrome. At present, about 30-40 local children have a chance to study at Ky Quang as some local teachers teach Vietnamese for them in the morning.
Work:
Volunteers will spend time with the children and help to improve their English, organize games and other activities for them. Volunteers will also do some manual work which benefits the project where the children staying, studying, such as help painting, classrooms, cleaning the area. Volunteers will get closer to the children’s life and try to build up wider horizon for the children and encourage them to learn better for brighter future.
Study theme:
Disadvantaged children in Vietnam.
Accommodation:
VPV’s Dormitory in Saigon. Shared rooms. Sleeping on floor. Showers and toilets available. Breakfast and dinner will be prepared by volunteers. Lunch is provided by project.
Location:
Go Vap District , Ho Chi Minh City (or Sai Gon – southern part of Vietnam).
Travel terminal:
Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN), 15 minutes taxi drive.
Qualifications:
Interest and motivation working with children in difficult situation.
Leisure activities:
Vietnamese Day, International Day, self-organized city tour and excursions, etc.
Hosting Fee:
5,000,000 VND (about 170 Euro) to be paid in local currency upon arrival.
Vietnam Friendship Village is a treatment/care centre for Agent Orange victims located in Ha Tay Province, which was opened in 1993 to treat children and veterans suffering from the effects of Agent Orange (The children, whose fathers or grandfathers were exposed (causing chromosomal damage) or who were contaminated from their mother’s milk, suffer from a range of difficult conditions. While staying in Vietnam Friendship Village, children and veterans are nourished and are provided with free medical care. The children, who may stay there for several years, receive not only basic education, but also some forms of job training.
The Organic Gardening Project was launched in 2004 with the goal of creating islands of a harmonious approach to agriculture within areas of environmental and human devastation--increasing awareness of the consequences of war and, at the same time, demonstrating positive strategies for healing and living. At this moment, the farm is providing about 60% of the village’s consumption of vegetable. It is expected that it will cover all the need and there are products left for sale to raise fund for the village.
Work:
Volunteers will help with clearing the site, preparing soil, weeding, planting vegetables and fruit trees, cleaning a fish pond and redecorating the flowers in the garden. Additional activities may include planting trees, moving bricks for construction, collecting garbage and playing with the children or exchanging with local volunteers or farmers. In VPV39B-09, volunteers will prepare Christmas and New Year festival for the children.
Study theme:
Disadvantaged children in Vietnam.
Accommodation:
Meeting room at project site. Shared rooms. Sleeping on floor. Showers and toilets available. Food prepared by vols with support from local people.
Location:
Tay Mo, Tu Liem, Hanoi Capital (western end of the city).
Travel terminal:
Hanoi Airport, 1 hour drive.
Qualifications:
Interest and motivation working with children in difficult situation.
Leisure activities Vietnamese Day, International Day, self-organized city tour and excursions, etc.
Hosting Fee:
5,000,000 VND (about 170 EURO) to be paid in local currency upon arrival.
« I would recommend participating in a workcamp, especially with VAP, who ensured that I found a project to suit me and provided essential training for me in preparation for my trip. Being part of a workcamp really is a life-changing experience, oh, and it looks great on your CV! »
