Happiness
for the poor in the Lunar New Year's days
Hanoi
January 8 - January 16, 2012
Volunteer project: Vietnamese Lunar New Year, more commonly known by its shortened name Tết, is the most important and traditional holiday and festival in Vietnam. Many Vietnamese prepare for Tết by cooking special holiday foods and decorating their houses. There are a lot of customs practiced during Tết. In Vietnam, to celebrate Tết is to “ăn Tết”, literally meaning "Tết eating", showing the importance of food in its celebration. Some of the food is also eaten year-round, while other dishes are only eaten during Tết. “Bánh chưng” (Chung cakes) are symbolically connected with Tết and are essential in any Tết celebration. Preparation is time-consuming, and can take days to cook. The story of their origins and their connection with Tết is often recounted to children while cooking them overnight. There are many poor families and children in Vietnam who can not afford to make Chung cakes because of their financial difficulty.
Local and international volunteers will work together every day during the week at the Volunteers’ House in Hanoi to make Chung cakes. They will also prepare a special performance. Then they will go to different places (slums, orphanages, homeless centres, schools, etc.) to distribute the cakes, perform and spread happiness among the less-fortunate people.
Leisure activities: The international volunteer project
is also a chance to meet new friends, to understand local people and
share your experiences with other people, so in your free time, at the
lunch break time, evenings or weekends, you can arrange many different
activities. Some activities could be: Welcome party with all local and
international volunteers; Vietnamese night: local volunteers will
arrange one night to introduce Vietnamese food, people, music, etc.;
Vietnamese lesson; International cultural day.
Language: English
Accommodation: The volunteers will live in a volunteer house, dormitory style, beds provided. Please bring sleeping bag and mat.
Location: Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
Terminal: Hanoi
Age range: 18 - 28 years old
Extra fee: 160 Euro
The extra fee is intended to support the hosting organization who does not have sufficient funds. It is due upon arrival on the project.
Education
and entertainment program in a girls’ orphanage
Ho Chi Minh City
February 27 - March 10, 2012
Ho Chi Minh City
March 12 - March 24, 2012
Volunteer project: Sai Gon Shelters for Orphans is a project including about 10 shelters run by a women’s charity association in Ho Chi Minh City. Each shelter cares for about 20-30 orphan children (6-14 years old) from the surrounding districts. All these children have disadvantaged situations. They might have relatives but can not stay with them because of hard economics conditions. Therefore, they stay in the orphanage from Monday-Saturday, but on Sunday most of the girls spend the day with relatives.
The volunteers will organize educational activities and entertainment activities such as dancing and singing with them. The group can also organize games for the girls and help to improve their English.
Study part: Disadvantaged children in Vietnam
Special requirements: Interest and motivation for working with children in difficult situation
Leisure activities: Vietnamese Day, International Day, self-organized city tour and excursions, etc.
Language: English
Accommodation: In a dormitory, in shared rooms.
Location: Hoc Mon District, Ho Chi Minh City (or Sai Gon) in the southern part of Vietnam
Terminal: Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN), 15 minutes drive
Age range: 18 and over
Extra fee: 5,000,000 VND (about 170 Euro)
The extra fee is intended to support the hosting organization who does not have sufficient funds. It is due upon arrival on the project.
Environmental
protection of Can Gio mangrove forest
Can Gio National park
March 19 - March 30, 2012
Volunteer project: Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve is located in the coastal district southeast of Ho Chi Minh City. It covers 75,740 hectares and is dominated by mangroves, including both salt water and brackish water species. The mangroves in Can Gio have a high biodiversity with more than 200 species of fauna and 52 species of flora. The effects of the recent wars on these ecosystems have been devastating and large efforts have been made by local people to rehabilitate the mangroves. Today, Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve has one of the best protected forests in Vietnam and internationally. The site also has great potential for research and ecotourism.
The volunteers will plant and take care of new trees in the forest. They will also help to raise awareness of the local population about the importance of protecting and preserving the environment. The group will visit schools and local communities, and organize awareness workshops for students and adults.
Leisure activities: Taking a boat ride on the big Dong Nai and Long Tau Rivers or on the smaller Vam Sac, Dong Thanh and Soai Rap Rivers, which run through Can Gio, visitors wouldn't think that they are visiting a district on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City. They would be surrounded by the watery areas of Ca Mau and Kien Giang, the southernmost area in Vietnam with vast mangrove and cajeput forests. The roots of the mangrove trees on the sides of the river twist with one another then spread out and root deep into the earth. It is these roots that make Can Gio a protected forest and an ideal ecological tourist site as well. From the town of Can Gio, volunteers could take a boat trip to Vung Tau beach.
Language: English
Accommodation: Volunteers will stay in the house for volunteers at the national park with basic and simple facilities. Volunteers need to take their sleeping bag.
Location: Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve, Can Gio district, Ho Chi Minh city.
Terminal: Tan Son Nhat International Airport
Age range: 18 and over
Extra fee: 160 Euro
The extra fee is intended to support the hosting organization who does not have sufficient funds. It is due upon arrival on the project.
Renovating
a kindergarten and decorating classrooms in Phu Loc district
Phu Loc
March 5 -
March 17, 2012
Phu Loc March 19 -
March 31, 2012
Volunteer project: Phu Loc Kindergarten is located in a rural area, 100 km from Hanoi Capital, in the middle of the rice paddies. It is a school, which is in a great need of manual labour and resources to finish constructing a new building, a garden area, and a fence. The nursery school which was established in 2008 has about 302 children split between 10 classes; the children range in between the age of 2 and 5 years old. This school is placed in the mountainous area which means that the children usually come from poor agricultural families that cannot afford the school.
Volunteer's help is needed in several projects:
1. Construction:
there are many things that still need to be built; doors and toilets
need to be installed; behind the building there is a fence that needs to
be built.
2. Decorating: the rooms will need painting and decorating to
make them pleasant for the children who are going to stay in these rooms.
3. Gardening: the school needs an organic garden to supply itself with
fruits and vegetables, and to teach the children how to do sustainable
agriculture.
Volunteers will help to build walls around the kindergarten and decorate children’s classrooms to make them more vivid and fun. The space next to the building will need clearing, before being converted into an organic garden.
Leisure activities: Vietnamese Day, International Day, self-organized city tour and excursions, etc.
Language: English
Accommodation: In a school hall.
Terminal: Hanoi
Age range:
18 and over
Extra fee: 5,000,000 VND (about 170 Euro)
The extra fee is intended to support the hosting organization who does not have sufficient funds. It is due upon arrival on the project.
School
renovation and support for disadvantaged children in Northern Vietnam
Thai Nguyen
March 19 - March 30, 2012
Volunteer project:
The School for education and support for disadvantaged children in Thai
Nguyen has provided care and education for disabled children from the
Northern mountainous provinces of Vietnam in the past 16 years. The
school has 240 students with various disabilities (blind, mute, deaf or
with cognitive disabilities). The school supports the children in terms
of getting formal education and vocational training, but the big issue
that the school faces is the learning and living conditions of the
children: lack of learning materials, low-quality nutrition due to the
lack of budget, and leisure activities are still very limited.
The volunteers will:
- Renovate the school: paint and renovate classrooms.
- Support the cooks to prepare meals for the children.
- Organize leisure activities for the children.
- Have culture exchange activities with the children and with university
students from nearby universities.
The volunteers will work Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 16:30 with a 2,5h
lunch break.
Leisure activities: During the free time, the volunteers will organize intercultural nights and language classes which are aimed to improve the relationships between international and local volunteers, as well as with local people. Volunteers will also have the weekend free to travel to some famous places in Vietnam like Ha Noi or Ha Long bay.
Language:
English
Accommodation: Basic accommodation provided in the school. Please bring a sleeping bag.
Location: Thai Nguyen province
Terminal: Noi Bai International Airport. The group will be picked up at the airport and directly head to the school by bus.
Age range:
18 and over
Extra fee: 160 Euro
The extra fee is intended to support the
hosting organization who does not have sufficient funds. It is due upon
arrival on the project.
Taking
care of handicapped children and improving the living conditions in Hai
Duong welfare center
Hai Duong April
3
- April 14, 2012
Volunteer project:
Hai Duong welfare center was established in March 1982.
Volunteer help is needed in different areas. One of the main tasks is
improving the quality of the center in order to make it a better living
place for the children. The project activities include renovating the
building by painting the walls and cleaning up the dormitories for the
children.
The volunteers will also organize interesting and meaningful leisure
activities for the orphaned and disabled children, with the aim to enrich
their daily life in the center and to give them a chance to open their
minds to the outside world. The children have different skills and
difficulties, so the activities must be adapted to them. You are
expected to be imaginative and flexible. With one more or one less rule
in a game, you can make it more accessible to all of them.
Leisure activities: There are famous tourist places near the center that the volunteers can discover by themselves at weekends and during their free time. It is also easy to go to Hanoi from Hai Duong by bus.
Language:
English
Accommodation:
Volunteers will stay in Hai Duong welfare center. Beds are available.
The group will have meals with the children at the canteen of the
center. Please bring a sleeping bag.
Location: Hai Duong city is about 60 km away from Ha Noi, the capital of Vietnam.
Terminal: Noi Bai International Airport
Age range:
18 and over
Extra fee: 160 Euro
The extra fee is intended to support the
hosting organization who does not have sufficient funds. It is due upon
arrival on the project.
Bring
smiles to children in the National Pediatric Hospital in Hanoi
Hanoi
April 16 -
April 27, 2012
Hanoi May 7 - May
18, 2012
Volunteer project: The National Pediatric Hospital in Hanoi specializes in the treatment of children who are suffering from serious and deadly diseases such as cancer. They come from many parts of Vietnam and most of them are poor. Children have to spend a long time in the hospital and they often feel bored.
An international team of volunteers will teach English and organize short leisure activities such as games, painting workshops, small music and art shows, etc. for the children in the hospital. Every morning the volunteers will prepare the activities, and will work with the children in the hospital in the afternoons. We hope that you'll bring a lot of smiles and laughter to the children and welcome volunteers who are willing to be in contact with these lovely kids.
Through games and different activities, volunteers will help to distract the children from their physical and mental pain and reduce their fear of being in hospital. The work of the volunteers can help to make the stay of these children in the hospital more comfortable and enjoyable.
Volunteers need to be enthusiastic, patient, optimistic, full of energy and ready to work with sick children. They also need to be creative in organizing activities for the children so that they will feel relaxed.
Leisure activities: Hanoi has many historical and cultural landmarks and is a popular destination for tourists. Visiting the Old Quarter or traditional trade villages are good choices for volunteers at weekends or during free time. Many cultural festivals are held in Hanoi annually so this is a great chance for volunteers to explore the Capital which is 1000 years old.
Language: English
Accommodation: In a house (dormitory style). The volunteers should bring a sleeping bag.
Location: Ha Noi, the capital of Vietnam.
Terminal: Noi Bai International Airport
Age range: 18 and over
Extra fee: 160 Euro
The extra fee is intended to support the hosting organization who does not have sufficient funds. It is due upon arrival on the project.
Renovating
classrooms and
organizing activities for kindergarten kids in Ben Tre
Ben Tre
April 16 - April 27, 2012
Ben Tre
May 7 - May 18, 2012
Volunteer project: The volunteer project will take place in Ben Tre city, the capital of Ben Tre Province, located in the Mekong Delta area of southern Vietnam. The international volunteers will renovate kindergartens in the city and work with local children.
The group will help to paint classrooms at several kindergartens. The
volunteers will also organize games and leisure activities for the
children, and teach them basic English through games, activities, songs…
Volunteers have to be creative, active, positive, and willing to do
manual work.
Leisure activities: You will have a chance to visit the Vam Ho bird-watch, take the boat along the river to enjoy the landscape with coconut trees along the banks – a very specific feature of this area.
Language: English
Accommodation: Volunteers will stay at the house of the People’s Committee. Be prepared for basic living conditions. Sleeping bags and mats will be needed.
Location: Ben Tre is the capital of eponymous Ben Tre Province in southern Vietnam. Although only a 20 min ferry-ride away from bustling My Tho, this seems to be barrier enough to give the town a genuine backwater feeling. Tourists are still a scarce species and locals are open and friendly.
Terminal: Tan Son Nhat International Airport
Age range: 18 and over
Extra fee: 160 Euro
The extra fee is intended to support the hosting organization who does not have sufficient funds. It is due upon arrival on the project.
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