VIETNAM Volunteer Program

VIETNAM Volunteer Program

1. INTRODUCTION

2. FACILITIES AT VOLUNTEER COMPLEX

3. CHOOSING YOUR VIETNAM VOLUNTEER PLACEMENT

4. VIETNAM PROJECT SYNOPSIS

5. PROGRAM SERVICES

6. SAMPLE PROGRAMME ITINERARY

7. EXPERIENCE VIETNAM & SIDE TRIPS

8. FLIGHTS & INSURANCE

9. MAP OF VIETNAM

CONTENTS

VIETNAM Volunteer ProgramINTRODUCTION

Vietnam has always been a popular destination for many tourists when travelling through Asia.

It has a beautiful coastline and wild jungles ready to be explored, coupled with the vibrant and bustling cities of Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh – Vietnam has it all for the traveller looking to excite their senses!

However, outside of the tourist areas there are communities locked in a daily battle with poverty. It’s in these communities that our Volunteers will find themselves. Volunteers will be working with children along with elderly people and our volunteer projects aim to improve the lives of all those living within these communities.

All of our volunteer projects are based in Vietnam’s largest city; Ho Chi Minh City.

VIETNAM Volunteer Program

The Accommodation for volunteers is a shared complex located in Ho Chi Minh City.

The main house offers a quiet, relaxing place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city – a place to reflect on the events of the day and wind down with your housemates.

Facilities at the complex includes:

It’s important to note that for the Vietnam Volunteer projects, flexibility is required in terms of what project you will end up working at.

USIT will take on board your preferences of the types of projects available, however the volunteers are spread around the projects depending on the needs of that project on any given day or week.

This means that Volunteers may be requested to change from Orphanage work to the HIV centre or possibly caring for the elderly.

Volunteers should not apply for the Vietnam projects if they are not prepared to be flexible in their approach as you cannot be guaranteed to stay on one project for any given period.

The benefit to the Volunteer with this approach is that you will gain experience in all areas and will experience the wide reaching effects of poverty throughout the community.

• Common lounge with satellite television• Internet access, • Dining area • Purified water • Fridge with small freezer • Mini Library • Hot Water • Travel desk

• Location Manager: The camp manager acts as an administrator of the camp facility & responsible for the safety and wellbeing of the participants.

• Support staff: The support staff includes Chef, Helper, House Keeper, Drivers etc

For the participant’s convenience and safety, the following staff are available at the accommodation location:

Note: Volunteers can stay either at Volunteer Complex with the above mentioned facilities or at local host families.

FACILITIES AT VOLUNTEER COMPLEX

PROJECT: BRIEF DESCRIPTION

VIETNAM Volunteer Program

Volunteers who get to spend any time in these Orphanages are always amazed at how happy the children are to be living

there. They have very little but because this is their world they have no concept as to how their lives might be. While it can be an emotional project to work on, it is also the one that brings so much joy to the Volunteers who get to simply have fun all day with the children! A must for anyone who loves children and appreciates their innocent outlook on life!

Volunteers will help out at a centre dedicated to the care of the elderly in the community, many of whom have disabilities and need

extra patience and attention.

• Assisting the staff in their daily activities.• Assisting to kids to do their homework.• Assist in mid-day meals, teaching table

manners & eating together.• Songs, rhymes, shape concept & colours• Teaching basic English/Maths.• Games, including outdoor games.• Following the time table put forth by the

centre.• Sensory development teaching.

• Experience in Childcare/Social Care • Teaching experience• Active & bubbly personality with lots of energy • Comfortable dealing with younger children

• Assisting the centre staff in daily chores • Take the blind on walks outside the centre &

help them eat at meal times • Assist the centre staff with teaching health &

hygiene• Get involved in activities to entertain the

occupants of the centre

• Experience in Care of the Elderly • Patience & Understanding

VIETNAM PROJECT SYNOPSIS

CARING FOR THE ELDERLY

ORPHANAGE/CHILD CARE

VOLUNTEERS ACTIVITIES:

VOLUNTEERS DESIRABLE TRAITS:

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES:

VOLUNTEERS DESIRABLE TRAITS:

VIETNAM Volunteer Program

Volunteers participate in educational enhancement for students of local communities specifically in the areas

of English, Math, Art and Craft. In order to encourage more volunteers to participate in this program, they are provided with detailed workbooks and guidelines for teaching. As a volunteer you will help with the education of the children through creative, interactive teaching methods that make learning enjoyable. Imparting English language skills is extremely beneficial to children’s education and further employment.

Volunteers are not required to be professional teacher or have prior teaching experience. Though it is beneficial.

• Teaching English, Math and Social skills• Get involved with playing games & sports with

Volunteers will be helping out at a centre which specialises in looking after children living with HIV – many of these are orphans

and do not necessarily understand their health condition.

Very similar to the Orphanage project except that these children have been segregated due to their HIV status. The main role of the Volunteer on this project is to ensure the children are been treated like any other child.

• Assisting the staff in their daily activities.• Assisting the kids to do their homework.• Assist in mid-day meals, teaching table

manners & eating together.• Songs, rhymes, shape concept & colours• Teaching basic English/Maths.• Games, including outdoor games.• Following the time table put forth by the

centre.• Sensory development teaching.

VIETNAM PROJECT SYNOPSIS

CARE FOR CHILDREN WITH HIV

TEACHING

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES:

VOLUNTEERS ACTIVITIES:

the children • Keep track of children’s attendance • To create play and learning atmosphere with

the help of teaching learning materials.

• Experience in Childcare/Social Care • Teaching experience• Active & bubbly personality with lots of energy

• Experience in Childcare/Social Care • Experience in HIV Care or Treatments • Teaching experience• Active & bubbly personality with lots of energy • Comfortable dealing with younger children

VOLUNTEERS DESIRABLE TRAITS:

VOLUNTEERS DESIRABLE TRAITS:

VIETNAM Volunteer Program

Volunteers will be helping out at a centre which specialises in looking after children living with both physical and intellectual

disabilities – many of these children do not attend school, some only because they cannot walk themselves.

These children need extra care and attention from dedicated volunteers with a lot of time and love to give.

• Assisting the staff in their daily activities.• Assist where required for children with

mobility challenges• Assist in mid-day meals, including feeding the

children who are not able to feed themselves • Organise Games & Activities for the children

VIETNAM PROJECT SYNOPSIS CARE FOR CHILDREN LIVING WITH DISABILITY

VOLUNTEERS ACTIVITIES:

• Experience in Childcare/Social Care • Experience in Disability Care • Active & bubbly personality with lots of energy • Comfortable dealing with children of all ages

VOLUNTEERS DESIRABLE TRAITS:

PROGRAM SERVICES• Return Airport Transfers • Accommodation at the Shared Volunteer

Complex – with up to 4 Volunteers per room • Meals as per the Meal Plan as laid out in the

Programme Itinerary • Dedicated programme coordinator throughout

the project on the ground • Support from local partner organisation

throughout placement • All material & resources required to carry out

duties in each volunteer project

• Weekend Excursion to the Mekong Delta • Visit to the beach town of Mui Ne

VOLUNTEER PLACEMENT INCLUDED SERVICES:

EXTRA SERVICES AS PART OF THE VOLUNTEER & TRAVEL PROGRAMME:

VIETNAM Volunteer ProgramSAMPLE PROGRAM ITINERARY

DAY

DAY

VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

VOLUNTEER + TRAVEL PROGRAM

VOLUNTEER + TRAVEL PROGRAM

MEAL PLAN

MEAL PLAN

Monday Arrival at Tan Son Nhat International Airport and transfer to Idex camp.

Welcome meeting and orientation starts.Orientation includes:

Talks & presentations on:• Vietnam & its culture • Social development and the role of volunteers• How to do volunteer work • Project activities • Cultural responsibility• Personal safety & Code of Conducts • General Local area

• Project work starts • Free time for own activities

• Volunteer Work during morning and afternoon time for total around 05 hours.

• “Vietnamese cooking” workshop

Free Weekend/ Optional weekend trip

Free weekend/ optional visit to

Free Weekend/ Optional weekend trip

Transfer to Tan Son Nhat International Airport after 20:00 hrs. (Please refer to arrival and departure procedure for details)

Excursion to Mekong Delta

Visit to MUI NE

Excursion to Mekong Delta

No Meal

B, L, D

B, L, D

B, L, D

B, L, D

Only breakfast during

excursions. All meals during camp stay

Only breakfast during

excursions. All meals during camp stay

Tuesdayto

Wednesday

Thursdayto Friday

Monday to Friday

Saturday

Saturday

Sunday

Sunday

WEEK 1: ARRIVAL AND ORIENTATION

WEEK 2 : VOLUNTEERING PROGRAM & VOLUNTEER + TRAVEL

VIETNAM PROGRAM: 2 WEEKS

The Volunteer program in Vietnam can be enhanced with the Volunteer + Travel option.

The following chart provides details of the services included and the services that come along with the ‘Volunteer & Travel’ option

VIETNAM Volunteer Program

Get ready to be overloaded with experiences for the senses by Vietnams fast pace of life in the cities, exotic jungles

and breath-taking beaches up and the down the country.

Patience is a must when travelling Vietnam, where even crossing a busy road in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi will seem like an impossible task to new arrivals.

But if you stick it out you will be rewarded with experiencing a unique country full of delights!

While on a Volunteer project you will gain a unique insight to the local people’s lives and customs with a chance to jump on day tours of the local sites as well as cultural activities.

But if you want to travel further afield and see Hanoi, Halong Bay or Nha Trang – USIT can book you on small group tours before or after your volunteer experience – this way you can get to see as much of Vietnam as possible.

If you are feeling adventurous why not head to Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia or Taiwan! USIT can arrange your flights around your adventure plans and you can choose to go solo or book on a small group tour, make friends and experience new cultures.

Just talk with your USIT coordinator about how you want to spend your next adventure!

One great example of our wide range of tours is this 12 Day Vietnam on a Shoestring Trip from just €699

With a huge range of inclusions in such a short space of time this trip is definitely the one to achieve an exciting overview for travel in Vietnam!

What’s included:

• Halong Bay boat trip with lunch• Orientation walk around Hanoi’s Old Quarter• Noodle making demonstration and lunch at

Oodles of Noodles

EXPERIENCE VIETNAM & SIDE TRIPS

• Two street food crawls• All transport between destinations and to/from

included activities• Local Guide • 8 Nights Hotel Stay• 3 Nights on Sleeper Trains

VIETNAM Volunteer Program

All participants on a USIT Volunteer Project must purchase their flights & insurance

through USIT.

Our Insurance policy is a Work & Travel policy tailored to the volunteer experience.

All flight itineraries will be discussed and agreed between the volunteer and USIT coordinator before finalising the details.

Your USIT coordinator can tailor make certain flight plans to include stopovers or multi stop itineraries should you wish to do some travel to other countries besides Vietnam – just let us know where you want to go next!

FLIGHTS & INSURANCE

VIETNAM Volunteer ProgramMAP OF VIETNAM

CAMBODIA

Gulf of Thailand South China Sea

THAILAND

LAO PDR

CHINA

MYANMAR

Phan Thiet

Hanoi

Cao Bang

Ninh Binh

Dong Hoi

Kon Tum

Ho Chi Minh(Saigon)

Nam Can