“Volunteer House” for Vietnamese children

Among lots of projects for teaching English to children, Volunteer House Vietnam has made a difference by helping children have a closer approach to the universal language, English.

“English is very important”

“English is very important” is a message that Volunteer House Vietnam wants to convey. The project provides free English classes for poor children who do not have opportunities to approach English. To gain the teaching quality, the project calls for support from foreign travelers and backpackers, who are proficient in English, in order to teach English to local children. Then, they will be provided free accommodation. In addition to joining English classes, travelers can learn more about Vietnamese culture and customs.

“We found the children here are quiet and shy. I also feel nervous because we have never done anything like this before. I have used music to get close to them. One of the great things about music is that it can bring out many things of people. It is a very good connecting tool and helps children have a great time. We have a great time, too. We will be willing to come back anytime” says Mr. Mauro Trentin, operations manager of NCI packaging Vietnam.

The project has a change in the curriculum, which is used by Vietnamese teachers, in order for children’s study not to be disrupted. When having a foreign teacher in the class, Vietnamese teachers will work as teaching assistants. There are 2 teachers in every class. Classes are often located at local houses. The project is divided into many smaller ones to easily fulfill our goals: Teaching group, Communication group, IT group, Logistics group, and etc.

With poor economic condition, children cannot afford attending in English classes. In addition to teaching English, Volunteer House Vietnam also teaches children the purposes of learning English and lessons about life skills. For foreign volunteers, joining the project is a memorable and special experience during their trip of discovering Vietnam. Vietnamese children will be cute and friendly tour guides for travelers. They would tell traditional stories, talk about different delicious dishes in Vietnam, which partly helps foreign travelers learn more about Vietnamese people and culture.

The Lesson of “unity”

Every word is carefully written, and every dialogue is attentively read is the happiness of both students and the volunteers. Until now, five classes have been established and maintained in Hanoi and HCM City by Volunteer House Vietnam.

To enlighten the classes, volunteers have to go through lots of difficulties. One of the biggest challenges is finding locations for classes at first time. By utilizing any relationships, volunteers seek for suitable venues. Besides, financial source is also of the main concern of the VHVers. Curriculum, materials, and any expenses are other difficulties.

“Many people asked me what if this project failed. My answer is: if this project fails, at least it would demonstrate that we have tried our best to do something good for society. We have been through a great way. Until now, the project has formed the primary basis, and the appropriate curriculum. The thing that makes me proud of is being able to gather young people and make joint effort for Vietnamese children” , says My Linh (Founder of this project, former student of  University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City)

Witnessing the day-by-day progress of children, the VHVers are aware that we have to make more effort. A member of the project, Thanh Ngan, a student of University of Foreign Trade said “we are making progress together day by day. Undoubtedly, it is not easy to use appropriate strategies in order for children to pay most attention in the lessons; we have to be creative and flexible in each class. Besides, when interacting with foreign friends, I can learn lots of interesting things. Joining voluntary works is a way of stepping out of the safe zone, and experiencing valuable and unique moments in life”.

Volunteer House Vietnam was founded in 2015. Until now, up to 600 volunteers all over the country, and 80 available accommodations from 20 provinces of Vietnam has been offered to Volunteer House Vietnam. In the coming time, Volunteer House Vietnam will organize an event “Talk House”. The event will include speech and talk show from successful guests. On Mid-Autumn occasion, “Share Your Cake” was held by VHV giving lots of presents to the poor children in many areas.

Translator: Lý Thảo