One of my aims for our big trip was to spend some time in
the one spot volunteering. I chose Vietnam simply because I enjoyed my short trip
there in 2008, knew it would be a good place to be for a month and I thought
Rob would enjoy it too. (We were also very lucky to have kind friends living in
Ho Chi Minh that put up with us for the month! Thanks again Tim and Steph!)
At first I accompanied my students to lunch, unsure what I
was really meant to be doing. I did this a few times and although they were
happy to see me there, I felt I could be more use somewhere else. It was then
that I started to visit one of the rooms upstairs that some of the other
volunteers were in. It was a room for the babies and young children mostly
confined to a cot due to some form of illness, disability or special need.
There were a few babies with hydrocephalus (fluid build-up in the brain), some
with cerebral palsy, some with epilepsy and other things. I came here for 1-2
hours on most days and played, sung and cuddled the babies and children. I
discovered one boy who was completely blind was in desperate need of some sort
of audio stimulation and really enjoyed more upbeat songs like Mario Kart, The
Simpsons and Postman Pat! A typical day of volunteering involved singing
Twinkle twinkle, Insy Winsy Spider, Open shut them, Five little ducks and the
Rainbow song multiple times a day with babies aged 6 months to adults 21 years.
Prior to organising my volunteering and even leading up to
it, I was not sure what I wanted to do exactly. I didn’t set out to work at an
orphanage and was not sure what I could offer. Now that I have finished my
volunteering, I really hope I provided something of value to the children,
teenagers and young adults I worked with.
I organised to volunteer at an orphanage in Ho Chi Minh
after corresponding with a Professor at one of the city’s universities. I had gotten
in contact with him after discussing volunteering with a Vietnamese attendee of
the International Social Work Conference I attended in 2014. The Professor knew
the Director of the Orphanage and arranged a meeting with her for a few days
after my arrival in HCMC.
After the meeting I was still not sure what I would be
helping with but the next day I turned up and was led to the church next door
to the orphanage. I was not clear on why I was going there. It turned out that
by being led from place to place by one of the teenagers was how I to figure out
what the routine of the orphanage would be.
Most mornings I would go straight over to the pavement in
front of the church where the children would play. Sometimes they would just
stand at the fence and watch the world outside go by. (They do have excursions
outside the orphanage but aside from these they spend all their time inside the
orphanage’s walls.) After this they would have a drink and some of the
teenagers/young adults would head upstairs for school.
The classroom was where I found myself at 8:30am on my first
day. Apparently I was going to be teaching English to student’s aged 13-21! Not
something I have trained in or felt like I would necessarily be very good at.
“That’s okay,” I thought, “I must be here with a teacher who speaks Vietnamese or
how else will I communicate?” I was wrong in two ways! A teacher with some
English would be there most days (but not my first days) and I did find many
ways to communicate. On a few occasions, I was lucky to have the assistance of
an older student.
Initially I thought, “They have made a terrible mistake! Do
they think I am a teacher?” However, I decided to give it a go for a few days
and then I could always ask to assist with something else. A few days passed
and I felt I could rise to the challenge and hope that my students would get
something out of my classes. At first it was difficult to tell what each
student already knew and they varied so much in age, maturity, attention spans
and capability. They were a little bit shy at the beginning and mainly just
stared at me but I think I grew on them! If nothing else, they enjoyed the
games I made for them and loved singing songs. It was a challenge making up
educational games with limited resources. (One problem was that the fan would blow away most of what we tried to use. However, if we turned it off it got far too hot.)
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| Making a shapes game |
After the morning class the students had lunch at 10:30.
Staff and volunteers had lunch from 11:30-12:30. Then it was time to rest until
2pm! (A wise move due to the heat.) Every day I walked past the cats and
kittens that lived at the orphanage. They got the leftovers from lunch.
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| Cats in their usual hangout |
In the afternoon I took two teenage boys aged 13 and one 21
year-old woman for reading class. These three, it appears, were chosen because
they showed the most aptitude for reading English.
The kids and teens at the orphanage are incredible. It is
amazing how they work together to get through their everyday routine. One teen
whose legs are amputated at the upper limbs is helped up two flights of stairs
in a wheelbarrow type fashion. Once at the classroom, all students are expected
to make their way to their individual seats and desk. This is extremely
physically challenging for at least half of the teens I taught. They are
exhausted before the class starts and yet they are keen to learn and interact. Students
that have difficulty with a cup of water are helped by another student. When I
cannot communicate something to a particular teen or them to me, another usually
came to my aid.
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| Some of the wondeful students and me |
It was rewarding working out what each individual enjoys
most. One of the older girls, really a young woman, loves “once I caught a fish
alive” and another (I think slightly younger) loves to be twirled around in a
dance. One of the younger boys who I was told had psychological problems, was
enthusiastic about learning anything new and learnt very quickly. I wondered
how much more he could do with the right supports in place. (Unfortunately,
that is true of most children there. Although I have found there are a few good
programs in place.)
I have also been fortunate to see the commitment by many of
the staff members who work long hours with many more tasks they can fit into
that time. Although it is clear that some are overworked and in serious need of
a break, many still have a smile for a child or arrange something fun to keep
them occupied.
Monday mornings were playtime for many kids at the
orphanage. Firstly the group would sing songs and dance in a undercover outdoor
area. The chicken dance was hugely popular and they also had eating contests
(which maybe sounds odd, but it wasn’t). Then it was free-playtime. Every
playtime was different; sometimes I would be hanging on the swing with a
toddler or playing catch with a teenager or trying to stop a little girl from
getting in the way of the plumbers.
One playtime sticks in my mind. I went to visit three
children (perhaps aged around 8) who were positioned against the wall in their
wheelchairs to watch the everyone else. A carer motioned that I should come
closer to one particular girl. When I got there she didn’t react initially but
soon we were dancing to the music. Shortly after that the boy behind her put up
his leg in the air and waved it up and down, laughing. Nothing like a song to
reach through numerous barriers at once.
Many of the children at the orphanage had special needs and
of these several were affected by dioxin (see our previous related post). Two of older babies with
hydrocephalus had shunts inserted into their heads but many others had not
received the crucial medical treatment that could improve their lives. The
prognosis for many was grim and this was very sad.
During my month volunteering I tried to find out what the
future possibilities were for those at the orphanage. I heard about a few of
the toddlers getting adopted during the time I was there. Some of the other
volunteers told me how there is policy change in the pipes that should mean
that children with special needs and older children are more likely to get
adopted than is currently the case. Some of the staff at the centre grew up themselves
at the orphanage and have evidently worked hard to get where they are now.
Unfortunately many of the children will not be able to find the support and
opportunities they need to gain independence and an increased quality of life.
From what I know, many will move to institutions for their adult lives.
There are a few positive social initiatives I heard about
during my volunteering time. The best ones, in my opinion, teach skills that
increase the opportunities available to someone. “Teach Me to Fish” run by Kids With No Borders is one such project. It provides scholarships to support orphans when they leave an orphanage at age 18. Scholarships support them with continued education, specifical vocational training, health care and other everyday living necessesities. Koto, another program, is based on the idea that learning should be passed on: "Know One, Teach One." It gives disadvantaged youth in Vietnam the chance to train in hospitality.
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| Colourful dress |
Another aspect of my volunteering was meeting some great people. There were quite a few volunteers either living in Ho Chi Minh or those that regularly returned to the orphanage. Some split their time by their country of birth and Vietnam. Near the beginning of my time volunteering we took a lunch time trip to a nearby temple. It was a big celebration with lots of food, colourful dress, music, readings and many offerings. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we never found out what the festivities were about!
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| Music and ceremony |
I enjoyed my time volunteering and learnt a lot from
everyone there. It was great to see the student’s progress. The month went by
very quickly and I found it very hard to leave. I hope I made some sort of
difference by volunteering. In a discussion with one of the other volunteers
who had come back for a third year, she said that she thinks of her work there
as planting a seed. For her, this involves spending time with a child and joining
in a smile with them. I feel like the students gave me so much. Hopefully I too
planted some sort of seed.
