Teach underprivileged children in Mekong Delta

Volunteers assist with teaching English, arts, crafts, music, hygiene and sports to the underprivileged children in The Hoa Mai Half Way Children’s Home and The Primary School in Vi Thanh city.  During the week, volunteers and a Volunteer Vietnam team member will teach approximately 16 hours per week.  When you are not working in the teaching program, you will be helping out with the other programs, such as the physiotherapy program and care program.

Volunteers are given a weekly schedule of their work times and activities.  Volunteers will have a meeting each day with a Volunteer Vietnam team member to plan for the next day’s activities and to make lesson plans for teaching. Volunteer Vietnam has many teaching resources on site to help with your lesson planning.  If you have experience in teaching, the Volunteer Vietnam team is always eager to hear your ideas.  If you have no experience in teaching, the Volunteer Vietnam team will show you how to write a lesson plan. You are always accompanied by a team member in the classroom; you are never left alone to teach a class!  

Volunteers teach at the Primary School every morning, accompanied by Volunteer Vietnam team members.  There are 4 grades at this school – kindergarten and grades 1 to 4.  The Volunteer Vietnam team members will always accompany you in the classroom and act as a translator when needed.  

Teaching at the Hoa Mai Half Way Children’s Home takes place in the evening three times a week, from 6 pm to 8 pm.  You will be working with a Volunteer Vietnam team member and a local English teacher.

The day starts at 7.30 am with breakfast at the volunteer house.  At 8 am you will travel to your work place by car, driven by a Volunteer Vietnam team member.  You work from 8:30 am to 10:30 am.  You return to the volunteer  house for lunch around 11 am.  Your lunch time is from 11am to 2 pm.  This time is your free time to do whatever you like.  At 2 pm you will travel to your work place and finish at 4:30 pm.  Dinner is served at the volunteer house at 5 pm.  In the evening your time is free.  Some options are going out for coffee, going downtown, or getting a massage.The volunteer's weekly work schedule is approximately 5 hours per day from Monday to Thursday and 3 hours on Friday.

Vi Thanh city is a small city with a population of about 60,000 and is the capital of the Hau Giang province. It is in the heart of Mekong Delta and surrounded by many villages and the landscape is made up of rivers,channels, lakes, and fruit gardens. Some free time activities we recommend are: 

• Biking around the city to see the nature landscape such as rivers, channels, lakes or War Museum, beautiful church and pagodas. 
• Having a boat trip around the rivers and channels 
• Visiting many local markets with many local products such as garden fruits, local arts and crafts 
• Spending time at a swimming pool in a hotel nearby the volunteer house 
• Shopping a shopping mall in the city center and watching a movie in cinema inside the shopping mall 
• Hangout at Lotus Lake cafe which is the most popular place in the evening
• Relaxing on the rooftop of the volunteer house 

Weekend activities: Your weekends are from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. On weekends volunteers can stay in Vi Thanh or have a travel weekend. Our onsite staff are happy to help arrange trips for you. There is less staff at the volunteer house during the weekends and meals are only served through Saturday morning, giving volunteers more freedom to explore. However, there is still some staff onsite who can help arrange trips or give advice about local restaurants and activities. Travel activities we recommend are: 

o   Can Tho City: Can Tho is the capital of Mekong Delta and is one hour away from the volunteer house by car or bus. There you can explore floating markets and the traditional Mekong Delta lifestyle. There are many tours available in this area.

o   Phu Quoc Islands: Phu Quoc is an island paradise known for beautiful white sand beaches. Volunteers can take a 1 hour bus ride to Rach Gia Harbor, and from there catch a speed boat to the islands. This area is highly recommended during your stay in southern Vietnam!

o   Ho Chi Minh City: Volunteers can spend weekends in the city taking either a 3 hour bus ride or by catching a flight from nearby Can Tho airport. Ho Chi Minh is a large, vibrant Vietnamese city with many activities for volunteers to enjoy. Spend a weekend away shopping in markets, enjoying a wide array of dining options, or visiting cultural & historical landmarks.