Volunteering in Vietnam

My time specifically at the Ky Quang work site helping take care of children with disabilities.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• ky quang pagoda
• orphanage
• children
• disabilities
• volunteer
• abroad
• vietnam
• ho chi minh city
• saigon
• ivhq
• international volunteer hq

[xmintie]

Hi I was thinking of volunteering for the VN program also, just a question, was your schedule restricting do this program? In Viet Nam, or were you able to go about freely and also how were living situations if you still remembered. Thank you!

[carolkiim]

@xmintie I found the schedule to be pretty relaxed. You went in the morning maybe around 8am, came back to the dorm around 11 to have lunch and relax a bit while the kids napped, and then you went back maybe at 1 and went home maybe 3-ish... The work day wasn't that long, it just took a lot of energy to be around the kids. And on weekends, some people visited family, others went out and enjoyed the nightlife, and others traveled to nearby areas like the mekong and da lat.

[carolkiim]

@xmintie the living situation was nice. we were in a normal vietnamese neighborhood. from the recent pictures i've seen posted, i think they've moved locations. but in the place i was at, boys and girls had separate rooms, there was a tv with a lot of channels, a computer with internet so you don't need your laptop, we had a cook who cooked up lunch. for dinner you can eat the leftovers if you wish or go out to eat. there was no a/c but we each had a personal fan that kept us cool

[Sleepymeeki]

I would love to do something like this..Is there a specific organization that you have to go through in order to do this?

[carolkiim]

@Sleepymeeki i went through international volunteer hq (ivhq) and they set me up with an in-country program called volunteers for peace in vietnam (vpv). so basically i did all the correspondences and payments through ivhq and all the actual volunteer work was with vpv

[gabspen]

Beautiful kids! How did you find the whole experience with ivhq? I'm considering doing a similar project.

[carolkiim]

@gabspen Considering this was 3 years ago, I don't remember too many details, but I definitely remember having a lot of fun! As far as IVHQ, I went through them twice and both were good experiences as a whole. There were a few speed bumps, but nothing too dramatic that ruined my trips.

[Sleepymeeki]

How much was the cost and how did you stay there for?