I'm getting on great here in Vietnam!
Fiona Kelly is currently on a 8 weeks volunteering programme in Vietnam. She wrote us to share her experience with us.
I'm getting on great here in Vietnam! I'm working in a government run orphanage for children with special needs. There are approx 400 children in the orphanage and I work with about 30 of them.
All of the children I work with have cerebral palsy; some more severe than others. Only one child can walk (with assistance) and the majority of the children are unable to sit up themselves and so spend almost all day lying in their cots. My daily routine involves feeding the children both in the morning and again in the afternoon. I spend the rest of the time playing with them.
The carers who look after them are very overworked and they have no time to play with the children. I try to take the children outside to play every day as it gives them a chance to get out of their cots. We throw a ball around, draw pictures, listen to music, read books together and play in the playground!
Every day is a lot of fun as the children absolutely love getting time to play and get so hyper and excited as soon as I take them out of their cots! I'm really enjoying getting to know these amazing children and it's so great to see how much they like us being there - I'm greeted every morning by claps and cheers from the children as soon as I walk into the room!!
Life in Vietnam outside the orphanage is also going well. It did take a while for me to adapt but I'm really settled in now. We are living in a volunteer house just outside the city centre. The house is located in a very local community so the presence of foreigners is a huge novelty and we get a lot of attention from the locals all the time! The local people are great; very friendly and helpful and very eager to become friends with us! The house is quite nice, it's similar to a youth hostel; common area, kitchen and 4 people sharing a bedroom. The house is very well located; 30 minutes away from the orphanage (15 min walk to bus and 15/20 mins on bus) and we're about 20/25 mins away from the city centre by bus. It's a really busy neighbourhood and there are also lots of shops and restaurants close by.
As my time here is coming to an end I'm in the process of writing up profiles on each of the children for future volunteers. I'm putting together details such as how to communicate with the children, tips for feeding them and what games they like to play. It has been a lot of fun preparing these profiles as I've realised how well I've gotten to know them over the last 2 months and the children have really enjoyed getting their profile pictures taken as well!
I'm attaching a few photos from the orphanage and of our house.
Fiona.