- Introduction:
- Name : PLATFORM
- Slogan : Come and rise with us
- Project code : 1508
- Program date : 22/11- 5/12/2015
- Destinations :
+ Phong Thanh commune, Cau Ke District, Tra Vinh Province (22/11-2/12)
+ Ho Chi Minh city (3-5/12)
- Participants:
+ V team :
- Project management :Yến and Mr. Hân
- Supervisor : Ms.Yến
- Volunteers : Oanh, Linh, Chính, Minh, Trúc
Nhi (participated in the pre-project planning)
+ S team :
- 5 teachers(4 females and 1 male)
- 26 SAJC students (18 girls and 8 boys)
- Achievements:
+ Complete 80% library’s outside walls
+ Teach 6 classes with 13 English lessons, students have learned how to sing some songs.
+ Visit 10 poor households in Phong Thanh
+ Successfully organize culture night between locals, SAJC and ECO Vietnam Group.
+ Visit War Remnants Museum, Cu Chi Tunnels and Ben Thanh night market.
+ Exchange with Center for Service Learning of Hoa Sen University.
- Project’s Activities:
Project 1508 took place in Phong Thanh for 10 days with many unforgettable activities and memories.
At the first day November 23rd, V-team and S-team attended local ceremony then cleaned and rearranged stuff in the living area. V-team also introduced S-team about accommodation and some regulations while living and doing volunteer work here. First impression was local’s warm welcome and hygienic and cozy living area that so much better than our expectations.
The second day November 24th to the morning December 2nd daily tasks included building library, teaching elementary students English and doing housework.
Firstly, building library team was 2 members from V-team and 12 members from S-team. Construction activities consisting of mixing cement, moving bricks and building walls started at 8am to 11am and 1pm to 5pm. We always worked under the guidance and help from uncle Duc – the main builder – and other builders. Mixing cement was simple and did not take much time. We just needed 2 buckets of water, 1 bucket of sand and half a bag of cement. Moving bricks required good stamina and diligence – most members did the job enthusiastically. Building the walls demanded meticulousness and careful observation. Everyone tried their best to get good feedback from the builders. The last construction day, we all had mixed emotions. The walls were built higher even though it was not an easy job. The whole process was our hearted dedication. So sad to leave the library undone!
Secondly, teaching team was 2 members from V-team and 6 members from S-team. We taught English for students from grade 3 to grade 5 indoor and outdoor based on school’s flexible itinerary. At first, students were all quite stiff and awkward but then teaching team put more efforts, changed different teaching methods to have realistic impact on students’ desire to learn English. After 10 days, they were able to sing songs, learn about personal hygiene and remember some vocabulary of emotions, weather, body parts… Teaching was tough and fun at the same time. Seeing innocent young kids playing, excited of learning new things and waiting for us throughout the project gave us hope about young dynamic generation with brighter future.
Finally, housing team included 1 V-team member and 8 S-team members. The first day was always the most difficult days since S-team was unfamiliar to the working process and how to do the housework properly. As the same for 2 previous tasks, by time passing by everyone got better and did the tasks very well. Housework was washing dishes, cleaning toilets, going to the market, helping Auntie Tu, setting up tables…. The tasks were easy but we had to do them properly. After first 3 days, we all knew our tasks and worked more effectively. One of the unforgettable memories was water cut in the afternoon that was 2 days before we left for HCM city. Housing team had nothing to do but repeatedly sweeping and waiting for dinner time. We did not have enough clean bowls that we were about to eat in plates. After dinner, we had to wash a pile of dirty dishes. We worried whether water cut again the next day but still kept positive attitude and were ready for any problems ahead. Looking back, we really missed the joyful time doing housework in Phong Thanh.
Time flew so fast that 37 people had worked together, ate together and had so much fun in Culture night and Campfire for 10 days already. Remembering those first few days everyone was all so awkward and shy, V-team seemed like listening to choir music than speaking with S-team. But we had great time singing, laughing, talking about bunch of nonrelated topics, sharing about life and culture differences… Then we had to sadly say goodbye after 3 days in HCM city. Time did fly!
