Vietnam Volunteer Programs from $18/day | Most Affordable & Trusted

Coming from Ireland, arriving in Vietnam allowed me to experience a completely different culture. Our orientation week provided an interesting insight into this beautiful country and it's history. The program fee included all admission fees to these activities which included a varied range from museums to cooking classes. It also gave us new volunteers a chance to get to know each other. Our evenings were spent getting to know the social scene in the city.

I signed up for the Special Needs/Childcare program and was quite apprehensive to begin as I have limited experience and no qualifications in this area. My coordinator was so helpful and was able to answer all my questions to put me at ease. We were helping out in a daycare centre for children with special needs which we attended from about 9am before heading back to the accommodation at 11:30am for lunch. We returned again after lunch at about 1:30pm until 3:30pm. The children in the centre had varying disabilities which were explained to us when we started. We'd play with the children and they loved the attention they received from the volunteers.

At weekends, the volunteers would explore the rest of the country. There was a tourist office at the accommodation which assisted in booking trips. Bus routes were good and cheap which made it an ideal mode of transport.

I thoroughly enjoyed my 8 weeks in Ho Chi Minh city and simply cannot recommend it enough! I've made so many memories that I cherish and met such incredible people from all over the world.

Volunteering overseas is something I've always wanted to do but didn't think it was a realistic or achievable goal for me. IVHQ changed that for me with the one week programme in HCMC. I was signed up to do the special needs programme but opted to visit the orphanage instead as other volunteers constantly and passionately spoke about how much fun it is to visit the children. I was glad for this flexibility offered to me. However, I can't describe my experience to you as fun but it was the most outstanding experience for me out of my whole trip.

On my way to the orphanage I didn't expect to make any differences in the children's lives during my short visit but expected at least to make some contribution to their joy. I imagined playing games with the children, with lots of laughter included. I planned on giving them gifts and seeing their faces light up at the sight of them. I approached this from my own experiences with my nieces and nephews back home and my ideals of what love and affection are. These expectations and ideals were soon to be challenged.
Upon arriving at the orphanage we had the most enthusiastic and warm welcome from those children. They immediately attached themselves to my person and my heart, as though I was their favourite auntie. I felt blessed to be in their presence.
Not long into my visit my heart began to sink. There wasn't much chatter going on, or game playing. The children seemed lack lustre and they were eager to keep looking out of the windows. I got a sense of their need for something more out of life. I had two children in my hands and a third climbed up on a toy truck to join in the view and peer out of the window, when we were swiftly reprimanded by the coordinator telling me it wasn't allowed. Not wanting to overstep bounds or be disrespectful of a culture I was unfamiliar with I placed the toddler back down. but couldn't help feeling like we were restricted in small things. The theme continued while having to force feed the children their meal, listen to them being shouted at by their carers, who admittedly are overworked, and then when I visited the kindy upstairs and a little girl asked me to colour in with her, an activity I'm much familiar with. Similarly I was asked not to do so and let the child do it for herself. By now, any enthusiasm I had for engaging with the children was dampened and I felt somewhat overwhelmed.
My spirits were lifted a little when I picked up one child who thought my curly hair the most fascinating thing ever to play with. He'd stretch out a lock and let it go, watching it spring back in place and would then crack up with laughter. It was the funniest thing both he and I have ever seen. For him my hair and for me his amusement. He repeatedly did this for a good five minutes. His laugh was infectious and brought a light to my heart.
These children, impoverished and without the gentle touch of their own parents, could still find joy in the little things of life. They manage to laugh and smile and have a hope and an eagerness to thrive. They look forward to the daily visits of the volunteers. It struck me then, as I realised, that giving affection is the most simple yet valuable gift I can give to another human being, and that changed something in me for always. I know that there is always something I can give back to others and make a positive impact however small it may be perceived by me.

If asked if I would volunteer in an orphanage again? my answer would be "no" but I would visit them in my free time as many volunteers do to give them one on one time and millions of cuddles and spoil them with gifts. As my own coordinator kindly explained to me that the most important thing in any child's life is the presence of their own parents, and nothing can bring them back to these children. These carers who take them in, who are overworked and disheartened I'd imagine, do the best for them with what they have. This gave me a whole new understanding of respect and humility for others and my own parents which I have brought back with me.

This is the beauty of a one week programme that allows you to have a taster and map out a future placement that I will be more suited to with the skills and characteristics I have to bring to it.

The greatest & most memorable moment was saying goodbye to the patients. It was unexplainable - joy, sadness, & all other emotions mixed up in a split second. When the local Physio translated that I will be leaving, you can see the sadness in the patients' eyes, but with such gratitude.

You see, we come with a mindset that we will be contributing and helping these people. But we leave knowing how much they've made an impact in us, and in our hearts. I honestly don't have enough words to describe it, you need to go to be able to know how it feels!

The moment I arrived at the international airport of Ho Chi Minh City, I was warmly welcomed by Jenny, my coordinator. We had to wait some time until we could leave the airport as we had to wait for one more volunteer.
We used the time exchanging stories and talking about how Vietnam was compared to Germany, where I come from and she also told me some phrases in Vietnamese.

Our orientation week coordinator, Leah, did a very good job showing us around all the sights in the city and also answering any question or helping is with any problem we brought to her. Since our accommodation was located on the premises of a local private school, we got to know some of the students during the orientation week. We were supposed to practice some english with them, by playing some games together. That was a really nice experience, as one could really see, how they were trying to formulate english sentences and how thankful they were when we corrected them.

The work at my volunteer placement was a lot of fun. In the mornings we would usually either prepare lessons for our classes or we would go to a local orphanage to take care of young children, who lived in the orphanage. That included feeding them, playing with them and comforting them when they were sad.
One day a mother came into the orphanage with two children and left them there, because she couldn't provide for them anymore. The siblings were crying all the time and I held the little boy the whole time so he would stop crying and fed him as well. When I wanted to put him back on the floor he would start crying again so I pretty much held him in my arms until he would fall asleep.
It was a wonderful experience to see how much trust those little kids have in you that they lean their heads against your chest and fall asleep.

In the afternoons, we usually went to another orphanage, where we were supposed to teach the kids, who were older than in the other orphanage, some english. I was lucky to be the teacher of class 4, the oldest class, consisting of 5 girls in the age range of 15 to 19 years. It was quite a challenge, as those girls were really smart and so I had to prepare really well to teach them something they didnt already know. Teaching them was so much fun because they actually wanted to learn something.
On my last day the girls brought some candies and cookies to reward me for my hard work in those two weeks :)

Overall my three weeks in Vietnam were a very good experience, as we got to know the culture and the city very well during our orientation week, thanks Leah!!, and also did some really good work taking care of the kids and teaching them. We noticed how much they appreciated it.

Furthermore, this program was quite easy to adapt to, as volunteers live in a big and international city and the food is very good.

Thanks for the wonderful time GreenLion and of course thanks as well to IVHQ for making volunteering as affordable as it is! :)

Volunteering in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam was an incredible experience for me. Although I only did it for a short period of time due to time constraints (job waiting for me back home) it still gave me everything I was looking for: impact (feeling of making a difference, as small as it may be), rewarding sensation, understanding of the culture, fun, and creation of amazing social bonds with other volunteers.
The first week, all the volunteers that have arrived around the same period of time are taken out on a cultural week where we get to explore the city/country and get acquainted to its culture through various touristy stops and a small cultural class. The week is very well organized and passes really quickly and by the end of it one would have visited all landmarks and sites of that area.
Then we get to our programs, I was in the Teaching English one, and had to do two different types of classes: assisting an english teacher in a school and doing exercises with the students to help practice their english, and something called the English Club, where we went to a coffee house and vietnamese students eager to learn english would join and we would have small lessons, conversations (to help practice) and games. Even singing sessions sometimes! That was the best part of my days for me because you could see the students' eagerness and willingness to practice and get better. I could feel that they understood how important english is for a career and that they would do anything to improve and become fluent (most of them less fortunate and longing for a high paying job in their future). Some of the students even took the volunteers out after the classes in order to practice more! They were so kind.
I personally formed a bond with two of the girls and by the end of it we took pictures and they gave me gifts (bracelets) to keep as a souvenir of them which as you can imagine, really touched me...
Apart from that the accommodation was comfortable and clean, nothing to complain about; and the other volunteers were lovely. I was lucky enough to have a group of open people wanting to socialize and interested in other cultures. We would arrange trips to other cities in vietnam during the weekend and they would go great. I met some amazing people and I hope I get to see them again.

Thanks,
Pia

I took part in a medical project in Ho Chi Minh. I have to say that this trip is pretty suitable for medical students just like me. I helped the patients with their IVs, changing medicine, transferring meds and pulling out needles as well as cleaning the wounds.
As a medical student in China, who is going to study for the second year, I haven't been to the operating room or help the patients by myself, but in Ho Chi Minh, what I have experienced made me relized being a doctor means more than helping and caring but responsibility and the ability to cope with stress.
Thx for the project, i believe I will stick to being a doctor in the future.

Applying via IVHQ to the medical placement in Ho Chi Minh City is one of the best choices I have ever made in my life. I'm super impressed by how prompt the replies from the organisation are, making me felt so safe and ready before the program started. Not only is the pre-trip online support very useful, but they also send you emails during and after the trip asking how are you doing. In addition, the first week of arrival was an orientation week, when we had chance to learn vietnamese culture, including their language and how to roll the springrolls. I enjoyed that "culture week" a lot! Also, I am very grateful that despite the well-organised schedule of the program, the timetable is very flexible that we have plenty of time to explore the city, and even book a flight to travel around! I have never expected to have booked a ticket to travel to Hanoi in order to visit one of the 7 wonders of nature, the Ha Long Bay, in my second weekend trip. The travel agent in the hostel where we live was very helpful and our weekend trips would not have been this perfect without the organisation by the travel agent. The staffs and local students (since we live in the hostel of Saigon Tourist Hospitality College) are very nice and friendly. They even showed us around the city and brought us to try their local food. The most unforgettable experience is trying their traditional food, balut. Although eating a half-fertilised duck egg seems so disgusting, it actually tastes okay. After this trip, I really think that south east asia is such a lovely place to explore, and I wish I could spend more time to travel some other places in Vietnam!

This was my first time volunteering abroad and my experience in Ho Chi Minh City was unforgettable and life-changing. The program offered the opportunity to build a relationship with the program coordinators, the other volunteers, and the children in the orphanage (my placement).
We stayed in a college in the city and were offered a lot of support by the local staff. It was easy to communicate with the staff and they were very willing to help.
There was wifi and the meals were provided by the college restaurant, staffed with Vietnamese students. In this case, you're also able to meet local students that are potentially around your age to find out more about the culture and aspirations of the younger generation.
Overall my experience in Vietnam was unforgettable and very well worth the nervous worrying that took place before my departure.