On Friday 10th February 2012, Hue Help carried out a survey for the implementation of the 2012 Swimming for Safety programme in collaboration with Phu Loc Education Department. The programme is scheduled to start in August 2012 for 1,200 secondary school students in Phu Loc district. Eventually, we aim to strengthen the physical health of children and reduce the rate of children drowning in Thua Thien Hue province.
In order to ensure the safety and quality of the training course, we checked the swimming equipment, as well as the teaching plans and schedules of seven of the ten secondary schools, namely Bon Loc, Loc An, Loc Dien, Loc Tri, Phu Loc Town, Vinh Hien, and Lam Mong Quang. We will soon return to Phu Loc district to survey the remaining schools and to assess the swimming sites.
This will be the second year that Hue Help is implementing the programme in Phu Loc district, and we hope that this programme will be replicated beyond Phu Loc and integrated into the education system as a formal subject in schools.
If you are interested in sponsoring or donating for this programme, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@huehelp.org. Similarly, please feel free to contact us if you would like more information regarding the swimming programme or any other of our activities.
In order to improve the communication skills in English for the officials of Thua Thien Hue Workers' Union, Hue Help collaborated with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Worker' Union of Thua Thien Hue Province. Hue Help organised three English classes for nearly 90 officials with the teaching participation of voluntary teachers from Hue Help. After more than six months of implementation, the course was ended successfully on 30th December 2011. This was a pilot programme that Hue Help carried out in Hue. And we will work with the partners to assess the programme and to plan for the coming years.
-Khanh Truong, Representative of Hue Help
From 5th to the15th of December 2011, in collaboration with Thua Thien Hue's Union of Friendship organisations, Hue Help organised a programme for 13 students from Singapore Management University in Singapore to volunteer at Loi Nong Kindergarten in Huong Thuy District, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam.
During 10 days and with the help of local workers and Vietnamese volunteers, the volunteers from Singapore built a kitchen for children in the Loi nong Kindergarten, taught English and carried out various activities with the students of Hue’s College in order to promote cultural exchange between the two countries. The programme ended with a ‘music-exchanging programme’ on the 13th December with special performances by the children and teachers, the Youth Union of Loi Nong Village and the Singaporean students. A great volunteer in Vietnam experience!
This is a significant program, it helps to bring the relationship between Vietnam and Singapore closer together. We look forward to many more successful collaborations in 2012!
- Khanh Truong, Representative in Vietnam
From 15th to 21st October 2011, Hue Help and Thua Thien Hue’s Union of Friendship Organisations have agreed to work together to organise a programme for 6 young students from St Joseph’s Institution International in Singapore to volunteer at An Tay children’s shelter in Hue, Vietnam.
With the help of local workers and Vietnamese volunteers, the volunteers from Singapore will build a playground for children on the An Tay shelter grounds, teach English and carry out various activities to promote cultural exchange between the two countries. The playground that the volunteers hope to construct will hold a small baseball field, as well as a volleyball court. On 21st October, the Singaporean students' experience as a volunteer group in Vietnam will formally be brought to a close with a ‘music-exchanging programme’ that will be implemented and led by the children and teachers of An Tay orphanage, as well as the Singaporean and Vietnamese students.
This volunteer programme takes place around four times a year, and it helps towards building a significant bridge to bring the relationship between Vietnam and Singapore closer together.
- Khanh Truong, Representative for Hue Help in Vietnam
What do you think about working as a volunteer in Vietnam? I think it’s meaningful work not only for ourselves, but also for many other people who are not as lucky as us. I feel really happy after the short time that I volunteered in Hue and I would always like to come back to Vietnam as soon as possible- not only for volunteering, but also to live there for the rest of my life.
As you know, each of us has our own talent, which we apply in our jobs. But why don’t we share it with society through volunteering?
I think you should try to volunteer in Vietnam at least once if possible, because of the following reasons:
1. You will change other peoples’ lives.
You will bring happiness to other people by volunteering, and their lives can be changed with your volunteering.
2. You will change your own life.
You will feel happy when you help others, and it will seem like you have lots more energy when you share your ability with others.
3. Others need the abilities that you have.
We often wish we had the abilities, experiences and skills of others. When you share the skills that you have with others, you will receive other skills in return. “To live is to share”, and for your life to be more meaningful it depends on that.
4. You will explore the power of cooperation
When you unite your efforts with others to aim at the big target, you won’t be surprised that it can one day be reached. The world is waiting you to tell it: “ I’m ready”. And when you proclaim this from your heart, let it be heard by the community you’re in. And the result will be amazing!
5. Your view of the world will be changed.
The world doesn’t follow the default circle that you’ve always imagined. When you volunteer in Vietnam, you will meet many people and learn about many situations, and you will realize that the world can be a different place.
6. You will influence the people around you
The people closest to you are your children. They will respect you more because you have contributed to society. They will also become more concerned about social issues instead of being apathetic and indifferent to the difficulties of life. Your children will feel that social awareness has formed in the family since childhood, and through adulthood. They will be very happy to continue on their social responsibility. We are all contributing to make a difference in our community.
7. You will meet unique people.
It’s really amazing that when you volunteer in Vietnam, you meet interesting people. You will also develop a network of new friends and they are truly the people who you want to connect with. The goal of your personal life becomes better.
8. You will feel connected to greater things.
There are many disadvantaged people around us and we might be amongst them. Thus, helping each other is really important. Some people have everything they want, but they are not happy. They will surely be very surprised with what happens in their mind and soul if they spend one day a week helping those who are in need.
9. You will contribute to saving our world
Most likely, you will help the homeless children with a history of violent apathy feel happiness and hope in the future. It is you who will save the world.
10. You will die happy
The worst thing in the world is lying in bed, waiting to die and saying “I wish I had tried more”. Say you are in this situation. Wouldn’t you want to give yourself the chance to do something nice? In reality, the more money we make, the more expensive it will be to ‘feed’ our needs.
But we can easily realize that enjoyment doesn’t make us happier, but in fact can make us more unhappy. Therefore, you should live twenty four hours a day in a meaningful way- don’t just live in a meaningful way when you work. In this way, you will have no regrets when your life is almost over.
- Thanh Nguyen, Programme Assistant
The one thing commonly absent from guidebooks on Hue is the lifestyle outside of its tourist attractions. Their descriptions do not come close to portraying the subtle satisfactions derived through daily engagement with the city’s numerous, yet simple, pleasures.
Don’t get me wrong, the tombs are magnificent, the citadel is steeped in an abundance of history and the beautiful perfume river provides the hustle and bustle of urban life with a gentle rural calm. However, despite such highlights it is the beauty of the way of life here which has engraved itself so significantly upon me.
Whether it’s enjoying an iced coffee in the coolness of the morning at an hour unthinkable to student-routine in Britain, discovering a method to the madness amidst the constant swarm of traffic, or appreciating the stunning views from the city’s bridges as much on the day you arrive as the day you bid your sorry farewells, there is something pleasurable in each aspect of daily activity in Hue.
To describe the people here as ‘friendly’ does not do justice to their desire to assist you in whatever way they can or to their excitement in integrating you into their lives, as well as into the society as a whole. Despite the language barrier there exists a mutual pleasure in sharing one another’s company; the sharing of food, drinking and football are just three examples of global languages which help overcome any initial language problems. I will miss the communal openness here: London could certainly learn a lesson.
You cannot truly see Hue in a weekend, or even a month for that matter. Its surface beauty is immediate but the underlying beauty emerges more gradually and once you’re in the swing it is calming, steady and totally fulfilling. Simple pleasures in daily activities: lesson number 2 for London.
- Adam Moore, volunteer in Vietnam
One of Hue Help’s activities that we take special pride in is the improvement of education for the children in our shelter. We are fully aware that education is the best way for disadvantaged children to improve their future prospects. With that in mind, we hire tutors to come to the shelter to teach the children the official school subjects, such as Math, Physics, Chemistry, and English.
Before and throughout each school year we work closely with the tutors to exchange information about the classes and the students so as to assure the best possible results for all involved.
This school year we are happy to report some very encouraging results! One student in particular, Truong, passed his entry exam to Thua Thien Hue College of Education. This is a great sign and we hope that many more of our kids will follow Truong into universities in the near future.
Besides the academic subjects, we also hold classes that help the children physically, such as swimming and kung fu classes. Engaging in extracurricular activities such as these gives the children an opportunity to relax after working hard in school as well as giving them exercise to improve their health.
In the future Hue Help will hold courses on life skills, such as emotional control, communication, confidence-building, creative problem solving, listening and sharing, time management, safety, and effective study skills. These courses will offer the children the basic knowledge necessary to be successful as they apply their education toward achieving their dreams.
Truong, future student of Thua Thien Hue College of Education
On August 21st, 2011 Hue Help collaborated with Hue Sport Centre to organize the closing ceremony of the Swimming for Safety training course for the orphans of Hue city.
The training programme lasted for one month, from 12 July to 18 August, for 110 children living in five orphanages: Xuan Thuy, An Tay, ThuyXuan, Nguyen Trai and Hue Children’s Center. The children were taught basic swimming techniques and survival skills for when they have fallen in water. The programme’s goals were to improve the children’s health while also reducing the rate of drowning for children, which is a very serious issue in Vietnam.
By the end of the month it was clear the programme was a success! According to the results of the final assessment, 85% of the participating children now have basic swimming skills and 70% of children mastered the breast-stroke technique.
At the closing ceremony, we also organized a swimming competition for the children to show-off their new skills and to have some fun with each other. Xuan Phu orphanage won the first prize!
- Khanh Truong
Every year Hue Help is pleased to organize summer vacation activities for the children of the orphanage, and this summer was full of fun activities!
There were three main activities arranged this year: going to the Thanh Tan hot springs, going to Canh Duong beach, and a two-day trip to Vinh Moc tunnel, Nhat Le beach, and Phong Nha cave.
The first summer activity was a fun-filled day at Thanh Tan hot spring. At Thanh Tan the children and Hue Help’s volunteers enjoyed several water games, such as swimming, water slides, and throwing water balloons. Of all of these, the water slide was the clear favourite among the children!
On 29th June we had the next activity, this time to Canh Duong beach. On the beach the children and volunteers played beach football and a game of tag. The children were especially happy catching sea creatures like jellyfish and crabs along the beach.
Although those activities were a lot of fun, the trip the children were most excited about was a two-day excursion to Vinh Moc tunnels, Nhat Le beach, and Phong Nha cave. This was the first time the children had gone on a two-day trip! And the trip certainly did not disappoint their high expectations. It was full of interesting experiences, such as exploring the tunnels of Vinh Moc, teambuilding games on the beach, and boating on the river to visit Phong Nha Cave.
After this summer of fun activities our children will begin the new school year full of happy memories, ready to work hard, and already looking forward to more trips next year!
FFAV (Football For All Vietnam) are currently benefiting from an agreement which sends Hue Help volunteers to assist the FFAV coaches on the pitch. Last week, FFAV welcomed two of our volunteers, Adam and Josh, to the project. Both are university students in the UK on their summer holidays and both have coached children’s football in England. The duo will also teach English to some teams throughout their 2 month stay in Vietnam. They will use a lively curriculum unique to FFAV that incorporates football vocabulary and elementary conversational structures.
The club coach at The Arts Center facility, Mr. Thinh, is enthusiastic about the prospect of working with foreign coaches. He noted that their involvement will bring about an injection of energy into his players. Adam and Josh have already introduced a wealth of new training exercises, and were quick to compliment the ball composure and maturity shown by the teams coached by Mr. Thinh.
Hue Help and FFAV hope to place one or two new volunteers when the next volunteer cycle starts to build on Josh and Adam’s excellent contribution. We would like to thank Mr. Phuong, Eddie and Mr. Thinh from FFAV, as well as the Thua Thien Hue Department of Education and Training and The Art Center for their support and cooperation to make this possible.
For more information about FFAV, please visit their website here.
