Vietnam will always hold a special part in me. Volunteering to me initially was to want to do something out of my means, usually like cleaning the whiteboard or something mundane along that line. This included beaching cleaning and community service in old age homes where I really never saw the meaning of really giving to the society.

I joined iProject out of curiosity. It was a mix of wanting to travel and to truly help a community. My knowledge of Vietnam could be said to be very limited. I associated Vietnam with Laos a lot, for some weird reason and a producer of rice (I’m a geography student). Very random things that didn't give much character to the country. I was so wrong about that.

The ten days opened my eyes to the wonderful world out there. The cultures I was exposed to, the people I met and the experiences I went through was all part of something very precious to me now.

First and foremost, one of the obvious difficulties was during the initial stages of planning and organising of iProject as a team. There were weekly meetings and certain sacrifices had to be made in order for all of us to be there, actively discussing fund raising or other activities that can be done with the Vietnamese children.

Second on the list would be the fact we were heading into unknown territory. We didn't know how many children there were going to be, what the environment will be like, the language and if our plans for teaching, games and arts & crafts would work out. It was an uphill struggle which we had to provide alternatives for, just in case.

However, the positive things simply outweigh the negativity.

We had to do some construction. 'Some' would be an understatement. We had to do many things we would have never done in Singapore. The first hurdle was to dismantle a bed frame with bare hands. Totally not meant for the urbanised noobs (meaning newbies). It was a shock. Shock because there was this young boy of maybe 8 years of age, tearing it up happily. It was like the bed frame was made out of paper or something. The construction aspect also included us getting our hands and legs dirty levelling the bumpy ground, mixing cement, painting, derusting and the actual construction of a pavement. The lack of machinery meant everything was done with sheer muscle power (and shovels and backaches and hand cramps).

We also had a component where we taught the kids basic English. We incorporated songs and drawings into our lessons and the children were... well, like kids. Some of them were shy and did not participate much. Some, however were really outgoing and even though there were a lot of gesturing taking place, it was enriching both for them and for us. We learnt while we taught and this was very very significant as we saw how community service is much more.

Arts & crafts and games were taught. I saw how truly lucky we are from them when they had balloons in their hands. The look of happiness was at its ultimate and it was just a balloon! Or so it might seem. To them, the balloon could be like something rare and not see much in Sapa. I felt truly appreciative of what we had in Singapore.

I have learnt so much on this trip and it's not just about the Vietnamese people but also about myself, my friends and working as a team. I have made great friends (TPF!) and made greater discoveries about myself. OCIP is not a one-off event and will never be. The hillside terraces, cool weather, sunny smiles of the kids and crazy non-stop honking of vehicles will stay deeply rooted in my mind.

Labels: Ginger