VFCD and international volunteer have had a farewell party at the street school to say goodbye summer 2009 with the children and it was unforgettably incredible! “The children were so, so happy and excitable! However upon leaving and saying goodbye I deeply regretted not having organized a much, much longer stay!” one of the volunteer from Cambridge said.

At the farewell party, children were so interested in playing games, singing songs and showing music professionally along with the cuddles, laugher and silliness but most importantly everyone’s enthusiasm and enjoyment. At the end of the party it was time to say good bye to the children, who couldn’t hide their sadness when the international volunteers went far way. Not only the children, the international volunteers showed their emotion when they went back home. “I love the children and will miss them sorely and the singing and games and the exercise!” a volunteer from POD said.

Today international volunteers from England organized a farewell party at the orphanage school which we work in cooperation with, to say goodbye to the children and celebrate the success of their 2 week placement. The volunteers involvement with the scheme has benefited the children not only in English skills through the teaching they provided, but also gave the children the opportunity to and experience of working, learning and forming friendships with people from foreign countries, introducing them to new ideas and offering them endless love, attention and affection, which has left them with brighter hopes for the future and happy memories. The party was held at the orphanage, with games, party music and gift donations. The children were very happy and excited, enjoying this immensely, as did the volunteers. The innocent and genuine faces of the children revealed their sadness at the departure of the volunteers and fond remembrance that they can keep of their teachers. Likewise, the lovely and kind hearted international volunteers couldn’t keep their reluctance to say goodbye hidden nor their pleasure at the children’s mutual feelings.

From volunteer (Nguyen Minh Hanh) during her first summer workcamp in Sapa!

31/7: Day for meeting the members and orientation

Today I went to the VFCD office for the interview and orientation day to meet the other volunteers who will be my companions on the trip. The road to the office was a little challenging but I arrived safely and the office was quite nice. While waiting for the orientation to begin I chatted with Ngan, Them and Linh about the trip, the interview and the orientation turned out to be a pleasant experience. I was then given a schedule of activities for the week and the times that we would be teaching English to the village children. We also had extra activities that we would do on our free time, it all sounded exciting and attractive to me. The time with the others was so good we all wanted to linger but we had to go our separate ways and prepare for the trip, there was so much I wanted to take including small gifts for my future students.