Starting in October I will be joining Projects Abroad to spend 4 weeks volunteering on a Social Work project in Vietnam. I will be working at a local non-profit organization to help vulnerable people such as drug addicts, prostitutes and those with mental health problems.

Social Work is not a extensive job and there are few experienced social workers in Vietnam so my time there will be invaluable to help train other social workers and support staff. My own expertise is through placements at university which will be a lot different to those doing social work in Vietnam, therefore I can share a different insight and provide ideas, implement and evaluate care programmes designed for specific people to complete with those I would be working with and to carry on after I leave. I will also have the to complete while I am there and for those to carry on after the 4 weeks.

This experience will also benefit me and help me understand a different culture and way of life. I look at the time I will spend in Vietnam not only as a way to give back but also as a way to gain a better insight into the world around me. At the end of my project I hope to return with a better understanding of Vietnam and the people that I have interacted with over there. I also believe that the long-term relationships that I hope to make with my Project Abroad and Vietnamese colleagues will be of great value to me as well as them.

I’m choosing to volunteer through an organisation called Projects Abroad. Projects Abroad was established in 1992 as a volunteer English-teaching program in Eastern Europe and has since grown to offer a wide range of opportunities in volunteering, internships, and language courses in over 25 destinations around the globe. I will be joining a community of well over 50,000 volunteers, past and present, that have lent their time and effort to giving back around the world.