Hannah Fraser: Rice and weddings in Vietnam
By Sarah Wiecek
Hannah Fraser, a 19-year-old student from Newcastle, volunteered in a charity cooking house in Ho Chi Minh for two weeks in January and February 2007. Hannah wanted to get involved in an overseas community development project not only to partly gain experience with her university degree in social science, but also to travel and learn firsthand about another culture.
Every morning at 6.30am, Hannah alongside the other volunteers and the workers started bagging rice for disadvantaged people within the community who had relatives in hospital. "Helping people in another country was a rewarding experience in itself and, after work, I also got to go out and see the city," she said. "There are motorbikes and cyclos (Vietnamese rickshaws) everywhere, so you can just hop on and they'll take you wherever you want to go."
Apart from the opportunity to see the countryside, Hannah was invited to a traditional Vietnamese wedding by a local man she met through her voluntary work. Although she didn't know anyone in the wedding party, she saw both the bride and groom getting ready and shared in the celebrations afterwards. "Seeing the wedding was a real experience and it was probably something I wouldn't have been invited to if I was just a tourist."
She also spoke with people who had survived the Vietnam War and insists that one of the best things about working in a country, rather than just passing through it on a holiday, is gaining an in-depth picture of local issues and history.
"Holidays are fine and people talk to you about their relaxing holidays, but volunteering overseas is a real learning experience."
Hannah's advice for people thinking about volunteer travel is to do it! It also helps to know a little bit of the language, which volunteer travel companies such as i-to-i (used by Hannah) can help you with before you leave.
More information
If you would like to get involved with i-to-i, visit www.i-to-i.com
The Centre for Volunteering [ABN 28 002 416 024]
Level 2, 228 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000
T: 02 9261 3600 | F: 02 9261 4033 | E: info@volunteering.com.au
www.volunteering.com.au