Choose Vietnam and enjoy the country’s numerous sunny beaches, great variety of seafood delicacies, and caves and bays some of which are listed in UNESCO’s World Heritage site. You will meet friendly people greeting you with warm smiles and travel the length and the breath of the country feeling secure and like home. Warm hospitality is one of the trademarks of Vietnam.
Asia Horizon’s Summer Program has been tailored to take advantage of the rich and rewarding experience Vietnam offers. You will explore major tourist destinations and work to offer hope and provide love to destitute children of Vietnam. Our four weeks Summer Program is a captivating experience that many volunteers have found absolutely satisfying. It’s an opportunity not to be missed.
Our 4 weeks Summer Program in Vietnam is divided into three phases:
Phase I: One-week Language Orientation and Cultural Immersion
Phase II: Sixteen days volunteering program with the destitute children in orphanage
Phase III: Five days Exploration of Rural Vietnam
Sample Program Itinerary
One-week Language Orientation and Cultural Immersion in Saigon
Language is the best way to learn any culture, and discovering the culture is the best way to understanding the people. With this in mind, we offer our seven days of Language and Cultural program where you will enjoy learning Vietnamese, experience the culture, the history, the tradition, and take pleasure in getting acquainted with the life style and local cuisine. This is the best introduction you can get about Vietnam.
Day 0: Airport Arrival, pick-up and transfer to a hostel or hotel at Saigon central (approx. 0.5 hour drive)
Day 1: General orientation and informative presentation about Vietnamese life style, culture, customs and others. Take the first Vietnamese lesson
Day 2: Keep studying Vietnamese; then begin exploring city with some unique pagodas, Thien Hau in China town, the most ancient pagoda Giac Lam to look at a Buddhist mass directly because this religious group has affected Vietnamese life style a lot.
Day 3: Continuing discovering Vietnamese language during the morning. After class, you will take a trip in order to experience Vietnam’s past in historical museum, Reunification palace and Hochi Minh finest’s examples French colonial architecture with a visit to the Notre Dame cathedral, Central Post office as well.
Day 4-5: Market trips to the biggest market -Binh Tay, and An Dong- the biggest whole sale one along with Ben Thanh after the class would be chance for you to enjoy originally local people’s daily life and which will be a chance for you to practice your lessons that you have just learnt; in addition to have an honest look into Vietnamese society nowadays.
Day 6: Vietnamese language keeps going; enjoy some free time on City Street at night.
Day 7: End of the lessons, review, evaluation and party.
Two-week village stay working with Destitute Children
Days 8-21: You will explore Vietnamese ways of life by living with warm and welcoming host families in the rural village of Mekong Delta. Your interaction with rural people will enable you learn more about the unique culture of Vietnam. Hike around the nearby areas and interact with villagers. Try to immerse yourself more and you will enjoy and learn more. During this period, you will work in a local school as a English teachers or support local children in a child development center.
Day 22: Free day, washing clothes and visit local market of Saigon and overnight stay in downtown.
Volunteer’s Activities
As an English teacher or a local destitute children supporter in childcare center, you will teach them to speak, and write. You will organize games, plays and if possible lessons on music and dance. Participants can formulate their own plans depending on the need and interest of the young children.
Project Skills
No specific skills and qualifications are required. Volunteers joining English Teaching or Childcare projects should have love and passion for serving poor kids. You need to be flexible, self-motivated with open mind to learn and serve to the people of new culture and religion.
Project Location
You will be working in nearby areas of Mekong Delta. Cuu Long Delta – “nine dragons”- is another name of this place, which provides most of rice and fruits for Vietnam. It is 200 kilometers (approximately 120 miles) far from city central. Mekong Delta is populous and rich soil with a plenty of small rivers and canals, the main transportation is small boat. Mekong Delta is one of the well-known sites. The vast majority of Vietnam’s population is farmers. They toil all day with little financial reward. The government run facilities to educate the children are sometimes not adequately funded or staffed. This is where volunteers can help and contribute.
Five days Exploration of Rural Vietnam
Day 23: In the early morning, checkout of your respective accommodations. Meet a tour guide/group leaders and take Mekong Delta tour. Depart at 8:00am from down town to Cai Be by air-conditioning bus. Have a motorized boat ride to see Cai Be Floating market. Walk around to see orchard, rice paper making, rice crispy producing process, etc. Stop for a rest, taste a Vietnamese lunch including tropical fruits and enjoy Vietnamese traditional music. Boat through a village to see peaceful tranquil of villagers, take a boat trip through some islands and cross Mekong river to Vinh Long. See the making of incense sticks on the way to Chau Doc town. Overnight stay in Chau Doc.
Day 24: Enjoy a row boat trip to visit floating house with cages fish breeding, a village of Cham ethnic minority, Muslim mosque, towel weaving. Visit Lady Chua Xu temple before leaving for Hon Chong. See round a pagoda on grottoes. Contemplate the beautiful sunset in the countryside. Overnight in Ha Tien.
Day 25: Full day free in Ha Tien for sun-bathing and walk around Chua Hang grottoes. Overnight in Ha Tien.
Day 26: Ha Tien to Hon Chong (30km): see Mui Nai beach, a fishing village and Thach Dong cave. Continue on to Can Tho for overnight.
Day 27: 3-hour boat trip to discover the beautiful Cai Rang floating market and its surroundings. Visit a rice husking mill, fruit gardens. Enjoy tropical fruit. See the peaceful life in the rural area. Have lunch in Can Tho before back to Saigon. Stop to visit Vinh Long market. Go across My Thuan suspension bridge. Take a rest at Mekong rest stop in My Tho. Trip ends at Saigon down town. Stay at the same guesthouse in Saigon central for another night.
Day 28: Evaluation of the whole program, farewell and departure.
Program Fee: US $1899 for 4 weeks (including 5 days of travel)
Allocation of your program fee
- Airport pickup and hotel transfer
- Orientation at Vietnam Office
- Food and accommodations (3 meals a day)
- One-way transfer to project
- Thoroughly researched and personalized projects
- Fund Raising Ideas
- Placement visits, and reception
- Project support costs
- Certificate of performance/appreciation
- 24/7 Services of our local staffs
- 24/7 emergency support
Program Fee Excludes
- Airfare, Visa and Visa extension fee
- Daily transportation (between project and host family – If required)
- Return/transfer to airport, airport taxes
- Any personal expenses
- Mineral water and soft drinks
- Gifts to project staffs and host family
- Laundry, Telephone, Immunization
Cancellation Policy
• Cancellation after acceptance and prior to placement confirmation – the deposit is forfeited
• Cancellation after confirmation of placement – 50% of the program fee is forfeited
• No Show or Early Departure from Program – If you notify Asia Horizon of a requested cancellation of a Project on or after the start of the Project Period, no refund whatsoever will be made to you under any conditions or for any reasons100% of the program fee is forfeited.
Note: Program Itineraries are merely samples and may change in accordance with the need of participants and changes in the field condition.
 
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