Volunteer in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Our volunteer program in Vietnam based in Ho Chi Minh City has received fantastic feedback from our volunteers. We have several volunteering projects available and with our program you are able to get involved in different projects. This will give you a unique and worthwhile experience during your program. Whether you are on a short term volunteering vacation, a career break or a gap year abroad, our affordable volunteer program in Vietnam is a great choice!

Click here to see a video of one of our volunteers Andre during our program.

Our program in Vietnam is based in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. Ho Chi Minh City is the heart and soul of Vietnam. It's the largest city in the country and the economic center. Vietnam's bustling largest city sets the cultural and economic pace for the country. The city's charming French colonial architecture and wide boulevards are a great location for your meaningful travel experience!

The Program

Our Volunteer Program in Vietnam is a unique experience! During the program you will be involved in different projects. We have 7 projects available in Ho Chi Minh City :

shelter for street children
This is a shelter for street children in the center of Ho Chi Minh City. The charity provides accommodation, education, recreational activities and opportunities for street children and orphaned children so they can get a job when they grow up and go back home to integrate with their own families or build their own live. There are 20 children at this shelter from the age of 6 years old. This project is very popular with our volunteers. The staff is very friendly and the kids are just wonderful!

soup kitchen
This is a charity in Ho Chi Minh City which provides free food to poor people at hospitals for cancer patients. They prepare and distribute up to 2000 meals per day.

shelter for blind children
This charity was established 15 years ago and there are there are more than 20 blind children who live here. The children are both boys and girls and are aged from 6 to 20 years old. The charity provides support and education to the children.

school for children with special needs
There are many activities for volunteers at this school such as taking care of the children, teaching English, classes in drawing and playing games with the children. Your efforts will have a great impact on the children’s lives as you help contribute to their overall development. The children are very welcoming and very sweet!

thanh tam charity for pregnant women
This is a charity providing shelter, food and career support for misfortune pregnant girls who can stay at this project until they give birth to their child. After that, they can continue to stay here if they want for some time. There are many cases of young girls or women who get pregnant without getting support from the father of the child and in many cases their family does not want to support them either as they are pregnant whilst not being married.

school for deaf children
This school helps and provides education to deaf children in Ho Chi Minh City. The school has about 130 deaf students from 3-22 years old.

orphanage for children with disabilities & agent orange victims
The Orphanage for children with disabilities and agent orange cares for abandoned children with mental or physical disabilities and agent orange victims and helps to educate them to the fullest extend of their capabilities, both physical and intellectual, and to help them, as much as possible, towards independent living. There are about 400 children at the orphanage.

Click here to see a video from one of our volunteers at this project

Your individual program will be organized based upon your preferences, skills & areas of interest and the needs of the projects. If you only want to work in one project then that is fine, just let us know.

We offer great flexibility to our volunteers. Our volunteer program in Vietnam starts on any date of your choice throughout the year.

Program Requirements

The minimum age for joining the program is 17.

There are no specific qualifications needed to join the program in Vietnam . However, volunteers are expected to be flexible and patient as well as possess a passion and love for children

Accommodation

We have our own Homebase Volunteer House for our volunteers in Ho Chi Minh City. Our homebase is near the center of Ho Chi Minh City. It is a large 4 floor building where volunteers stay, sometimes sharing a room with other volunteers. The house has several bedrooms with cable tv and air-conditioning in every room, a living room, a kitchen for our volunteers to cook and a roof garden. There is free wireless internet when you bring your laptop!

This is a great place where volunteers can get to know each other and share their experiences. If you want our coordinator can also teach you some Vietnamese cooking!

Click here for pictures of our Homebase.

Volunteer Activities

There are different activities available for our volunteers at our projects. You can focus on one type of volunteering activity or combine activities such as taking care of children and working at the soup kitchen for example.

Teaching English : One of the volunteer activities is teaching English. The level of English of the children is mostly basic to lower intermediate so no teaching experience is required.

Working with Disabled Children : Volunteers can talk/play with the children, help the physiotherapists when they do the therapies for the children, help feed the children and take them on their wheel chairs for a walk in the orphanage’s front garden.

Soup Kitchen : You will help in the food preparation and the cutting of vegetables. You can also join the delivery of the food to the poor. The volunteers at the project prepare around 2000 meals per day and deliver them by hand to poor people around the city.

Taking Care of Children : Volunteers offer valuable support and education to the children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. You will offer support to the children whilst being a positive role model for the children. You can also become involved in a variety of activities including outdoor activities, helping with their homework and playing with the children.

No volunteer or teaching experience is needed. The main requirements needed are flexibility, enthusiasm and a willingness to help. You can also teach special skills that you might have such as art or music.

Schedule

We offer great flexibility to our volunteers. Our volunteer program in Vietnam starts on any date of your choice throughout the year. You can join the program from 1 week up to 24 weeks.

The program starts with your pickup from the airport. Your Coordinator will pick you up from the airport and take you to your our homebase volunteer house. Here you can relax from your journey and check your emails using our free WIFI internet. Your schedule will be individually organized and we offer flexibility if you want to make changes whilst you are in Vietnam. Just let your coordinator know of anything you need and she will be happy to help.

Example of a Volunteer Weekly Schedule

The WLS Coordinator in Vietnam is Ms Hang.

Our Projects in Ho Chi Minh City

Click here for more info on our projects
Click here for more pictures of the program
click here for more testimonials

Download our PDF Brochure