VPVS - Orphanage 2: Ky Quang Pagoda

THEME/TYPE OF PROJECT: Teaching English and/or taking care for orphan children AIMS OF THE PROJECT: In teaching, we aim to provide English language speaking environment for children to practice and improve their confidence in using a foreign language in communication. In caring, we aim to bring a better social life for the children. PROJECT’S ACTIVITIES: Ky Quang Pagoda is located at Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City. The travel time is about 1hour and 15 minutes by bus, more or less depends on traffic situation. Ky Quang Pagoda was built in the early part of the 20th Century in 1924 and is relatively famous in Ho Chi Minh City. The pagoda is now a place of charity for unlucky children and a traditional medicine clinic for local residents. The Pagoda Orphanage was founded and is run by the ‘Bonze Thich Thien Nhan’. It has 35 staff members who stay at the Pagoda to take care and bring up these orphans. The operation funding mainly comes from local benefactors, social organizations and international volunteers and visitors. The children here have unfortunate backgrounds; many have been abandoned by their parents and relatives, babies are often found at the front gate of the pagoda and then taken in. Sometimes, the head monk receives phone calls from hospitals requesting him to take in deserted babies amongst other situations. At the moment, about 200 children and adults are living in the Pagoda, their ages ranging from 5 days old to 40 years old. There is a day care-room that includes 35 disabled children at this moment suffering in particular from cerebral palsy, blindness or Down's syndrome. Here, they are fed with lunch and dinner, played and interacted with, sleep and receive some therapy during the day. In the evening and night, they sleep in different rooms with other orphaned children with a mother figure who looks after them. - At present, about 30-40 local children have a chance to study at Ky Quang as some local teachers teach Vietnamese for them in the morning. There are three main activities for volunteers: - Teach English to 15 primary pupils (9 to 13 years old) - Play with 30 children in the kindergarten (3 to 8 years old) - Give physical therapy to 35 disabled children (of different ages). The children here have very various backgrounds. Some are physically or mentally disabled, some are blind or suffer from Down Syndrome, some are Agent Orange victims during the Vietnam War, some are orphans, and the others come from poor medicine clinic for local residents. The Pagoda Orphanage was founded and is run by the ‘Bonze Thich Thien Nhan’. It has 35 staff members who stay at the Pagoda to take care and bring up these orphans. The operation funding mainly comes from local benefactors, social organizations and international volunteers and visitors. The children here have unfortunate backgrounds; many have been abandoned by their parents and relatives, babies are often found at the front gate of the pagoda and then taken in. Sometimes, the head monk receives phone calls from hospitals requesting him to take in deserted babies amongst other situations. At the moment, about 200 children and adults are living in the Pagoda, their ages ranging from 5 days old to 40 years old. There is a day care-room that includes 35 disabled children at this moment suffering in particular from cerebral palsy, blindness or Down's syndrome. Here, they are fed with lunch and dinner, played and interacted with, sleep and receive some therapy during the day. In the evening and night, they sleep in different rooms with other orphaned children with a mother figure who looks after them. VOLUNTEER’S TASKS: There are three type of works for volunteers -Teaching English -Caring (caregiving) for orphan and abandoned children -Caring for disabled children Depend on volunteer’s motivation and the need of project, volunteers will be responsible for either taking control of the English class, taking care of the disabled children, or playing with the orphans in the kindergarten. For teaching, volunteers will work as the main teacher with the support of Vietnamese volunteers in translating and maintaining the class. Volunteers will be required to make lesson plans and prepare the materials to ensure continuity in learning from the teachers before and after them. Although most of students have studied English in the past, it is unlikely they know how to speak and listen properly. Due to this, volunteer’s work should be concentrated on helping students with speaking and listening. Volunteers are expected to teach in the morning or afternoon every weekday, for about 2 hours per day. They can use the rest of their time for the lesson plan or/and in the other areas that need voluntary assistance.