Earlier this year, YEP Project Vietality offered the students from the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) faculty an opportunity to embark on an OCEP trip to empower and support the people in Tra Vinh Province, Vietnam. With the support of the ECO Vietnam Group (EVG), we had the chance to teach primary and secondary school children, help to construct a community centre, experience housekeeping in a homestay from a foreign country, and immerse ourselves into Vietnamese culture.
Prior to the trip, our team came up with multiple lesson plans in hopes to educate and engage both the primary and secondary school children of Tra Vinh Province. We had a myriad of activities planned for the students while teaching them English, Arts and Craft, and Science etc. During the lessons itself, we tried to engage the students by keeping the lessons light-hearted and fun – one clear example would be the game-ification of our English lessons through playing idiom games, and through this, we were able to teach them frequently used idioms in a simplified manner. In between the classes, there would be break times where we would play sports such as Badminton or Chapteh as a way to encourage movement and allow them to let loose from a tiring day of lessons – as a result, we formed closer bonds with the students and even befriended some of them. One thing we’ve learnt is when interacting with children, we need to be creative and patient, especially with the language barrier. A little bit of patience can go a long way in forming impressionable bonds which could help deepen the relationship between NTU CEE Club and the Vietnamese schools.
As part of the housekeeping duties, we had to maintain the general cleanliness of our hostel and prepare meals together which helped foster a sense of camaraderie amongst us. We took turns washing, cutting and preparing the ingredients used for meal times. We had to also set up and clean our tables before and after every meal, including washing the dishes. It was honestly a fun and new experience for many of us.
On the construction side, our team embarked on a fulfilling mission to construct a local community centre, which aimed to create a convenient space where regular trainings can be provided by EVG to facilitate the upskilling of locals who cannot afford quality education, and give them better means of livelihood. It will also be a place where children can gather to explore learning new subjects beyond their school’s curriculum, expand their knowledge and engage in various extra-curricular activities. The construction process was physically demanding and required hard work, attention to detail, and collaborative effort from everyone involved. We diligently shovelled cement and sand, meticulously laid down tiles in hot, stuffy rooms, carefully sealed them with grout and endured the smell of odourous fumes as we thoroughly glazed the bricks. Through interacting with some of the locals, we learnt that some village children do not have much interaction with their close family members. Some rarely see their parents because they work in the cities such as Ho Chi Minh City and for others, they have long working hours. This realisation underscored the importance of our project – the newly built community centre will help provide a safe and supportive space where the children could meet, talk, step out of their comfort zones, and bond with each other like family. We envisioned the compound to serve as a cornerstone of the community, fostering positive interactions and lifelong learning for children who might otherwise feel isolated or neglected.
Beyond fulfilling our community service, we embarked on a transformative journey through Vietnam’s rich and extensive cultural and historical landscape. We had the amazing opportunity to visit poignant landmarks such as the War Remnant Museum and the Independence Palace. These visits offered a sobering perspective on the nation’s past as we walked through the exhibits, reading about the sombre stories and artefacts that chronicled the nation’s struggles and victories. Through these visits, we gained a profound appreciation for the resilience and indomitable spirit of the Vietnamese locals as their experiences helped extend our understanding beyond the project’s immediate goals and made us gain a deeper respect for the nation’s rich heritage and the complexities of its history.
We also had the opportunity to visit local startups in Vietnam. One of the innovative startup that we had the pleasure of exploring in Tra Vinh Province was Vicosap, which is a pioneering company that specialises in coconut wax products. Their products fixed the problem of the short shelf life of coconut wax products and they were one of the only few Vietnamese companies that shipped their coconut wax product internationally. We were also fortunate enough to sample a diverse range of their products, from tasty coconut candy, crunchy dried coconut crisps to creamy coconut yoghurt. Lastly, we engaged in interactive activities prepared by Vicosap. We attended a factory tour that provided insights into the production process and also played fun team games that helped give us a deeper appreciation for the intricacies involved in the packaging process. In Ho Chi Minh City, we also visited a local startup called Grandma Lu. Grandma Lu is a thriving Banh Mi cafe franchise known for its delicious Banh Mi and beverages. We had the opportunity to make our own Banh Mi, guided by the chefs there on how to craft the perfect one. We were fortunate to hear first-hand from the founder about her inspiring entrepreneurial journey and gained a deeper understanding of the challenges and triumphs involved in launching a successful enterprise.
This project has been a huge eye opener for the team, allowing us to go through many perspective-changing experiences. The way that we were able to forge lifelong friendships and leave a lasting impact on the students of the Vietnam school will always be a key memory to us. OCEP is truly an opportunity that everyone should have the privilege to go through.
This project was an eye opening trip as not only did we learn more about the Vietnamese Culture, we were given the opportunity to engage with the less privileged students and households. It has inspired me to give back more to those that need it.” – Bennett Koay Zi An, Participant (Safety Team)
About Project Vietality
Project Vietality is a brainchild of Students’ Civil and Environmental Engineering Club’s community engagement portfolio. It aims to make a positive impact in the community through overseas service projects that leverage students’ technical expertise in engineering skills and passion for sustainability.
