Our project, 9for9ood (Nine for Good), is an Overseas Community Engagement Project involving volunteers from NTU’s Hall of Residence 9, in partnership with Eco Vietnam Group. The primary aims of our project were to assist in building a community multi-purpose hall and deliver holiday lessons for classes of school-aged children in Tra Vinh Province, Vietnam. Prior to the trip, we spent several months recruiting, planning, and refining the project to ensure that we were able to serve the community in Tra Vinh to the best of our abilities.
The lessons we had planned for the students in Tra Vinh were intentionally designed to develop essential skills that might not be taught in typical school curriculum. These included topics such as presentation skills, teamwork, and leadership, which are valuable skills for the workforce. Though we were there to teach, we were all inspired by the eagerness and fervency to learn displayed by the students in Tra Vinh. They were extremely participative during lessons – raising their hands to answer every question, and putting in their best effort in tasks assigned to them during the lesson.
On the construction end, our team had toiled through the burning sun and heavy equipment to build a Multi-Purpose Hall. It was a steep learning curve for us, as none of our volunteers had done construction before. Though there were professional construction workers present at the site to guide us, we also had to work through language barriers to understand the tasks we were to complete. However, with practice, teamwork and the care and concern from our fellow Niners (and memorising the ratio to make cement), our team managed to ease into the rigor of construction. This experience fostered camaraderie within our team, and taught us to be more appreciative of the hard work that construction workers do daily.
We worked in tandem with local volunteers from Eco Vietnam Group to plan and carry out our community engagement programme. The volunteers were there with us from the very beginning, and stayed with us until the completion of the project. Their advice and friendship was invaluable to the success of the project. Close bonds were forged between the 9for9ood members and the local volunteers as we worked together to host engaging classes. The local volunteers went above and beyond just translating the lessons and helped us to tailor them for the local children to ensure our lessons were effective. Many late nights were spent discussing, not just the next day’s plans, but bonding over good food and shared laughter. More than one tear was shed as we said our goodbyes to the local volunteers, and lifelong friendships were definitely forged over the two weeks we spent together.
This project has been a transformative experience; helping us to gain a deeper, more comprehensive worldview. We were able to experience a different culture in ways we otherwise would not be able to, while developing memorable and valuable friendships – not just with our fellow Niners, but with people from across the globe.
Participating in the 9for9ood project has been an eye-opening and deeply rewarding experience. Working alongside the community in Tra Vinh and witnessing the students’ enthusiasm has inspired me to continue serving and making a positive impact wherever I go. Elizabeth Koh Hui En, 9for9ood Honorary General Secretary
About Project 9for9ood
9for9ood is a student-run volunteering club from Hall 9 in Nanyang Technological University. We are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and dynamic environment for students to give back to the community in meaningful ways. As students in NTU, we aim to use what we have learnt to benefit the community and help each other become more compassionate and global-minded individuals.
