Nghi Luc Song (Kaya Responsible Travel) - Vietnam

Final Report: Will to Live Center (Nghi Luc Song), Kaya Responsible Travel – Vietnam

I completed a summer 2021 remote internship with the Will to Live Center (WLC), or Nghi Luc Song, which is based in Hanoi, Vietnam. I worked with Kaya Responsible Travel to secure this internship placement and received funding from the University of Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute to participate in the program. I was also supported by the ABROADER team based in Vietnam, which partners with the Kaya team to provide cultural opportunities. The WLC, works to provide accessible education to people with disabilities and support social inclusion. The center focuses on providing education services for people with disabilities through specific training classes, developing soft skills, guiding employment opportunities, and promoting social initiatives. Since I am a political science and global affairs major with a concentration in Global Asia and a minor in education, this host organization offered a unique intersection of my interests in education and Asia.

For eight weeks, I worked for the WLC with my supervisor. Through a shared Google Drive, I edited many grant proposals and reviewed the website to revise the “Stories of Hope” and “News and Events” sections. I also created lesson plans for the English curriculum with supplementary Kahoot quizzes, worksheets, and videos. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic prevented WLC classes from running as scheduled, I had the opportunity to work with two students on a weekly basis for one-hour lessons to practice English. I believe I was fairly successful at this organization and my supervisor expressed gratitude and satisfaction with my quality of work. She described me as motivated, flexible, and adaptable and remarked that my editing work was of “advanced quality” and done in an efficient manner. She requested to remain in contact past the internship duration should there be any other crucial documents that need editing. Both my supervisor and the representative from ABROADER, offered to write me a letter of recommendation upon request in the future. 

Before beginning this internship, I had hoped to develop practical skills in supporting NGOs through the fundraising process, learn about how non-profits function on a daily basis, and gain direct teaching experiences. From my time interning with the WLC, I have grown in all these areas, overcome challenges, and learned more than I first anticipated. Through editing grant proposals, I balanced attention to detail with holistic review as I worked to complete these tasks in an efficient manner. Lesson planning allowed me to be creative with planning English as a second language (ESL) activities. Meeting with my students helped me to better understand how others learn English – I also enjoyed learning more about Vietnamese culture and the Dream Seed Center through their stories.

 COVID-19 presented its fair share of challenges yet also strengthened my communication and problem-solving skills. The time zone difference quickly developed my organizational skills as I worked hard to keep track of meetings with plenty of follow-up emails and check-ins via Zalo. Despite screen fatigue and late work hours on U.S. time, I practiced productivity, efficiency, and time management. Due to the pandemic in Vietnam, the WLC was not able to run in-person classes as they first expected. As a result, there were no active classes in session during the summer so it seemed there would not be a way for me to have any active teaching experience. However, both my supervisors from the WLC and ABROADER asked me to work with students individually and work on creating an English curriculum with resources for future classes of students. This task seemed very daunting at first, but asking questions prompted resources from ABROADER and clear communication from my supervisor helped to clarify this task. In addition, it seems impossible to truly learn about another culture from halfway across the world. Yet the opportunities provided by Kaya Responsible Travel made this a possibility for me. Through the culture series, I learned about Vietnamese cuisine, work culture, business in Vietnam, and met Vietnamese university students who participated in the local buddy program. Through Zoom meetings, individual buddy chats, and a group chat on WhatsApp, I was able to have a cultural exchange experience despite the physical distance. We learned about different aspects of our cultures through sharing of music, cooking recipes, virtual tours of cities, and virtual games organized by the local buddies.

Overall, I learned a lot about what is important to me when searching for a career/company and how I work with others, especially in a remote or unfamiliar setting. The subject/mission statement of a company or non-profit is important in making my work feel meaningful. Contact with people is crucial in forming connections between my work and real-life issues; working with students is something I really enjoy as well. I strive to be personable, hardworking, and dependable in work environments; clear communication and regular feedback establishes healthy professional relationships. In the future, I want to seek out similar opportunities to work with non-profits like the WLC which meet a real need in the world and promote equality of educational opportunities.