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9.It's not Goodbye...

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So my time volunteering for CHIA has sadly come to an end and it's really been a truly amazing experience in so many ways that I did not expect.  Whilst I hope I've achieved my aim to provide some guidance and support, they have also given me so much. I've learnt a lot about how a charity is organised.  Funding in the not-for-profit sector is obviously very much a constant concern, and in the two weeks I worked at CHIA it was so heartening to hear of all the volunteer applications, organisations that get in touch out of the blue wanting to fund-raise, and all the people that are just interested in the great work they do and become such generous benefactors.   My volunteer certificate from CHIA will take pride of place in my home. I've had a taster for the local life, with hopefully a better appreciation of working for a different country and their culture and being more mindful for the things one might take for granted. I was privileged to be invited to people's h
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8.Xmas for the CHIA children, and the grown up children too!

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Xmas is not a bank holiday for Vietnam, however there are decorations and seasonal tunes blasting out from the shops everywhere!  A hotel group arranged a dinner party for CHIA children and their families, complete with a balloon artist, magician, Santa (one of our own volunteers Peter that all the children recognised!)  and a traditional dragon dance, and I was happy to be invited, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed!  Earlier in the afternoon a backpacker hostel decided to hold a Santa run for CHIA and 30 people signed up, although with the heat and the free shots there was more walking or hitching a motorbike ride than running but the thoughts, laughs and funds raised are what counts.
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7.Village visit to a sponsored family

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It was my second week with CHIA and I was pleased to be invited to visit another family, this time in a village some 30km out of town.  So it was a rather exhilarating motorbike ride in the rain, laden with Christmas and Tet holiday gifts and winter essentials bought on behalf of overseas sponsors, who had seen the poor conditions in the villages and had asked to sponsor a girl, and generously decided to actually sponsor two sisters!  A toilet has also been made for the family too, and medicines have been bought for their brother who suffers from asthma, and inhalers are very expensive and unaffordable on the income the father gets selling snails in the market.  I recorded a blog below that tells a little more about the family and shows where they live.  The look of gratitude and joy on all of the family's faces was just priceless.
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6.Expat stories, life in Vietnam

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I have met lots of expats during my stay at various events including a couple of pub quizzes (won one, lost one!) and fundraising evenings for CHIA, some with a connection as volunteers there.  It was interesting to hear stories ranging from the semi-retired to those with young children, some learning the Vietnamese language and the complexities of its many characters and alphabets!  Also internet hubs springing up where people work remotely for companies across the world.  There is clearly a lot to be said about the leisurely pace of life with welcoming locals who treat you like their own family, delicious organic food (albeit laced with sugar!) and the beaches aren't too far away to be enjoyed outside the rainy season!
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