LO6 – Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance.

The initial phase of project week was probably the most successfully we were able to achieve things as a group. We had grouped together based on our passion for pertinent global issues such as sexual abuse and women’s rights. We wanted to create tangible change and distance ourselves from the detrimental aspects of voluntourism. This was why we researched multiple organisations within the region to volunteer at while also considering some which would have existing relationships with the school. We felt that by choosing an organisation with this foundational relationship, we would create more sustainable and long-lasting change: perhaps future project week groups could go there too.

This was why we ultimately settled on volunteering at “The Little Rose Shelter” in Ho Chi Minh City. The NGO supports and cares for young girls who have been exposed to sexual abuse or human trafficking in some way. For a week, we hoped to engage in recreational activities with these girls while also providing some sort of donation out of our budget for the trip. As a group, we realised that Ho Chi Minh was a place a lot of groups wanted to go to. Since we cared deeply for this issue, we worked quite effectively together (by dividing up the work) to write up a proposal that we were proud of.