Blogs from Hoi An, Quảng Nam, South Central Coast, Vietnam, Asia - page 12

Day four as a volunteer/ touter in Hoi An. Was concerned after three days that that was all we would be doing but they came good today. Got to do a few different jobs which makes all the difference. The European looking people are needed to stand outside the shop to attract the tourists who spend the money. Having locals outside tends to scare them off.......unless they're in front of a bar! The shop tends to be just out of the central tourist area so it's doubly important to get the tourists inside the shop/workshop. As promised, I wanted to promote one of the "makers" now and then to give you more of an idea about the charity, Lifestart Foundation, that we are helping. This is Nhung' s story. Nhung was 3 years old when she ... read more

Lifestart Foundation works with incredibly strong and inspirational people every day. While Western culture is progressively breaking down the barriers and celebrating the achievements and abilities of people living with disabilities, there remains a prominent stigma within Vietnamese culture. There are many organizations working with children with disabilities, but few providing relief and opportunities for adults. In the Quang Nam Province, reliable employment and income can be very difficult to attain, and this is only furthered for those living with physical or intellectual disabilities. For many of our beneficiaries, their physical disability heavily hindered their ability to obtain and education, furthering their marginalization within their community. Despite this, and despite the hand of cards that they have been dealt their whole life, our beneficiaries give us hope every day... read more

The saying it "Never rains but it pours " is certainly true for us in Hoi An at the moment. I spent last weekend bunkered down in my room writing a blog, waiting for Super Typhoon Haiyan to hit the Central coast of Vietnam, quietly praying and hoping that it didn't. We were extremely fortunate that Typhoon Haiyan miraculously veered east and missed us. All in Hoi An were very grateful as they were just getting on top of Typhoon Nari that had hit Central Vietnam a few weeks previously. I think we were all looking forward to an uneventful weekend but that wasn't to be. I was woken in the early hours of Saturday morning by my youngest son Sinh telephoning me, he said "' Open the door mum the floods have come!" So with ... read more

Recently I have written about a steady stream of amazing volunteers who have found their way to Vietnam to help us. I describe these hard working people as having hearts the size of a water buffalo!Sheila is another of these selfless people with a heart the size of a water buffalo who came to volunteer for all of the right reasons. She had great enthusiasm and energy and applied herself to all of her volunteering roles with care and professionalism at all times. At my insistence Sheila and Carmen, another of our new volunteers started their integration into the LSF project work slowly. They were both itching to dive in head first but my many years of experience has led me to believe that a slow induction rather than diving into the deep end is best ... read more

Ly is an incredibly talented artisan that has worked with the Lifestart Foundation since 2009. You can read our first blog about Ly's story here. Ly lives with her extended family on Cam Kim Island, and comes into Hoi An to make and sell her products at theurl=http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g298082-d2034120-Reviews-Lifestart_Foundation_Workshop-Hoi_An_Quang_Nam_Province.html Lifestart Foundation Workshop. Ly’s story is one of sad beginnings, but things are looking up for this mother of two.Ly was born into an unstable family, and her mother sadly abandoned her at a very young age. Fortunately, a family on the island adopted Ly and raised her as their own. As is common in most families in the Quang Nam province, poverty provided little opportunities for Ly and her family members.... read more