Vietnam & Cambodia Volunteer Community Services

Vietnam & Cambodia Service Learning Volunteer Community Work

  I have been presented with an opportunity alone with my social work peers from Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) to travel abroad to Vietnam and Cambodia to practice global social work. Recently, Vietnam just recognized social work as a practice in their country. This trip studying abroad with fellow social work students from Hawaii and Vietnam would give me an opportunity to support, encourage and practice global social work community paradigms. Also, I will be able to exploit and compare culture-specific social work, study, experience, explore language immersion, sample individualized community values, beliefs and methods in the field while staying self-aware and other aware. Over the past few months my peers and I have conducted fundraisers to help each of the organizations we will be assisting in Vietnam and Cambodia. However, we must now raise funds for ourselves to attend this trip, books, and this is a part of our academic social work course therefore, we must also absorb the cost of the tuition. Hence, this is neither a vacation nor free trip.

HPU Serving Global Communities

We will be walking or cycling (up to 10 miles a day) through Vietnam and Cambodia daily to do Service Learning Volunteer Community work while utilizing generalized practice social work. Starting in the community of Khmer Village donating needed items (we collected and brought from the U.S.) and working (International Social Work) with the disabled children in the orphanages. Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) built a restroom and bike racks last year. We will go to Da Phuoc Primary School to do repairs and updates on the restroom and bike racks. Over the three weeks are there as volunteers we can expect to do work and tasks including light construction work(building, painting, carrying of supplies, removing debris, load and unload materials, dig trenches, fill holes and other duties), farming in the villages(digging, planting rice and other, shift irrigation systems, irrigate fields, planning, tilling, planting, fertilizing, cultivating, spraying, and harvesting). Also, we will work with the college students on various projects sharing social work practice theories and strategies. We will apply strategies and theories in a response to changing social, economic, and political and socio- economic well-being of people. I will immerse local culture and global culture while utilizing generalist perspective and advance social work methodology with all client populations.

  A Little About Me 

    I am a Masters level Social Work student and a cancer survivor. I chose Social Work because I enjoy assisting and being part of positive solutions to issues and problems. I am most fulfilled when I have made a substantial and direct positive impact on persons live such as empowering, motivating or assisting or advocating for someone in need. I feel making a contribution for positive change to my or surrounding communities should be of great concern to everyone. I see an incredible need for improved social service programs, housing and accessibility to resources in the community, so that people have self-determination not eventually be failed by our society and become victims of the judicial system. I value good health, achievement, education, positive change and success. I value spending time with my family and friends; having a healthy work-life balance is important to me – with personal time to read, learn and grow. I learn from my mistakes and life’s experiences. I believe in treating others with the same respect that I deserve. This trip will be a huge blessing, a dream come true and has been goal on my academic plan. I will have integrity, be respectful of their culture, and be competent and ethical at all times. Most importantly, I will learn to become the most abiding Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) that I can be according to National Association of Social Workers (NASW). This trip will be a major building block toward me achieving my long-term goal of founding and operating a community based Domestic Violence Transitional Home for women and children. Please assist me in reaching this goal and obtaining my LCSW.

Thank You in Advance, Be Blessed, Sincerely, Lee Grant