GRIP, Internships Abroad An Internship of Flexibility

Friends for Street Children - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

If I could describe Vietnam in one word it would be: flexible. The flexibility of calling motorbikes through three different transportation services and swiveling through the obstructed maze-like roads– unregulated, unquestioned. The flexibility of making dinner plans with your friends and coworkers through the flick of a message on Whatsapp minutes before. Then there’s the flexibility at many workplaces in Vietnam, presenting high decibels of laughter down to moments of tiny clicks of the keyboard–not knowing whether the workers are focused or just eavesdropping. Companies’ lunch breaks are typically 1.5 hours long–30 minutes to eat and the rest of the hour to nap. Vietnamese people really do prioritize a work-life balance, believing that workers could relax as long as they get the work completed in time. In comparison to the work ethic in America–the constant run to complete the seemingly endless marathon without time to catch a breath, drink some water–this unconventional work ethic of flexibility has brought forth new perspectives to me.

In particular, flexibility is at the heart of my interning organization, Friends for Street Children. As a nonprofit organization, FFSC works to provide education, health, and shelter care for street children across Ho Chi Minh City. The organization mainly develop these services through the help of volunteers, interns, and generous donors who are passionate about the cause. My main intern role is the Communication chair of Back2School Project, raising funds to provide school supplies for all of the street children in FFSC in the next academic year. In addition, I had the opportunity to explore and create independent projects to work directly with the kids. As a nursing student, I knew I wanted to focus on hygiene and public health awareness. Research has shown that there is still a lack of proper education about sanitation and hygiene among children in Vietnam; particularly those impoverished have little to no knowledge of the importance of hygiene, leading to the early onset of infectious diseases and mortality. To prevent child mortality and increase awareness of sanitation, I worked with FFSC to develop hygiene classes in each of the primary care centers–from making the lesson plan, scheduling, to teaching the kids on topics like handwashing, toothbrushing etc.

In retrospect, I definitely did not expect to have this unique opportunity going into the internship. It was the flexibility of the organization that provided the space for me to accomplish this remarkable feat. I am proud to say that though my teaching may have been amateur, I can confidently say that FFSC children could properly wash their hands and brush their teeth now on their own. And that’s social impact at its finest.