By Stephanie Lau
This summer’s study abroad program includes one crucial
component that last year’s did not—service learning. While our
entire group spent our mornings in Hanoi volunteering our time with
the S.O.S. Village together, we were split up into groups of three
to four students and are sent to different sites each day in Ho Chi
Minh City.
Fellow classmates Phuong, Alex and I spent our first morning in
the city visiting a school for street children. The term
‘street children’ is often used to describe both market children,
who work in the streets and markets of cities selling or begging,
but return home to their families at the end of the day and
homeless street children, who work, live and sleep in the streets,
and often lack any contact with their families. Though these
particular kids were not homeless, the majority of them had been
abandoned by their parents, and were currently being taken care of
by their grandparents, who, because of a lack of income, were
unable to support them financially.
The age range for each class was rather large. For
instance, third graders ranged from ten to fifteen years old.
We soon discovered that, as the children’s families were all
poverty-stricken, guardians were unable to pay the money necessary
to send them to school. Although these particular kids were
fortunate enough to finally seek solace at this school run by
volunteers, we were saddened when we found out that most of them
were still not yet given the chance to live normal childhoods but
rather were forced to work out on the streets after school in order
to support their families.
The most surprising thing that I encountered was the students’
positive attitude. Regardless of the fact that they were
forsaken by those most dear to them, that their childhoods were cut
short at such young ages, and they had probably already endured
more pain and suffering than most human beings would in a lifetime,
they were still caring, considerate, happy and appreciative of what
they had.
The experience at the school was truly humbling. It allowed
me to re-evaluate my own priorities and to appreciate the life my
parents provided for me even more. I realized how trivial and
insignificant my problems were in comparison to theirs, and I made
a pact with myself to no longer give them anymore of my precious
time. I agreed to fully enjoy my diminishing time here in
Vietnam and to not let the little things get me down anymore.