Flying to Vietnam with Happiness: NCU International Volunteers Heading Southbound for Service Learning
The NCU international volunteer team headed to Sa Dec City in Vietnam to carry out their first mission in 2018. Since the city has never visited by any international volunteer teams before, the student volunteers from NCU were particularly welcomed by the local government and volunteers.
Since the number of Taiwanese new immigrants had increased year by year in Taoyuan, and NCU held the faith to make contributions to the society, NCU decided to cultivate international volunteers who would do voluntary service in Southeast Asian countries. Moreover, NCU provided Overseas Chinese students or international students with the opportunities to return to their hometowns and contribute to the society. At the end of 2017, the Division of Service Learning thus supported students to establish the “NCU International Service Learning Volunteer Team,” setting a new milestone for NCU overseas volunteers.
To train the student volunteers to have the right attitude of engaging in service learning, cultivate them to have service skills, and build up their confidence, the Division of Service Learning arranged a four-month domestic service training in the “Taiwan New Immigrant Germination Association.” for the student volunteers. In addition, the student volunteers took Vietnamese courses. It showed their sincerity of going to Vietnam to do voluntary service. With a series of training courses, the student volunteers could discover their interests. Moreover, the most important thing was that student volunteers learned how to respect, tolerate, and love each other, making the voluntary service more complete.
“Among Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam is the country that had been influenced most profoundly by Chinese culture throughout the history. What’s more, the dietary habits of the Vietnamese are similar to those of the Chinese. We hope that the cultural exchange can make students have international perspectives, strengthen their self-identities, and be curious about new knowledge,” said Dr. Pay-Liam Lin, the Dean of Student Affairs of NCU.