Ho Chi Minh:
ELI helps provide volunteers to assist with an orphanage in Saigon that caters specifically toward children that have developmental disabilities and have been otherwise abandoned or underprovided for. Volunteers work with the center to do everything from planning day-to-day activities to basic physical therapy, games with the children, and basic chores in the orphanage. Experience with physical or occupational therapy is helpful, but not required.

Dalat:
In Vietnam, as in many developing countries, children with disabilities are often marginalized or simply rejected from their families and the community. ELI helps provide volunteer teachers and assistants to a center in the Dalat region that specifically caters to autistic and deaf children. Volunteers work with the center to do everything from planning day-to-day activities to teaching English and helping with daily chores. Experience working with autistic or deaf children is helpful but not required.

Mekong Delta:
The Mekong Delta, called the "Nine Dragon Delta" in Vietnamese, is one of the most densely populated regions of Vietnam. The Mekong River spreads across the plains and splits into hundreds of tributaries before emptying into the sea, creating rich, productive soil which produces most of Vietnam's rice and fruit. Towns in this region float on rivers or stand above the flood plain on tall stilts. Most people living in the Mekong Delta are agricultural workers. The labor intensive process of producing rice leaves parents very little time to spend with their young children to provide them with the education needed outside school. Volunteers will work at a center started by a local priest to give the children of Cai Mon a safe place to stay while their parents are working as well as provide early childhood education. Volunteers will teach English, lead activities, and spend time with the children. The center has the goal of providing the children in this small town with the same educational advantages that children growing up in the big cities have.

Cap St. Jacques:
Despite the fact that the fishing industry in Vietnam is one of the largest, providing much of the food for the country, fishermen are generally poor and occupy a comparatively low level in society. As a result, the children of the fishermen are often unable to attend public schools as they are unable to pay the tuition fee. Volunteers in Cap St. Jacques help provide education for the children of families in the fishing industry, as well as for other disadvantaged children in the region. Cap St. Jacques is a tourist area and volunteers have the opportunity to spend plenty of time relaxing on the beach in addition to their volunteer placement.

Hanoi:
A tragic legacy of the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s is the millions of people affected by Agent Orange. Between 1961 and 1971, the US military dumped millions of gallons of herbicide nicknamed Agent Orange on Vietnam. The defoliant released dioxins into the environment causing massive health problems in exposed populations. Many of the victims are small children whose parents were exposed to dioxin, suffered chromosomal damage, and gave birth to children with birth defects. We work with organizations committed to helping the victims of Agent Orange. These organizations area home to the children and provide medical care. Volunteers in this program will assist in providing day to day care to the children, lead activities for the children, and assist the center staff with tasks around the center.

Ho Chi Minh:
While there are government health programs available in Vietnam, the vast majority of the poor and underprivileged in Ho Chi Minh City are unable to access them for a variety of reasons, whether financial or practical. The gaps are filled in primarily by charity clinics which are supported by churches and charities and are staffed by volunteers. ELI helps to provide volunteers and interns to work at one of these clinics. Volunteers will shadow a doctor and assist in any way that doctor requests. For many participants, this is primarily a medical shadowing placement, with hands on experience only to the degree the doctor feels comfortable with their experience and knowledge. Working in the clinic is ideal for self-starters and highly motivated volunteers. While the doctors mostly speak English, issues of a language barrier and cross-cultural interactions provide unique challenges for participants and are a great way to build skills necessary to work in the medical field in any country.

Participants in this program must be either medical students or a professional in the health care field.

Da Lat:
In the Lam Dong province in the highlands of central Vietnam, there are many different rural ethnic and tribal groups that have lived there for centuries. The K’ho, Bana, Juru, and others all live off the land, in the same way they have for generations. As a result of this simple life and their location, which for the most part works well, they often are unable to receive medical services and do not have education in personal and public hygiene. Volunteers with this program work with an organization that travels to these villages teaching about public health issues and providing basic medical services. The organization also provides medicine and children’s education in a central location. Participants will help examine and treat sick people, assist with education programs for children and adults, and may be asked to assist with English language lessons for the nuns who run the program.

Hanoi:
The Vietnamese economy is improving but not for everyone. The gap between the rich and poor and rural and urban is continuing to increase. The people have realized that getting a good job and having a better life may depend on the ability to speak English. Volunteers can teach English to a wide variety of students eager to learn the now universal language. Volunteers can work with primary school students in both rural and urban areas, an ongoing community English development program, or with adults from marginalized groups such as ethnic minorities, school dropouts, sex workers, and people living with HIV/AIDS.

Ho Chi Minh City:
ELI helps provide teachers to assist with a school in Saigon that caters specifically toward children that have developmental disabilities. The school works to help incorporate the children into the local community and to teach them skills that will allow them to one day enter the workplace. Volunteers work with the school to do everything from teaching classes in English, to planning recreational activities, and doing basic chores for the school. Experience in special education is helpful, but not required.

Ho Chi Minh City:
In Vietnam, pregnant women out of wedlock are highly stigmatized and often abandoned by their families and boyfriends. With nowhere else to go, these women are forced to live in the streets. We work with a shelter that provides meals, education, and a temporary home for single pregnant women as well as single mothers and their children. The shelter works hard to create supportive environment for the mothers and give them the necessary life skills to live independently. The shelter provides vocational training to these women so they can eventually leave the shelter and make it on their own. While the women are in their classes, volunteers assist in caring for the children. The number of children in the center varies, but usually around 40 children live in the shelter. Some of the children have been abandoned by their mothers and now live in the shelter permanently. Volunteers are also welcome to teach basic English classes. Volunteers who speak Vietnamese may be invited to lead workshops for the mothers. Importantly, the role of a volunteer is to spend time with the women and help them regain their self confidence. This program requires at least a four week time commitment.

Hanoi:
Volunteers can work at an organic farm, created in 1993 to promote a harmonious approach to agriculture in areas of environmental and human devastation. Volunteers will join local farmers in planting trees, growing vegetables, and raising fish.