This year’s Green Summer Campaign has seen great success from international volunteer groups from the US, Japan, Korea and Singapore. Korea in particular had the most volunteers (50) divided between two groups: SK Telecom Young Leaders and Sunny for Students.

The Green Summer Campaign has become popular with foreign volunteers. For Korean youngsters, wearing the green volunteer T-shirts comes with both pride and responsibility.

The first day they arrived in Ben Tre, Korean volunteers were warmly welcomed by local inhabitants. Some children even said hello to them in Korean. Although home-stays in Viet Nam are not as comfortable as in Korea, the visitors were received warmly into a full, familiar atmosphere.

Young volunteers had two responsibilities: building concrete roads and teaching English at a local junior high school. Locals easily recognized them in the streets, giving them friendly smiles, while the Koreans replied by waving or saying Xin chao – hello – and Cam on – thank you.

Korean students impressed locals with their smarts, as they picked up their tasks very quickly from the road workers. Their shirts became quickly spattered with mud, too – sometimes rain suddenly poured down despite the blazing sun. They continued to work regardless, showing their enthusiasm with bright smiles.

Working from 7am to 5pm every day, and then playing with local children until 11pm, they were tired but happy. In their diaries, they wrote about the kindness and team spirit enjoyed between Vietnamese and Korean volunteers.

Hong Yooki from Samyuk University wrote, “I was surprised to see that each person may be small, but when we combined our strength we could build houses. Day after day, I learned that people can find happiness in simple things like waving hello or smiling. I think it is a peaceful place; I even like living here.”

21-year-old Eum So Hui from Hanyang University wrote, “I was a little bit worried whether I could do a good job here. But now I know I made a good decision, because the trip has brought me a once-in-a-lifetime experience… I did not know much about Viet Nam, so I want to thank the Vietnamese volunteers, who helped me a lot. This is the first time I went abroad, the first time I taught English, and the first time I tasted such tropical fruit. These memories are invaluable. The sky is so beautiful in Viet Nam, even when it rains. I believe it is still beautiful during storms. Thank you for the gifts that Viet Nam gave to me.”

After one month staying in Giong Trom and Chau Thanh districts of Ben Tre Province, Korean volunteers built nine compassion houses, two roads and a bridge, and presented gifts worth VND400 million to poor children and families. (VietNamNet Bridge - SGGP)