Go Vap Orphanage, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

If there is one thing we are used to in Ireland, its rain. But even 26 years of conditioning couldn’t prepare us for the heavens that opened as we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City. It is rain like you see in movies, rain that floods streets in minutes and soaks you to the bone in seconds. Also, unlike Irish rain that comes at you sideways in icy stabs, Vietnamese rain is warm!

In fairness, the rain is biblical and the thunder and lightning storms are literally electric, but they only last for an hour or two and the rest of the days are quite lovely... once you acclimatise to the humidity. 

This is Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, in October, coming into the end of its wet season.

While most backpackers head straight to District 1 (while making jokes about the Hunger Games), Karen and I took a detour and were set for a very different experience in the Go Vap District. A Vietnamese friend of ours had kindly arranged for us do some volunteer work at Go Vap Orphanage. He also provided us with some invaluable information for arriving to Ho Chi Minh City – only use Vinasun and Mai Linh taxies as others will rip you off, and for godsake be careful crossing the road!

Even still, nothing can prepare you for the traffic. Apparently there are 37 million motorbikes in Vietnam but in HCMC alone it felt like there was more. They are everywhere, going in every direction and more than likely carrying something they shouldn’t be. I have seen entire generations of families on one moped, a man driving while holding a door, another man driving holding a windscreen and countless women driving with tiny babies on their laps – nothing surprises anymore.

Thankfully we arrived to Go Vap in one piece and stayed in Hon En Hotel close to the orphanage, which is cheap, run by a lovely family and just what we needed for a few days.

It sounds dramatic to say, but the next few days genuinely changed my life. We spent just under a week working with the amazing carers in Go Vap Orphanage who look after 280 children. The majority of these children have special needs, while the rest are perfectly healthy little babies and toddlers. All of them are equally capable of stealing your heart.

When we first arrived we met the inspirational lady who runs the orphanage and were taken to the Baby Room. It is lined with cots and there are, as you would expect, babies everywhere. However, there was no crying and no chaos and the place was spotless.

After lunch and a nap (which happened everyday while the kids all slept) a lovely American volunteer named Sarah showed us around the rest of the orphanage. I don’t feel it fitting to go into details but suffice to say that some of the wards were hard to see. I can’t commend the carers and volunteers enough who spend their days with some very sick children.

Karen and I were assigned to divide our time between the babies and the toddlers. We started work at 8am wherever we were needed, usually helping to feed the babies and being there to give them a cuddle when they woke up.

Afternoons were mostly spent in the toddler room, entertaining a room full of tiny tots who were mad to play but craved nothing more than to sit on your knee and have your attention.

The older kids were always waiting for us to arrive to their floor, to take us by the hand and show us around. Or just to sit beside us and take some selfies!

It was extremely hard to leave Go Vap and the children behind. There are so many little faces and personalities that I will never forget, and one little girl in particular that broke my heart to leave behind. Seeing two little girls get adopted and meet their new families in the time we were there made it easier, as does knowing how well they are looked after. I cannot stress enough how kind and admirable the orphanage director and carers are. They treat the volunteers like family, and truly love the children they look after like mothers. It is an experience that will stay with us forever, and planted Vietnam warmly in our hearts.

I would wholeheartedly recommend volunteering in Asia as there are so many worthwhile causes. It somehow makes you feel closer to the place you are staying too as you get a sense of the people and the real culture, not just what the tourists see.

Unfortunately, I have heard some less than pleasant stories from other travelers who intended to volunteer in orphanages in Vietnam and Cambodia. Generally, you should never have to pay an orphanage to volunteer there and the only expense should be your food and accommodation. They should also be reluctant to let you volunteer there for just one day. As long as you make sure to research a project and the host before you sign up, volunteering will be a huge highlight of your travels.

Next Stop: District 1, Ho Chi Minh City