Nancy Vered’s Story

Nancy Vered went to Vietnam as a Leave for Change participant in 2010.

I volunteered in Vietnam as a Curriculum Advisor at Hai Phong Community College. Hai Phong is a vibrant port city located 140 kms east of Hanoi, at the gateway to Halong Bay, the picture postcard body of water famous for its thousands of limestone formations that jut from the sea. The community college, spread across three campuses, is a training ground for approximately 15,000 students in the areas of hospitality, accounting, and various trades and management programs.

I spent three weeks working with faculty in the English language programs and reviewing the curriculum with an eye to introducing new teaching methodologies and materials.  While educational institutions in Vietnam battle with low budgets, crumbling facilities, overcrowding in the classrooms, lack of training and development, and outdated curricula, the country is enthusiastically undergoing dynamic changes to bring its education system into the modern and global arena.

My work helped the college administration analyze its current needs, advised them on areas for future volunteer assignments, and offered pathways to development of a curriculum that will meet its growing mandate to train the next leaders of Vietnam.