VISIONS Service Adventures: Vietnam Program Overview & Recommendation

About Us | Info for Program Directors

Expert Camp & Trip Recommendations
Call 617-264-0939

Choice Camps Recommendation of VISIONS Service Adventures: Vietnam

Since 1989, VISIONS has introduced thousands of teenagers to cultures very different from their own through construction-based and other service projects, adventurous exploration, and on-site cultural immersion. VISIONS works with local organizations and community residents and undertakes a major construction project and other such outreach efforts. Students learn technical skills from staff carpenters or local maestros as they go – no previous experience is required.

While there are opportunities for students to visit historic sites and enjoy fun cultural pastimes, VISIONS participants more often visit places only known to the locals and do things that tourists never get to experience. Travelers can expect to share meals and mingle with locals who live in communities rarely seen by outsiders.

VISIONS gives students the opportunity to mature thoughtfully and reflectively within a community of peers and adult mentors. VISIONS programs are known to have a profound life-long impact on their participants. With cross-cultural learning and friendship is a core focus. Working with and for host communities is a doorway to learning about others' lives in different cultures – an experience that can’t be found anywhere else.

Trip Description

The VISIONS Vietnam service adventure embraces both urban and rural Vietnam: the bustle of historic Hanoi, Hue, Da Nang, and the serene green landscapes of unsurpassed beauty contrasting rice paddies, rolling hills, mountains, and jungles.

VISIONS travelers live at the Thuy An Disabled Children’s Center in the Ba Vi district an hour southwest of Hanoi. By partnering with Volunteers for Peace Vietnam (VPV), VISIONS students aim to improve housing, education, and health care for Vietnamese disadvantaged and disabled by the long-term effects of chemicals used during the war.

By working with locals at the Children’s Center, VISIONS participants help renovate facilities, teach English songs and games to the children, and learn to harvest and cultivate food.

On weekends, VISIONS travelers get to explore the countryside by visiting Hanoi, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, and other regional destinations. Accompanied by VPV volunteers, students travel by train to Sa Pa near the Chinese border while passing ancient villages and rice terraces on the mountainside. During the final week, travelers go to the old capitol of Hue, the citadel and marketplaces, and the DMZ, continuing south to Bach Ma National Park and legendary beaches.

Staff Overview

VISIONS boasts a well-rounded staff typically in their mid-to-late twenties. The minimum age of a VISIONS trip leader is 23, and program directors average 28 years of age. With very few exceptions, program directors are veterans of at least one full VISIONS summer session.

VISIONS leaders are typically returned Peace Corps volunteers, Ph.D. candidates, graduate students, educators, and professionals. The staff retention rate typically surpasses an impressive 55%.

Setting & Accommodations

VISIONS students typically live in small groups of 16-25 campers and 4-6 trip leaders in the heart of host communities. While accommodations vary, none are luxurious – travelers often reside in a community building such as a school, church hall, or community center.

VISIONS travelers can expect to sleep on an inflatable or foam mattress with a sleeping bag or cotton sheets. There are private changing areas and indoor plumbing at all VISIONS sites, but with varying degrees of sophistication.

Because conditions vary by trip, Choice Camps recommends you contact a Personal Camp Expert at 781-519-0209 who can connect you directly with a VISIONS trip coordinator to get the most up-to-date program schedule and living accommodations.

Safety Standards

VISIONS program directors arrive on-site 8-10 days before participants and confirm all local medical facilities and doctors in case of emergency; local medical and emergency facilities are identified well ahead of the summer in annual pre-season planning trips to all VISIONS program locations.

All VISIONS staff members hold current first aid or Wilderness First Aid and CPR certifications – the majority have advanced safety concentrations including Wilderness First Aid and Wilderness First Responder or Wilderness EMT certifications.