Ngan collects rubbish in the neighbourhood with her family on Saturday mornings.

Volunteer work among Vietnamese students

Hue, 17 years old: Being able to make a difference in the lives of people is a wonderful thing to me. That's why I take part in volunteer work. I've been a volunteer for over three years. Once or twice a week, usually on weekends, I teach English and Math to poor children in Long Bien district. My friends and I also encourage other people to donate books to them. We also tutor some young children who can't go to school.

Ngan, 13 years old: My family spends one Saturday morning a month collecting rubbish or planting trees in our neighbourhood. We are not forced or paid to do it, but we enjoy it. In our village, most families volunteer to do this once a month. We cook and give food to patients in some hospitals. My parents also donate their blood once or twice a year to help sick people. At the end of each year, people in my village raise money for poor and homeless people. We love helping others.

Hue loves to make a difference in the lives of people.

He finds voluntary work unpleasant.

They will also help bridge the (13) between generations.

Many families in Ngan's village do volunteer work.

Read the passage, and then choose the best answers.

Each country has many good people who take care of others. For example, some of students in the United States often spend many hours as volunteers in hospitals, orphanages or homes for the elderly. They read books to the people in these places, or they just visit them and play games with them or listen to their problems.

Other young volunteers go and work in the homes of people who are sick or old. They paint, clean up, or repair their houses, do the shopping. For boys who don’t have fathers,

there is an organization called Big Brothers. College students and other men take these boys to basketball games or on fishing trips and help them to get to know things those boys usually learn from their fathers.

Each city has a number of clubs where boys and girls can go and play games. Some of these clubs show movies or hold short trip to the mountains, the beaches, museums, or other places of interest. Most of these clubs use a lot of students as volunteers because they are young enough to understand the problems of younger boys and girls.

What do volunteers usually do to help those who are sick or old in their homes?

Where don’t students often do volunteer work?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer for each blank.

Young people can bring enthusiasm, energy, creativity and flexibility to an organisation. If your organisation works (12) young people, in any way, young volunteers can add value to your services by bringing a youth perspective through new ideas, theories and knowledge. They will also help bridge the (13) between generations. Engaging with young people also allows your organisation to (14) for the future and help to prevent your volunteer base from shrinking over time, as the ageing of the (15) begins to affect the ways in which people volunteer. Having young people in your organisation contributes to the future of volunteering and the community - people who start volunteering (16) tend to continue to volunteer for the rest of their lives.

Hue started volunteering when she was 14 years old.

It has been a pleasure to do voluntary work as my hobby. Also, I find it easy to do. I decided to work with patients at home. They need to live normally again. They feel lonely and want to have a chat with someone. They also want to go out with someone, perhaps to do some shopping or just to get some fresh air. It has been great meeting new people in this way. However, it can be difficult to say goodbye to them when it all comes to an end.

I am glad to do voluntary work in this way, and there is something for everyone. I think more people of all ages should do voluntary work if they have free time. Younger people will find volunteering satisfying and fun.

Voluntary work is the writer’s hobby.

What do they help boys whose fathers do not live with them?

He volunteered to look after patients in hospital.

Why do they use many students as volunteers? – Because …

Having young people in your organisation contributes to the future of volunteering and the community - people who start volunteering (16) tend to continue to volunteer for the rest of their lives.

Ngan's family doesn't like volunteering.

Patients at home feel lonely because no one talks to them.