Ten George School students traveled to Vietnam in June to take part in a service project that included working with young children in an orphanage and painting, repairing, and cleaning facilities.

“Many of the students were touched by the hardship cases they saw in the places we visited,” said language teacher Chéri Mellor, who co-led the trip with woodworking teacher Carter Sio ’65. “They learned a lot about the region and its history. They also gained confidence in finishing their projects, particularly in their work at the center in Mai Chau. The extreme heat was daunting, yet they persevered and learned patience.”

While in Vietnam, the students took turns writing blog entries to share their experiences with families and friends. They shared photographs of their home stays with local families, and wrote messages about their work in a village community house, at the Bac Ninh Orphanage, and at Friendship Village, a facility for veterans and others who are victims of Agent Orange.

On June 9, Corin Hopkins ’12 wrote, “And so it begins. The trip of a lifetime... It really makes me happy that a little group from a little school in Newtown, PA, can make such a monumental difference in people’s lives by taking the load off their hard workers for some time.”

On June 10, Carley Rodgers ’12 wrote, “Vietnam cannot be described by what it is but rather who it is. Vietnam is its people and they have opened their hearts and homes to us, as if we were friends not seen for a long time. There are things that happen here that are numbed by the English language and just cannot be expressed. One can only learn of the feeling of Vietnam after becoming a part of Vietnam, and ultimately losing a part of yourself to it.”

And so the blog continues, with tales of eating pho and homemade yogurt and crickets, of being rowed in a river between beautiful limestone mountains in Ninh Binh, of learning about Ho Chi Minh and unexploded landmines, of doing the bamboo dance at a local culture show, of sweating early and often, and of being genuinely moved by what they see.

On June 15 and 16, Mandy Walters ’12 wrote, “Friday was our last work day. Personally, I feel that this project was the best project that we did on this trip. The building that we painted [the community house in the beautiful village of Mai Chau] looks amazing. I’m really happy that we’ve finished our work in Vietnam but I’m also upset because I want to keep going… So far my time in Vietnam has been incredible, uplifting, and difficult. Mai Chau has really made me see why I took the challenge to leave my comfort zone. It gave me assurance that when I leave and go back to America, I’ll always have what I’ve learned here. This place has made me appreciate everything I have so much more.”

The Vietnam service trip was only one of the summer service trip options for George School students. There were also groups in Arizona, Costa Rica, and New Orleans. Students also went on domestic and international service trips during spring break. Other students performed local service throughout the year.

George School requires each student take part in one significant service project of at least sixty-five hours during the junior or senior year. Students can choose to devise an independent project, to engage in local service with an organization such as Woods Services in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, a longtime partner of George School. All service projects must involve face-to-face interaction with members of an underserved community.