URBAN DOMAIN 2024

Today, we left our homestay in the Mekong Delta and returned to Ho Cho Minh City via boat and bus. On the way, we gained insight into local manufacturing through a visit to a fish sauce factory and a coconut-candy factory. Upon our return to the city, we visited both the famed Bin Thanh and night markets for a shopping expedition.

The students were eager to share their reflections of the transformative time we spent in the Mekong Delta:

• Emma: When we arrived at the Mekong, we visited the construction site for the build, in our visit we met the family and saw their current home. There wasn’t much to it; you could see that they really needed a more stable and reliable place to live. Any form of bad weather would have been extremely damaging to it. We managed to get a lot of work done in the three days we were building and everyone really tried their best to give the family a home they deserve. When we handed the house over, it felt great to see the smile on everyone’s faces. Although the family didn’t speak English you could tell they were extremely thankful.

• Chelsea: The Mekong Delta was incredibly beautiful. Unlike the city, it was peaceful and relatively quiet. The house that we built was nestled in a quiet little village with chickens, dogs and geese. A fish farm, flowing river and forests of banana and palm trees added to the simple and peaceful lifestyle of these people. The owners of the house were welcoming and friendly and it was an amazing feeling to hand over the house after three days of hard work. All of us took turns in cementing, brick laying, brick moving and weaving. Each day was hot and humid which did not make the build any easier, but did make the breaks and meals even more rewarding. The Mekong Delta was the highlight of my trip so far.

• Veronica: The Mekong Delta was a trip of a lifetime. Truly unbelievable. It was so natural and relaxing, almost as if it was an escape from the city. My personal favourite spot was sitting at the edge of the pier in the village. Watching the people swim or work quietly in the river in front of me, talking to each other, little children waving and saying “Hi!” was just so beautiful. I absolutely love the Vietnamese culture. They are so kind and sharing. But building the house was a whole other experience. We were so committed to do as much as possible that we achieved more than expected. The expectation was that we would completed a third of the house; incredibly, we built over half of the requirement! I’m sure Vietnam Grey and I are extremely proud of our effort, even through sweat and pain.

• Jade: The Mekong Delta was an amazing place. When we first arrived, we were surprised with the drastic difference of the village compared with Ho Chi Minh City. We were welcomed by the friendly people that lived in the village and experienced their peaceful and unique lifestyle in the period of only four days. We were surrounded by palm trees and plants that grew various fruits. The beautiful flowing river had an astounding view when looking out from the pier. When building the house for the family living in the village, we all strived and tried our best to make it as good as we can. Overall, we ended up achieving even more than what was required for the construction of the house and made for a very grateful family smile.

• Matt S – The Mekong Delta was a truly amazing experience that I will remember forever. When I first arrived, I realised that the Mekong Delta had a much more laidback feel to it than the cities. The homestay was right next to the river. You could see a plethora of plant species and there was abundant tropical fruit. The main objective of our stay at the Mekong Delta was to build a house for an impoverished family. This was both a challenging and rewarding experience. At the end of the build, I felt so proud of what we, as a group had achieved and it was awesome to see what difference we made to somebody’s life.

• Hugo: My time in the Mekong Delta was an eye-opening and wonderful experience. I hope to remember it forever. Although I had known that the Mekong River and the surrounding waterways were beautiful, in actuality the Delta was more spectacular than I could have imagined. The Mekong Delta is home to millions; however, the area is very different to the busy Ho Chi Minh city. The people there are more relaxed and seem to appreciate the values of family more. My experience riding through villages and spending time at the local school gave me a new perspective on life. Where you live is so important. The group house build was so rewarding for me and I felt so honoured to have had the opportunity to build a home for a family in need. The things I will take away from this experience is to be more grateful for my life at home, appreciate my natural surroundings and always be willing to help those in need.

• Hamish G: It was very shocking to see how little the people at the build had. To think that is all they have puts what we did for them in perspective. Only after seeing first hand what they had was I inspired to really try my hardest in the build. Overall my time in the Mekong Delta opened my eyes to how simple some lives can be. many people live within the same area doing the same thing every day for their entire lifetime. I don’t know if I would be able to live that way for a long time but during the time that we did live like that I felt more relaxed than I do in my usual life.

• Hamish R: Working in the local village taught us unique and extraordinary lessons that can and will be applied to many scenarios in life. We arrived in the village on our first day of building. There, we were taught about the steps that need to be taken in order to construct a house. Although the work was physically tiring and exhausting, the result in the end was well worth it. It was an intensely emotional experience to travel with one’s friends and work together as a team to build a house. It was an unforgettable event. We have created a safe place for this family to live for many years into the future.

• Ade: The Mekong Delta was an unusual and unique experience, and something that I would definitely do again. Working in An Binh, building a house for a Vietnamese family and talking to the locals and changed my views on the ‘typical’ Vietnamese life. It was a challenging project to complete, but I believe our group became a genuine team and worked as hard as we could. The determination on our faces represented how much we wanted to help this family. It was rewarding to build the large majority of a house that an underprivileged Vietnamese family will get to live in for hopefully the rest of their lives.

• Ethan: I feel like staying in the Mekong Delta was one of the most important parts of our experience. Many life lessons, much experiences, and most importantly, group chemistry were all were acquired throughout the village build in An Binh. The long working days, especially shoveling cement, taught me resilience and persistence, even if I did wake up with aching muscles the next day. I feel like it was a beautiful thing to do for an unprivileged family like Mr. Huong’s to build them a house they never could have dreamed of without our help.

• Chloe: Seeing the differences in environments between the Mekong Delta and Melbourne was truly amazing. I’m glad I helped to make that family their dream home.

• Amelie: Staying along the Mekong Delta was a great experience. Helping the family build their house and seeing the difference we made through raising the money made me feel great. Just to see the smiles on everyone the family’s faces and everyone else’s faces was a moment to remember.

• Anika: I found staying along the Mekong river a stay to remember. Firstly, the room was amazing and reminded me of staying in Bali, the people at the home stay were so lovely and the food and nature made me feel like I was really getting into the Vietnamese culture. The building project was one to remember. I was so dedicated to the house and was determined to finish it for the grateful family. Being able to present the house that took so much effort and energy out of us, but the feeling it left was worth it. I thoroughly hope that they enjoy living in it as much as I enjoyed building it.

• Luca: I loved being able to enjoy and relax in the remarkable village homestay. It was incredible to experiencing a completely different culture and way of life of the locals along the Mekong Delta. Learning new skills and being able to build a house for Mr. Huong and his family was an eye-opening and rewarding opportunity. In contrast to staying in the very busy Ho Chi Minh City, the beautiful village looking over the Mekong Delta was a great place for riding through the scenery and even swaying in the hammock.

• Brodie: Building a house for an impoverished family in An Binh will definitely be an experience to remember. The smiles on their faces were heart-warming. The Mekong Delta was an incredible place to spend our time as the surrounding environment and villages were sights we have never seen before, and sights we probably won’t see for the foreseeable future. The people of the Mekong were astounding welcoming and kind, especially at our home stay. We truly immersed ourselves with the Vietnamese village culture, which was very special and unforgettable for me.

• Matt T: A few days ago, Vietnam Grey was travelled by bus and boat to arrive at a home stay along the Mekong River for four days on just one backpack of accessories. I, along with 25 other students and members of staff were given the extraordinary chance to make a local’s life significantly better. Along with the $4,000 raised, we all chipped in to help create a house made of brick. It was served to create a reasonably spacious and safe place of residence for a man’s son and his wife. Although this was easily one of the most mentally and physically hardest challenging things I’ve accomplished, the house was almost complete when we left. I felt many emotions during this experience; I felt completely tired after cementing and stupefied after bricklaying, but the main thing I felt was happiness at the sensation of completely something challenging and rewarding for someone else. I believe I have changed in such a way from this opportunity to be more resilient when faced with challenging or overwhelming tasks and a harder worker.

• James: I found the stay along the Mekong Delta a different but marvellous experience. It was great to experience the Vietnamese culture through their food, entertainment and other practices. I felt very honoured to be able to build a house for a family in need. When we finished, I did believe all the hard work payed off. I hope the family will enjoy their time in that house and pass it on for the generations to come.

• Shayla: Having the opportunity to stay along the Mekong delta was an astounding experience. By getting away from the busy city life, we really got to immerse ourselves in the local lifestyle. The main vehicles used for transportation were motor boats, which is very different to what we’re used to back in Melbourne. We were also exposed to new foods with ingredients grown locally around our home stay, like long’an and glutinous rice cakes. I’m glad I tried some of the traditional foods because there were some dishes I didn’t expect to like, but ended up going back for seconds. The scenery was also absolutely stunning, as the calm Mekong river lined with flourishing palm trees flowed only meters away from us. However, above all of these amazing things, the best part of this time was being able to contribute to building a house for a very deserving family. Seeing the family’s faces when we handed over the house made it all worth it. Overall, the spectacular scenery, local lifestyle, and the opportunity to make a good family’s life a little better, made my time on the Mekong delta one I’ll never forget.

• Kate: Staying on the Mekong Delta was a different but great experience and one that will not be forgotten. I loved being at the homestay, the room was wonderful and the people there were lovely. My highlight of the trip was presenting the house to the family after everyone had put so much effort in to every step of building the house seeing the smiles on the family’s faces when we handed over the house was something to remember. I hope in the future I can go back and visit them.

• Jasmine: The Mekong Delta was stunning. With hammocks lining the river, we sat and ate exotic fruits while watching the traditional boats travel past. The home stay was terrific, the food was delicious, and the build a thoroughly memorable experience. I feel that after this stay we have all learnt something new. We all feel we have achieved something significant and satisfied with our work.

• Allana: The Mekong was incredible. Going to the village, waking up early and raising money for these people determined us to endure our experience it to its full potential. With the amazing foods, fruits and people that surrounded us, the overall village stay was unforgettable.

• Francesco: My stay along the Mekong Delta was truly a defining and perspective-changing moment in my life. Although as a group we did many other forms of activities on the Mekong such as bike riding, cooking classes and visiting brick, fish sauce and coconut candy making factories, the most spectacular would be the house build. From the second I arrived at the village, there was a feeling of complete contrast, they lived in a world unfamiliar to me and I lived in a world unfamiliar to them. Despite the very different conditions I was used to living in the building came to be quite exciting. In terms of skills that improved upon over the building days, leadership and teamwork came first. Quite simply I would direct others to jobs and together we would work to result in an outstanding accomplishment. In the short term I believe that I have changed in a minor way however I do have hope that in the long term I will reflect deeply about how this experience has shaped me to be the person I will be.

• Lola: it was extremely rewarding. I felt both honored and overwhelmed to be able to build a house for these people. The house build, along with the food, culture and general warmth that the homestay provided is also something that I will remember and appreciate for hopefully a very long time.

• Rhys: Staying along the Mekong Delta was an extremely different experience compared to Ho Chi Minh city. I found the peace and serenity of the resort very unique and special. My highlight of the whole experience was building the house for an impoverished family. The joy on their faces when we handed the house over was priceless. I also thoroughly enjoyed visiting the school and the bike ride around the island.

• Henry: The house build was very successful, providing both sides of the build, the students and the home owner, with happiness and gratefulness. Vietnam Grey and I set out to change the life of a deserving disadvantaged family living in poor accommodation by building a structurally sound house. We were successful and achieved this goal. This has made me happier and more thankful for where I live. This experience has further confirmed that by helping others you are helping yourself.

• Josh: The home stay on the Mekong Delta was a warm and welcoming one with a great sense of friendship and community. The house build was a challenging one that pushed everyone beyond their comfort zones. It promoted a sense of teamwork within Vietnam Grey. Be it sweltering sunshine or pouring tropical rain, we pushed through and were able to complete a significant chunk of the house build, much more than was expected of us. The back aches and tight muscles caused from the three days on the Mekong were definitely worth it to see the elation on the Huongs’ faces when handing over their home.