As part of the "ISABEL"project, the schools of the Xin Man District involved for the integration of children with disabilities have started welcoming the interns from Hanoi. Each intern will contribute with their skills and energy for two months to the success of the project.

The first intern starting is Lan Han , who, since February 10th, has left the bustling life of Hanoi to spend two months in the village of Trung Thinh, until April 10th. Now that she's past the halfway point of her internship, we interviewed her to learn more about her and to monitor the progress of the project from her perspective. Lan Han, a 22-year-old student from the Special Education Department of Hanoi National University of Education, is tasked with assisting students with special needs during lessons, while also helping teachers implement effective teaching strategies for these children's learning.

Her internship runs from Monday to Friday, both in the morning and afternoon. Lan Han works with six primary school children and four secondary school children. She explained that her role during the lessons is to support students with disabilities to follow the lessons in the best way possible. For example, she helps students read or re-explains certain content.

Her desire to undertake this internship, she shares, comes from previous experiences as a volunteer that inspired her to commit to helping these children. Her motivation has grown during this period, finding inspiration in the dedication of the teachers, who are already trying to help these students despite the challenges of large class sizes.
 
Initially, it wasn't easy for her. In fact, both the distance from city life and the difficulty of recognizing the types of issues some children face (without official certifications yet) made the beginning a bit more challenging. However, she tells us that it is now going much better because, on one hand, she is adapting to life in the new environment, and on the other, by increasing her communication with teachers and students, she has overcome the initial obstacles. In particular, she is proud of having formed a bond with a little girl who, before her arrival, didn't speak to anyone, but now has someone she can trust and confide in.

However, she notes, this is a journey that requires time, both for helping the students in a personalized manner and for creating an effective community awareness about disabilities. Therefore, aware of these limitations and seeing the positive experience in Trung Thinh, Lan Han has decided to extend her commitment to GTV, moving to another of the villages involved after these first two months.

Soon,  Mai, Lan Han's coursemate, will also start her internship, and we interviewed her to get to know her better. Mai found out about the opportunity offered by GTV through a friend, and after learning more about the project, she immediately decided to get involved to make the most of her skills and grow professionally. Like Lan Han, Mai is preparing to become a teacher, and she tells us that she is specializing in teaching children with disabilities at university. As her parents are both teachers, she has always wanted to work in the field of education and is now excited to begin this new experience starting April 1st.
"I hope I can support parents, teachers, and children during the time I'll spend here. But above all, I hope my contribution can bring about some change in the approach to disabilities." 

Mai will spend two months in the village of Ban Diu. In recent days, she had the opportunity to visit the primary and secondary schools where she will work and meet the teachers and principals, who gave her an overview of the types of disabilities the children have. Mai has already started thinking about the activities she will propose, tailoring her teaching methods after getting to know the children she will assist better.
During this visit, she also had the chance to review the equipment recently distributed to the schools and, although impressed by the variety of equipment, she anticipates that in the first phase of her internship, she will observe the students and identify any tools that are currently missing to provide even better teaching. She concludes by expressing her excitement about the start of this experience, as she is eager to contribute to the effective integration and growth of these children.

We would like to thank both of them and wish them a positive experience, knowing that their help will be a great contribution to the communities of the Xin Man district!