Shelter Volunteer Information VAAR is excited to offer the opportunity to work in our shelter in Hoi An for qualified volunteers. While we would like to take on anyone who would like to come, it is important for both VAAR and the volunteer to have a positive experience and for this reason we try to make sure that we will be a good match before the volunteer arrives. We are quite busy here at the shelter and with all the work we do, we need to have volunteers here that will give us more time to develop the organization's mission, not take away our already limited time. The information in this packet can help you to decide if working with VAAR is right for you. Work Your work will involve cleaning which can get a little messy with all the animals we have. Cleaning up poo will be a part of your role, and as it is hot here, you will get a little sweaty. However, there will always be time for kitten cuddling and dog petting! You will need to be flexible as we may need your help with other things such as gardening. You may possess other skills that can be very helpful for us. If you have any of the following desirable skills please let us know: photography, video editing, website design, fundraising, marketing/advertising, admin, handyman skills, dog grooming, behavior training (positive reward training only!). You will be working with cats, dogs, ducks, chickens, and a pig so you must be happy to work with all the animals we have here. You may also be required to help out at our vet clinic.
Some experience working with animals is required. You will receive training on how to do your role but you will need a good understanding of animal behaviour and how to positively interact with them, even the difficult ones. You will need to be able to look after yourself and not be reliant on someone here to take care of you since the managers are extremely busy with a lot of other work. We will, of course, advise you on anything you need and provide you with a map of the local area and information about restaurants, transportation, and tourist sites. We require volunteers to be emotionally mature, have common sense, and be willing to work hard. This job involves some intense physical work and volunteers must be prepared for that. We appreciate people with lots of energy and enthusiasm as well as a strong work ethic. We understand that volunteers want to enjoy the area and relax here, but please be prepared to work while at work. We enjoy chatting and sharing ideas as well as going out to meet friends and eating the amazing food here in Hoi An, but please be aware that we have a pretty big job here at VAAR and need people to understand that we take this challenge quite seriously when we are on the job and around town working to promote animal welfare. That being said, we are also very open to ideas about how we can change things in our work to become more efficient or effective, so feel free to share with us your ideas and your experiences when working with animals in other shelters. Shift times: The day is split into two parts. In the morning we work from 8am until 11am (unless there is extra work to be done dog bathing day!). You then have free time until the afternoon shift which is from 4pm until 5.30pm. Onsite volunteers will also need to help out with checking on the animals and letting the dogs out before going to bed. The work week is five and half days, with one full day and an evening shift off on another day. We have a one month minimum stay. It is unfortunately not worth it for both the volunteers or our staff to have people stay for under one month. The volunteering fee is $250 per person (5 million Dong) per month and The full payment is required to secure your place with us, which is paid into the www.gofundme.com/hoianvet page our secure donation page, or Paypal. Please add a note of your name and volunteer fee. If you cancel or do not show up for your placement without sufficient notice the placement fee will not be returned to you. We have been let down in the past by volunteers not showing up so this is why we ask for the deposit. Not showing up negatively effects the shelter and another volunteer may have been turned away. Most importantly the animals may suffer as a result. Accommodations and Food Accommodation is provided if there is space available. For those staying on site, you will need to fully clean your room at the end of your stay. The fee covers not only your rent at the shelter, but the time our staff has to spend training you and handling all your needs outside of the shelter. If accommodation is not available, there are many affordable options nearby, which we can advise you on.
Your room at the shelter has two beds, a wardrobe, and air conditioning and you will be sharing a bathroom with the shelter manager and whoever else is in the volunteer room with you. Accommodations are basic, but still better than any hostel in town because the house has cats and dogs! We have free wi fi which is decent, but not great. There is better internet in town. 3G is generally pretty reliable though. If you would like to stay off site, that is also possible. For long term volunteers, you can look for apartments or houses by yourself or with roommates, but it is difficult to find houses for less than 3 months. To rent a place, you need a minimum of a 3 months visa. It is difficult to find housing other than hotels from the internet, so plan on coming and setting up an appointment with real estate agents that can assist you. We are not responsible for renting your accommodations during your stay here as that can only be done by the renter, but we can point you in the right direction and give you advice on location and appropriate price. Rent is quite cheap here. A very nice 2 or 3 bedroom home can cost from $300 to $500 and an apartment can be around $150 $200 per month. While the shelter is a home for the on site manager as well as volunteers, its primary purpose is for sheltering the animals. This means that when an animal is sick or needs to be cared for all night, this takes priority. While we do enjoy relaxing and having a few drinks out or at home, if you are looking for a party, you should look for alternative accommodations. We are out in the countryside and people here go to bed quite early, as we also do since we get up early to take care of the animals. We ask that volunteers respect that and if they need to party away their holiday, they should do that before or after committing themselves to VAAR's schedule. We really want volunteers to enjoy spending time with our animals more than they enjoy being at pubs downtown. The animals need the attention, so if your focus is on going out and partying off site, this will not be a good placement for you. The dogs tend to be moving and making noise by 6, so if you are out until 1am and wake everyone else up when you come home, it is not going to be very pleasant for anyone living in the shelter. Please consider this a good month to relax with some animals and dry out a bit. Guests are not allowed under any circumstances. We would like our volunteers to seriously consider the mission we are on here and look at their time here as a job in a beautiful place, not merely a holiday with a little cleaning to do. Our directors are unpaid volunteers as well who get very little time off and we require volunteers to be on top of things so we can do the work we need to on the computer, in meetings, doing fundraising, and on general rescue missions. We LOVE our volunteers and really and truly need them, so please do not apply if you cannot commit to the mission as we all have here. Food is at your own cost. There are many cheap places to eat and we have cooking facilities at the shelter. The organisation promotes veganism, therefore we do not allow animal products to be consumed on the property. You are free to eat whatever you like offsite and there are many restaurants in town. We hope you understand that this ties in with the mission of VAAR (protecting animals and improving the welfare of animals in Vietnam). What volunteers need to bring Please bring weather appropriate clothing, plus clothes that you don't mind getting pretty messy in. This
isn't exactly a clean job so expect to ruin some clothes and maybe some shoes too. We often wear flip flops, but good sturdy running/hiking type shoes are also good to have for working on the wet, slippery floors as we clean. We use bleach often, so wear clothes that you won t mind throwing out when your time here is finished. If you plan on riding a motorbike, we request that you have solid shoes for that and plan on buying a good helmet. We take road safety very seriously. Please bring your own towel as well. If you can bring any extra medical supplies, pet supplies or other items that we have a hard time finding here and that you would like to donate to VAAR, we would really appreciate it. Please ask us before you come about what we are in need of at that moment as our needs change depending on recent donations. Living in Hoi An Information about the area Hoi An is 30km south of Da Nang, a large city with an international airport that has direct flights to Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Seoul as well as quick connections to Hanoi and Saigon. While Vietnam is not a highly developed country, volunteers will find almost everything they need in Hoi An as a big tourist attraction and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Da Nang is not far away and whatever you can't find in Hoi An, you can probably get in Da Nang. It has picturesque beaches for swimming and surfing and a riverside that has many beautiful restaurants and historic buildings. The city is generally very safe, though we ask volunteers to still be cautious as usual with their belongings and money in public. The food is great (especially for vegans!) and the people are friendly. We believe Hoi An is simply a very nice place to live. During your time off, you are welcome to visit the many sites in the area and take a motorbike or bicycle tour of the beautiful countryside, mountains, and beaches. There is scuba diving and snorkeling at nearby Cham Island during the Spring and Summer and that can be either a day trip or an overnight stay on the island. By the time work is finished at the shelter, there is always plenty of time to get some sun at the nearby beach. Visas You will need a visa to enter Vietnam. Most expats live here on tourist visas. You can get them for 1 3 months, single and multi entry, and they can be renewed from Hoi An. If flying in, you can apply for a visa on arrival (https://www.vietnam evisa.org) or get your visa prior to leaving your home country. The volunteer is responsible for their own visa. Insurance and Medical
VAAR requires that all volunteers have travel insurance. People get sick and hurt here just like at home, and for the most part, Vietnam can handle the average medical emergency. However, for anything serious, you will want to be evacuated. Please make sure you have this on your travel insurance policy. Motorbike accidents are common and we generally get a little cut and banged up here at the shelter, so just be sure you are protected first. We are not in an area where malaria is common, but people here do frequently contract Dengue fever in the rainy season for which there is no protective measure you can take. We recommend having vaccinations for Hepatatis A and B, Tetanus, Typhoid Fever, and Japanese Encephalitis (optional). Rabies vaccination is required. Weather The weather here is usually hot and humid, but in the winter/rainy season (October through January) it can be cold (15 C/ 60F) and wet and you may not enjoy being in a tropical paradise during a time when most people are just chilly and miserable. That being said, we love it all year long and hope you will put up with the weather and come in the winter anyway! Transportation Volunteers will need to arrange transportation of some type to get from the town to the shelter. We recommend renting either a motorbike for roughly 80,000 100,000 VND ($4 5) per day or renting a bicycle for 20,000 VND ($1) per day. Traffic gets quite bad here in town so we do not recommend renting a scooter with no previous riding experience. Taxis are about 70,000 one way. We cannot provide transport back and forth into town for volunteers but will help you find a good place to rent a vehicle from. The shelter is a 10 minute motorbike ride or a 15 20 minute bike ride. The shelter is closer to the beach than to town. We need the right people helping us so please only apply if you are sure you will be happy with the work that is required and can commit to the full length of your placement. If you have not been put off by anything that is written here, then great, you are just the type of person we are looking for.