STUDENTS from Blackburn College got a flavour of life in Vietnam as part of a volunteering project in the country.

Ten AS Level students from the college travelled to the Thanh An Commune in North Vietnam’s Hai Duong Province to help build a kitchen in a local nursery.

Working alongside local staff and volunteers, the 16 to 18-year-olds tried their hand at bricklaying and plastering as well as decorating the finished kitchen, and made sure they cleaned up afterwards.

They also taught English games, songs and dances to children.

The project, which was organised in conjunction with the International Voluntary Service and Volunteers for Peace Vietnam, aims to encourage people to experience life and work in a different country and gain a greater understanding of other cultures. The students were accompanied by Blackburn College staff members Andy Mather and Jamila Gurjee, along with IVS representative Samantha Evans.

Andy, learning support co-ordinator at the college, said: “We feel the students benefit from being exposed to a world that varies from theirs in so many ways.

“They are given responsibilities and learn practical skills that are new to them, make new friends from different cultures and appreciate the luxuries that they are surrounded with.”

The Hai Duong Province is one of the most industrialised and developed provinces in Vietnam and has a population of almost 1.7million people.

The International Voluntary Service is a peace organisation working for the sustainable development of local and global communities throughout the world since 1931.