In 2018, AASuccess students in both the US and Vietnam had the opportunity to collaborate for a Summer giving-back project. The US team successfully organized a bake sale and car wash fundraiser and raised $500, and the Vietnam team utilized the money raised to visit, cook, and spend time with children in temples and orphanages in Vietnam. Project Butterfly was named by the students, because they wanted to inspire people to spread kindness everywhere they went, just like butterfly pollination.
We recently reconnected with Nguyen Lam Bao Phuc, a 2018 Vietnamese DELTA Success student and Project Butterfly participant. Phuc is an 18-year-old student who recently graduated top of his class in high school and is about to enter university. Continue reading to see how he reminisced about the time when he participated in this new and exciting, but also challenging project.
When did you start participating in this project?
Well, we started this project in July 2018. It was the very first big project that I have ever participated in my life. I was 13 years old back then.
How long did this project take to reach the budget goal?
It took us about 10 days. It was quite a long period of time, because all of the team members wanted to make sure that we utilized the budget goal well. None of us had any experience in running a project before, so we did not anticipate any obstacles coming our way or create backup plans to address them. We truly struggled with this project at first. Fortunately, we were still able to maneuver through it, with all of the members’ efforts. Moreover, we did a lot of advertising activities for this project so everything went smoothly as planned after a few days.
What was the most memorable memory you gained from the project?
Personally, the most memorable memory while doing this project is probably the tasks we had to complete after gaining the budget goal. We used to spend a lot of time thinking about the plan since we all wanted to use this money for meaningful purposes. I really miss those days when we gathered together to come up with the ideas as well as planned the activities for this project. I think I really got on well with all the members so we had a good time during this project. One funny story that I want to tell you is that the day we did the project was during the rainy season in my hometown. We had difficulties traveling. But doing social activities are fun and very meaningful to us so we kept trying hard to continue on and finish the project.
Did you encounter any difficulties doing this project? If yes, how did you overcome them?
To be honest, lack of experience is the most challenging problem. We have not participated in any projects like this before and we had no idea how to utilize this budget with the most efficiency. Fortunately, I received a lot of support from my family and my relatives. I am also one of the good communicators in the group, so it was easier for me to contribute to the team’s success.
Have you done any projects like this before Project Butterfly? If yes, did it have any differences compared with this project?
I had not participated in or been involved in any projects which are similar to Project Butterfly before. I cherish the time participating in this project. This project is meaningful to me in the sense that it helped me to improve myself and made me realize the importance of giving back to society. If I have another chance in the future, I still want to participate in many projects that are similar to this project!
How do you feel after participating in giving-back activities? What are the impacts they have on you?
I really enjoyed the time during this project and I am very thankful that I had a chance to be involved in it. This project taught me how to contribute our effort to the community and how to come up with and request for a budget. At first, this project was so new so it was a challenge for all of us. But as time passed by, I gradually got used to it and realized it was not as difficult as I used to think. These kinds of social activities have fulfilled my life of happiness and joy and helped me to be aware of the importance of social skills. After this project, I knew how to confront difficulties and challenges and how meaningful my life is. That is all I want to share with you today.
As DELTA Success activities and programs continue to expand in Vietnam, we hope to be able to bring more awareness about social issues to youths and facilitate many more meaningful projects like Project Butterfly in the future. Support us with our mission for #15moreyears to empower young people to be successful and happy in their lives while utilizing their talents to give back to their communities.
