John and Dawn Sanders

I am employed by a small nonprofit organization working with the Hai Phong city government in northern Vietnam training small and medium-sized businesses on Disaster Preparedness planning.

Vietnam is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to natural disasters, especially climate-related incidents like wind and flood damage as a result of typhoons and strong storms. This city of over two-million with its critical port and a fast growing economy is determined to make the city’s businesses more resilient and to develop community outreach plans that will make for a safer Hai Phong for all of the city’s residents.

Upon arriving to Vietnam, my wife Dawn began volunteering to teach conversational English, using the term “global ambassador” as her mantra, hoping to build better connection to the people while learning the culture of Vietnam. She is also helping at a local orphanage and a home for disabled adults to help build English speaking skills and coordinate volunteers offering art and music classes.

After a life of corporate ladder-climbing and having enough materially speaking, we needed to follow our passion of wanting to help people. Due to the economy crashing in 2008 and the loss of the corporate job, we had already downsized and simplified our lives. Our hearts and minds were aligned with a goal of doing more; we acknowledged that the time had come for a major life change.

The nonprofit position in Vietnam came along at the perfect time, and although this was a move of giant proportions, we knew a chance like this may not come along again.

As for what impact we’re having, it’s the little things. We met a young man on the street when we were obviously perplexed because we couldn’t get our newly purchased bookcase home in the back seat of taxi. He helped us and, as we learned more about him, we found a young man wanting to learn English who had a strong desire to change the world.  A natural community organizer, he has gathered local people together to help at the organizations we are supporting.

The disaster risk reduction training in Hai Phong has just recently launched and, while we don’t see the results from the businesses as of yet, we can see the appreciation and the desire that the leaders have to learn how to be more prepared. Our Vietnamese friends have opened their hearts and homes to us. One person at a time we hope to build long-lasting relationships and connections.

It is easy to forget that older workers have a more seasoned perspective, and perhaps they have more patience and the willingness to listen and the desire to give back. Perhaps also they are more apt to do what many younger people can’t, to slow down and absorb everything that is happening around them, especially in a totally new environment and different culture.  From experience we have a wide breadth of expansive knowledge, and more importantly from that same experience, many of us have more empathy and more compassion from a more expansive heart.