It is my intention for this blog to be bilingual, especially for my unilingual family members on either side. So this blog post en anglais details what I will be doing in Vietnam.
When I applied to Uniterra, my cover letter specified that I wanted to work with groups that address issues for "marginalized" populations - women, children, disabled, or ethnic minorities. But I wasn't expecting that my internship would actually end up being what I wanted it to be (and that's not such a bad thing in development studies!) So I was quite happy to be informed that my posting at Tra Vinh University (TVU) will involve getting to know the Khmer student population.
The Khmer in Vietnam [here I am conscious that I may be grossly misinterpreting the situation, especially since I am basing my asumptions on the few papers and articles that I have read so far] are an ethnic minority, closely related to Cambodia's Khmer population. Several factors make it hard for Khmer youth to complete a post-secondary education. For example, English is their third language after Khmer and Vietnamese - so if languages aren't your thing, good luck studying or working abroad. Literacy rates are already lower for the Khmer than for for the Vietnamese majority. The "poverty trap" cycle kicks in - I won't go into details since development students tend to blab about this stuff all the time, even in their sleep. But basically, the Khmer have several obstacles to overcome when it comes to boosting literacy.
My job at TVU will (inch Allah) include participating in the English discussion club and working on a research project on "Gender, Ethnicity and the Labour Market" to examine ways of improving the average Khmer youth's chances of getting into university, completing a degree and getting a great job.
I'll close by stating that this job description might change. And also, sincere apologies if I am getting things wrong here, I'd welcome comments from people more familiar with Vietnam and its incredibly rich and complex history and society.
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