Da Nang, Vietnam

DAY 1 | Saturday: Arrive at Da Nang Airport

Your adventure begins today with your arrival at Da Nang Airport. A Habitat for Humanity representative will meet you at the airport (look for the Habitat Logo sign), then you will be transported to a local city hotel. Once you’ve had time to settle in, you’ll meet your fellow volunteers and the Habitat for Humanity team during dinner at the hotel.

DAY 2 | Sunday: Transportation to project site and welcome orientation

After breakfast at the hotel, you will leave for the project location in Da Nang province, which is an hour drive and check into the next hotel. After lunch, you will have welcome orientation with Habitat staff where you will learn about Habitat Vietnam priorities and housing solutions in the region. The day concludes with a welcome dinner.

DAY 3 | Monday: Construction begins

After breakfast at the hotel, depart for your first day on the build site. Upon arrival, meet the host community and families, followed by a site safety orientation and construction plans, including group work division, led by construction supervisor.
Spend the day working on home construction/ repair tasks, taking breaks for tea and snacks mid-morning. Return to the hotel by evening to refresh, enjoy dinner and gather for a team reflection session to share the day’s experiences.

DAY 4, & 5 | Tuesday and Wednesday: Construction and Social Learning Exchange Activity

Begin each morning with breakfast at the hotel before heading to the build site. The next two days will focus on construction tasks and strengthening bonds with the community.
Take part in a social learning exchange activity on Wednesday afternoon - sharing and learning about how disaster risk management affect housing issues in Quang Nam province. Lunch will be shared onsite, offering opportunities for connection with local families. Evenings include time to rest, have dinner, and informal team discussions reflecting on the progress made.

DAY 6 | Thursday: Construction

After breakfast, travel to the build site for another full day of work. Continue construction and enjoy your mid-morning tea break before lunch.
Return to the hotel in the evening for dinner and a team reflection session.

DAY 7 | Friday: House dedication and farewell celebrations

The closing day is emotional for everyone involved. You will spend the morning on site for the final build activities and a House Dedication Ceremony, celebrating the completion of the home alongside the partner family and community members.
Share a farewell lunch with the community, followed by a farewell dinner with your team to commemorate the week’s accomplishments. Overnight in Da Nang.

DAY 8 | Saturday: Departure day

After breakfast, check out and travel to Da Nang airport for departure. For earlier departures, alternative arrangements can be made upon request. Though the trip ends, the memories and impact will inspire your commitment to Habitat’s mission.

Typical Housing Solutions:

This project is designed to address one of the underlying causes of housing inequity, namely access to housing finance. Houses and latrine construction and renovation are capital intensive, and these families who already have to subsist on meager incomes do not have the financial resources for decent shelter. Housing finance solutions are critical to ensure adequate housing for poor families because this helps mobilize, convene, and leverage existing funding sources. To be more sustainable, the solution must be people-centered and must tap into different sectors in society, namely people (communities), public (government), and private (business). Habitat Vietnam will be making use of an approach that would be bringing them together to contribute with clear operating mechanisms in order to address the problem of housing inequity.

Typical Volunteer tasks:

Volunteers assist families in the construction and repair of homes and sanitation facilities. Tasks vary depending on the phase of construction.

Typical volunteer tasks could include:

1. mixing mortar and concrete,

2. sifting sand,

3. laying bricks,

4. tying rebar or

5. moving construction materials.

Through peer-to-peer fundraising, Global Village volunteers contribute a program and build donation that will advance Habitat’s work in communities with the greatest housing needs. Build donations cover volunteer accommodations, meals and ground transportation. Crucially, the program donations also directly support Habitat’s housing programs in the countries.

Once you register for a this Global Village build, you commit to fundraising:

$3110 minimum fundraising target

What's Included

• Double Occupancy Accommodation
• All meals for the week
• Daily transportation to and from site
• Airport pick-up and drop-off
• Snacks and water
• All necessary building materials and safety equipment
• 24-hour support
• Insurance whilst on the build site

*What's Not Included

• Flights to and from Vietnam
• Travel Insurance
• Visa
• Vaccinations

Meet your team leader Sam Lanctin:

I’m Sam, and I can’t wait to have you join me on this Global Village build in Vietnam in June 2026! This will be my 7th Habitat build. Last year’s experience in Gracias, Lempira was terrific (as they all are, truly), with exceptional people and organization on the ground locally.

I participated in my first Habitat build in 2016, going to the faraway land of Cardigan, PEI. That first experience hooked me, and subsequent builds took me to Iqaluit, Nepal, Guatemala, and of course Honduras. I love the opportunity these builds bring to have fun, make new connections, and discover new cultures - and our work has significant impact on people’s lives, to boot! It’s been good for my soul! I’m sure those of you who have gone on similar adventures will agree it’s very rewarding.

Starting with my first build, I’ve fundraised the “required donation” for every trip and have always reached my targets. While there is no obligation to fundraise, it is made easy with the tools provided by Habitat, may help provide additional support to HFH operations in Canada, and helps create awareness in your networks of Habitat’s work and the widespread need that exists.

I’ve also been involved in Habitat’s work locally, having joined the Board of the Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Moncton, NB in 2017. In 2023, the Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton affiliates were merged into HFH NB. This has helped significantly increase Habitat’s impact in NB.

I live in Dieppe, NB, with my wife Janice, daughter Allie, and dog Mika!

If any of you want to learn more about these builds, please reach out to me at sam@samlanctin.com and I’ll set up a call. I’m happy to answer any questions and share what I can about my past experiences, including last year’s in Honduras specifically.

I look forward to confirming our team in the coming months and to working alongside you all in Da Nang, Vietnam!

Global Village Frequently Asked Questions