In collaboration with FPT Education Global, in 2023 we began supporting Japanese & Brunei students to participate in internships at CORMIS. Following their proposal, during their internship, they participated in many environmental protection activities, for example, participating in picking up trash at the sea, sorting and arranging left over fabric/used linen at the ware house to be upcycled at CORMIS, practicing upcycling some products from leftover fabric... In addition, with the coordination of the VCIL group, the students also had a film viewing session and in-depth discussion on issues related to the environment, for example “What is the Economics of Happiness”. During the internship days, the students have the opportunity to work directly with the upcycling team of people with disabilities. Therefore, this interaction also helped them to better understand life of people with disabilities in Vietnam. This is also a way for the international students to access the model of supporting people with disabilities to live confidently and independently with their ability to work that the Center is implementing. Sharing thoughts after the internship at CORMIS, Yurkia Asahi shared: “I want to say thank you for teaching me how to sew bags. I had a great time during my days volunteering at CORMIS. I learned many valuable lessons here, for example knowing how much fabric waste is generated. I think I know the amount of food waste and other waste produced by humans. However, I never thought that the amount of fabric waste could be so large. Looking at the fabric waste warehouse here and knowing that there is probably a lot more fabric waste out there, around the world, this really hits me hard. We also went to the beach to pick up trash here. When I first arrived I thought there wouldn't be much trash. However, when I started walking along the beach to pick up trash, I realized that there was a lot of trash hidden under the trees. This makes me feel very sad. I realized that, even if it was just a small piece of cigarette butt, if I kept picking it up it would turn into a big pile of trash. During my 3 days at CORMIS, I thought a lot about how much waste humans create and how important it is to reuse and recycle waste. I also think a lot about my country, Japan and Vietnam. The waste management regulations of the two countries may be different. However, it is important that we care about our country and care about environmental protection. However, we are all on the same team and I think we all need to work together to improve environmental issues. I think the women here are very strong and are doing very important things. I would like to thank everyone and thank you for what you are doing. I hope that cleaning up the fabric warehouse can help you handle recycling more easily."
