Mercury was founded by two humble street vendors. Peter and his brother, who came from difficult beginnings. Hidden in a quiet village, living in poverty with no real opportunity to build a future they decided to move to Hanoi. Here they started out as street vendors fighting to change their lives.

After an early experience with foreign customers, they realized that the standard of English in Vietnam was simply not enough. From that point, they taught themselves English and vowed to help other lower class children who couldn’t afford the steep price of English education in Vietnam.

After 4 years, Mercury is a rising community of people from around the world that has shared its culture, experiences and knowledge, giving thousands of less fortunate students a chance to study the English language and look to a brighter future.

The youth of Vietnam is a vibrant, passionate, striving to learn community. Always eager to gain from other peoples experiences and forever trying their best. Together with our members who have truly brought their enthusiasm, knowledge and kind-heartedness everyone has made for an unforgettable experience on both sides.

Our aim has always been to bring the English language and the world culture to the young people of Vietnam whilst helping them grow and strive for a better world. Bringing joy to these children or giving a great experience to people traveling the world has been a great privilege.

We want to continue supporting Vietnams growth and help you enjoy an unforgettable experience teaching fantastic children. Join the family and enjoy discovering the Vietnamese culture, an extraordinary cuisine, great downtime, a new language, and plenty of adventures to some of the best places the world has to offer.

Vision
A society in which young people are empowered and legitimized as active and innovative contributors to a sustainable world.

Mission
To empower and support youth to build their capacity to affect long-term changes in regards to development issues.

Values
Integrity is our primary value because it sets the standard for everything we do and believe in.

Fairness is crucial for determining what is best for any situation, from the way we treat our staff and volunteers to how we resolve problems.

Reliability and personal responsibility are necessary for maintaining consistency between our actions and principles.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

WE ARE LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS IMMEDIATELY.

Here is your ticket: Direct pick up from the airport. Visa invitation letter for volunteers committing to a month stay or more. Free accommodation, meals and drinks everyday, Free outdoor activities most weekends and a certificate signed by our organization at the end of your volunteering period. Stipend every month after a 3 month stay rewarding long term volunteers. No experience required but we do ask for a minimum month stay to provide a worthy experience for both the traveling volunteers and the students learning.

Vietnam is a developing country that is growing and looking to reach out to the rest of the world, It boasts some absolutely stunning scenery, a tropical climate, great traditional vietnamese cuisine and always willing to help friendly people. Unfortunately people here are often restricted to low living conditions and barely get the opportunity to broaden there horizons, our goal is to change that. We provide low-priced or free classes in an effort to give them a chance they wouldn't otherwise be able to afford. We believe everybody is unique and deserves a chance to realize their dreams, with your enthusiasm, experience and good-will we are sure you can change the lives of a great number of people who are crying out to meet you and learn from you as well as give with open arms their own personnel experiences and cultural traditions.

We are based in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam and we are looking for volunteers to live with us and teach the increasing number of enthusiastic and hard-working students we have. This opportunity is one of a kind. You will be able to experience the Vietnamese culture first hand, by chatting with your students and local volunteers. Many of whom would love to show you around the area, showing you the best places to eat Vietnam’s most popular dishes, traditional games and the unique culture that makes Vietnam one of a kind.

You will live with other volunteers, all of whom are from different countries with different stories. We pride ourselves on being a family, anyone and everyone is welcome to join our unique family. We cook together, eat together and explore Vietnam together. You will be provided with amazing, home-cooked, traditional meals every day and a general warm welcoming to our home.

Music, Movies, and Books

Because of the wide variety of people that join us every year you can be sure to find a wide range of interests.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Help build this community

Teach, Learn, Share

Everybody that joins us is willing to Teach, Learn and share. This is our first requirement and thankfully over the years some great people have stepped up to get involved. Learning to teach is a task that requires a deeper look into what you know and how to share that knowledge, everybody involved in our organisation is learning to teach from a hands-on perspective, gaining from the experience of others alongside sharing their culture, personnel achievments and knowledge to make for a great community.

We would love for you to help teach English. No experience or TEFL is required, just a passion to teach and give back to our society.

Our classes run for 90 minutes. We provide all material for teaching, from lesson plans to books to markers. We do encourage you to bring your own unique flare to the class.

Our classes range from young children to university students to people out in the workforce and we require 18 hours teaching a week from our volunteers.

We believe that our educational system is something really special and take great pleasure in inviting you guys to help us expand our ideas. We are constantly learning from our volunteers and students and we believe you will too.

What I Can Share with Hosts

There will be an array of different experiences and the one we believe is the most important is the life changing opportunity you will provide your students by teaching them English and allowing them to experience your culture second hand from you.

You will get a chance to experience the Vietnamese culture first hand by immersing yourself with the local people, from your students to the Vietnamese staff and volunteers. You will be shown Vietnam’s best kept secrets when it comes to food and hidden beauty spots.

Not only will you get a genuine teaching experience but the insider’s guide to learn Vietnamese.

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, France, Viet Nam