By Luke Voogt
Lara photographer Ben Neoh will share his memories of Vietnam in a quest to return to the country’s mountainous regions as a volunteer.
“I love the idea of going back and having a sense of purpose,” the 28-year-old said.
The exhibition documents Ben’s journeys through the busy streets of Vietnamese towns and cities while travelling and volunteering for social enterprise Sapa O’Chau.
He spent three weeks in the mountains of Sapa teaching English and photography to the native Hmong hill tribes.
“The people in that area don’t have access to quality education,” he said.
“This school encourages them to come study because it’s free.”
Located in north Vietnam, Sapa is fast becoming a tourist and trekking hotspot due to its picturesque rice terraces and unique Hmong locals.
“It’s (home to) a lot of nomadic cultures that have a separate culture to the Vietnamese people,” Ben said.
“They’re very poor – it’s not part of the tour to go and see someone starving.
“You go there and think ‘this is so different’ but you don’t have to live in those conditions.”
The burgeoning tourism industry came at a cost to local education and culture, Ben said.
“They try to accommodate those tourists and it encourages them not to study.”
“Young normally women are taken out of school early by their parents to sell goods – like the bracelets and things they weave.”
He remembered visiting the home of one of student’s home, which consisted of a dirt floor and very low ceilings.
The student lived with parents and grandparents, and the family used fire to cook all their meals.
“Some of the children at the school have to walk a several km bare foot and they’re not even seven years old,” he said.
Hmong woman Shu Tan started the Sapa O’Chau to empower locals and make sure tourism money stayed in the area.
“They’re either a tour guides or farmers,” Ben said. “She didn’t want that to be the only option.”
He remembered his surprise when he asked a class what their dream job was.
“They all said I want to be a tour guide because there is a bit of romanticism about it,” he said.
But he soon discovered a “strong interest” for photography when he started teaching.
Ben himself only discovered the passion recently after completing an analogue photography course.
A class mate suggested the volunteering in Sapa after he booked tickets to Vietnam last year.
“I’d actually just booked the tickets because they were affordable.”
Ben wanted to make a difference and to have an “experience” not a “holiday”.
“My way thinking is seeing the world as a whole,” he said.
“I think it’s our responsibility to create an even playing field.”
Ben’s Wander exhibition opened at Analogue Academy in Geelong on Wednesday and will continue until 1 March. He said the gold coin entry fee would go towards his next volunteering trip to Sapa.
