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VietHope | 423 Brookline Avenue #199 Boston, MA 02215|info@VietHope.org | www.VietHope.org 1
Winter Issue XVI December 2009
Word from the Board
By Lynn Huynh
I would like to say a special thank you to VietHopesupporters, donors, sponsors, friends, family members,and staff and volunteers who have been by VietHope’sside over the past 7 years. VietHope would have notachieved several milestones to carry out its missionwithout the generous support from people who believeand trust in VietHope’s mission. As we close 2009, wehave a lot to share with our supporters ranging from ourprogram successes to personal congratulations to ourVietHope staff members.This past summer, VietHope launched our first annualYouth Development Summit in Ho Chi Minh City. TheSummit was a 7-day program for our UniversityScholarship recipients to learn professional andcommunity service skills, and apply those skillsimmediately to help their communities. Students andvolunteers who participated in the Summit came awaywith greater appreciation for everything that VietHopehas done for them. VietHope serves as the vehicle toconnect people, share experiences, and build key skillsfor both our students and our volunteers.After 8 years, the Merit Scholarship Program,VietHope’s flagship program, continues to supportstudents in grades six through 12. This year, the programexpanded the number of scholarship awards to 300disadvantaged students in rural villages throughoutVietnam. Our Executive Director, Phong Nguyen,produced the “Merit Tour” video which is available onour website. This video gives our supporters an insideperspective on the Merit Scholarship Program and theimpact Merit has made on our students and volunteers.You can travel with Phong as he goes from Ca Mau toThai Nguyen, meeting Merit recipients and theirfamilies.The Community Scholarship program reassessed itsobjective and is working closely with communities inVinh Long. In October, the program delivered uniform,books and educational supplies to close to 200 students.Our students greatly appreciate these supplies and thesupport they received.On the internal organization front, VietHope haspartnered with organizational Salesforce to integrate ourdatabase system. The number of volunteers in Vietnamhas doubled this past year. In the US, we are workinghard to recruit new volunteers to assist with short- andlong-term projects. Please email us at
th
. If you are around the area, we welcome yourattendance.As the current president of VietHope, I would like toagain thank our supporters, especially Nam Tran whohas done a remarkable job as the president of VietHopefor the past 5 years. I joined VietHope at the beginningand have seen VietHope grow tremendously due toteamwork, but mostly due to great leadership. NamTran’s astuteness, dedication, and clear vision broughtmany successes to VietHope. She took VietHope froman organization that reached only a few students to anorganization that has provided support to over 2000students, and has led a team of approximately 100volunteers. We admire Nam Tran’s immense devotion toVietHope and are fortunate to have her continue tosupport VietHope in a different capacity. With the greatsuccesses from the past few years, I look forward tocontinue our success and thank the VietHope team foryour support, energy, and dedication. I would like torecognize Alan Tu and Quang Tran for their time,commitment, and great ideas as Vice Presidents.Finally, we would like to congratulate Nam Tran Nguyenand Mike Khaw. They are proud parents of Ethan MaiKhaw who was born on July 27
th
, 2009. We would alsolike to congratulate Kim Son Nguyen and Anh HoaNguyen. Anh Hoa gave birth to Anh Khue Hoa Nguyenon November 1
st
, 2009. We wish them endless joys andhappiness and welcome the two additions to theVietHope family.On behalf of VietHope, I wish our sponsors, donors,family members, friends, staff and volunteers a year fullof happiness and laughter. Happy Holidays!
In this Issue:
Word from the Board 1A Thankful Student 2VietHope Charity Dance 2An Overview of the Youth 3Development Summit 4An Unforgettable ExperienceBecome a VietHope Sponsors 5
VietHope
is a non-profit organizationdedicated to Vietnam’ssocioeconomicdevelopment. We at VietHope believe thatthe wealth of Vietnamlies in its human capitaland its prosperity depends on whether we harness this humancapital. As such, webelieve that goodeducation isindispensable to Vietnam’s growth andits future. VietHope is a 501(c)3non-profit. We are a volunteer-basedorganization with 20active team members. VietHope members arebased in Boston, SanFrancisco, New York, Washington DC andSoutheast Asia.
Contributing Writers:
Lynn Huynh Thuy HuynhLe Ngoc Nguyen Vi NguyenHa Huynh
Editors:
VietHope | 423 Brookline Avenue #199 Boston, MA 02215|info@VietHope.org | www.VietHope.org 2
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Winter Issue XVI December 2009
A Thankful Student
By Le Ngoc Nguyen
My name is Le Ngoc Nguyen and I am a student at CanTho University, Viet Nam. I am very grateful to receiveVietHope’s University Scholarship. I would like toexpress my deep gratitude for VietHope through thisletter.First, I would like to thank all VietHope volunteers. Youall overcame many obstacles and traveled far distances tosilently and tirelessly contribute your energy and effortsto society; but more specifically, you have devoted yourtime to help us students. When I received the prestigiousVietHope University scholarship, I felt happinessbursting inside of me.The scholarship is very meaningful to me because it notonly helped me to overcome my financial needs(2,600,000 Dong to a Vietnamese college student is not asmall amount), but more importantly showed me thewarm love that human beings offer to each other.VietHope helps student like me to believe and developmore hope for a brighter future. I feel more confidentabout my future’s path because I know that I am nottraveling on this idealistic path alone.After receiving VietHope’s scholarship money, Ipromised myself that I will work harder in school so thein the future, I can find a stable career and will be able tocontribute back to society.Lastly, I would like to wish VietHope volunteersabundant health, a happy new year, and much success intheir work and life. I wish that VietHope organizationwill receive more success and have additional supportersfrom not only Vietnam and the States but also globally. I am deeply grateful for the University Scholarship fund.
VietHope Charity Dance at Drake University
By Thuy Huynh, VietHope Volunteer
The Vietnamese-American Student Association (VASA)at Drake University has been hosting the VietHopecharity dance for the past three years. We have manycommitted supporters from the Drake community anduniversities across Iowa. The main goal of the event is tofundraise for VietHope. Vietnamese-American studentsnot only have opportunities to fulfill our ambitions butwe also do not forget our origins. VASA membersbelieve in the Vietnamese proverb “
La lanh dum larach,
” simplymeans, “The good leaves protect the worn-out leaves.”Therefore, we believe in VietHope’s mission inVietnam.At the charity dance, we presented information aboutVietHope and current VietHope activities. We also had aphoto booth with hand-made backdrops so thatsupporters could donate additional money. This year, weadded prizes for attendees who purchased raffle tickets.We also had professional DJs from Iowa State UniversityVSA, who volunteered to provide exceptional musicduring the dance concert. Overall, the dance was asuccess and we received great support from thecommunity. The members of VASA gladly and excitedlywill continue to support VietHope’s work and futureendeavors!
VSA students at Drake University
An Overview of the Youth Development Summit
By Vi Nguyen
A little more than a year ago, VietHope made aninvestment: to build a Youth Development Summit fromscratch. Through the collaboration of over 20 VietHopestaff members in the U.S. and Vietnam, after over 2,000hours of preparation and the creation of more than 200PowerPoint slides across four different learning modules,we saw the culmination of our hard work this past July.Twenty-six students from VietHope’s UniversityScholarship Program (USP) and five Vietnamese-American students from the States spent 7 rigorous daysworking and learning from 7AM to 8PM, and often laterinto the nights.During the first three days, we delved into four differentlearning modules - Communications, Teamwork,Community Service and Project Management. VietHopedesigned these modules with the goal of bridging the gapbetween the knowledge that students learn at college and
ScholarshipPrograms:
Merit ScholarshipProgram: Provideaccess to educationfor poor students inrural areas fromgrades 6-12 ($120student/year). Merit isa renewal scholarshipprogram where-by scholarships arerenewed on yearly basis until studentsfinish grade 12, or failto meet VietHopecriteria.University Scholarship Program(USP): Provide accessto education fordisadvantagedstudents at theuniversity level($150/year). USPaims to develop anetwork of university students and potentialcommunity leaders.Summer activities areorganized for USPscholars to engage incommunity serviceactivities.Community Scholarship Program:Provide monetary support for uniformsand school suppliesfor the least well-off students in Vietnamfrom pre-k through5
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VietHope | 423 Brookline Avenue #199 Boston, MA 02215|info@VietHope.org | www.VietHope.org 3
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Winter Issue XVI December 2009
practical skills that graduates need to do wellprofessionally. The results of surveys conducted afterthe Summit showed that the students appreciated thesemodules and benefited much from them. For example,90% of students had never had experience with ProjectManagement before the Summit. The modules werefacilitated by VietHope volunteers from Vietnam andprovided opportunities for interactive learning throughactivities, reflections, discussions, debates and games.During the next three days of the Summit, we spent ourtime at the Vocational School for the Handicapped andOrphaned in Ho Chi Minh City, so that the studentscould put what they learned from the modules topractice. They planned, led, and executed threecommunity service projects that included building agarden, fixing a library, and creating a “lifebook” frominterviews with students at the Vocational School. TheSummit students not only accomplished these projects,but also encouraged students from the Vocational Schoolto get involved in project work, and to share personalexperiences with one another.
Youth Development, summer 2009. Students build a garden at the Vocational School for the Handicapped and Orphaned in Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam
Survey results from before and after the Summit revealedthat the Summit improved self-esteem for students whenthey learned to present in front of large groups, leadprojects, network, discuss controversial topics throughcase studies, and make a difference in their communities.Although all of the students grew up in financialhardships, many openly expressed that they now feelmore empowered than ever. The Summit has given thema glimpse into what is possible in terms of helping theircommunity, representing themselves, and achieving theirdreams.On the last day of the Summit, no one wanted to leave -not the VietHope volunteers, nor any of the participants.We took over 7,000 photos, created countless memoriesand learned so many unforgettable lessons aboutourselves, our surroundings, and our capabilities. Despitethe current economic downturns, it seems thatVietHope’s investment had a priceless return.And to this, we must thank our sponsors like the Unionof North American Vietnamese Student Associations(uNAVSA) for their support, the university studentsfrom USP and from the States for inspiring us, our staff volunteers, who spent relentless hours and believedstrongly in the Summit’s success. And the best way forVietHope to express our gratitude is to say: “We’lldefinitely see you next year at the Second Annual YouthDevelopment Summit!”
Students and Viethope facilitators, who participated in the Youth Development Summnit, summer 2009
This is a remark from a second year college student whoshared her thoughts after she participated in the Youth Development Summit.
“I don’t know what else to say but to comment on theawesome VietHope Youth Development Summit. TheSummit went beyond my expectations. It provided memany unforgettable moments and helped me to furtherunderstand the current social issues. Learning is a vitalcomponent of our lives, and the Summit has given memore motivation to learn. I am very fortunate to have theopportunity to learn while many others don’t have thesame opportunity like I have. This learning opportunityenhances my love for life and resilience in life.”
Students went outside to learn the concept of networking. Youth Development Summit, summer 2009
Ways to Support VietHope:
VietHope welcomes anyone who believes in ourmission. There are anumber of ways in which you cansupport VietHope:
Sponsor a studentthrough one of VietHope’s 3ScholarshipPrograms
Donate to VietHope’sinfrastructureinvestmentprogram
Spread awarenessabout VietHopeand VietHope’smission
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