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Author: Pals User

GEMS
Pals User

The Power of Education

My family is not wealthy by any means; my parents have to toil and work every day to raise me and my older brother. When I see their daily struggles, my belief in my educational journey grows stronger. Only through education can I get through life’s challenges and difficulties. Only through learning will I be able to escape disparaging prejudices against women and girls. Women are often not considered important in Vietnam, especially in some rural areas. Getting a proper education will help raise women’s status in society, so girls like me won’t be looked down on as before. Not only that, education helps me access more opportunities and more paths for the future. Education will lead me to success, so I can help my family.

Pacific Links Foundation’s GEMS Scholarship Recipient

SEEDS
Pals User

Making Dreams a Reality

I used to think about dropping out of school to help my parents farm because of our economic hardship.

Being interviewed for the SEEDS scholarship changed my life. I was once an average student since I didn’t have time to focus on my studies. Since I was young, I worked in the fields, helped raised the pigs, took care of housework, and watched after my younger siblings.

Fortunately, I received scholarships from Pacific Links Foundation since 9th grade. With the support and encouragement from SEEDS, I passed the entrance exam to enter high school. For three years in a row, I was the top student in my class. I received many awards in science and technology from my school and province.

I am very happy to receive news that I was accepted into medical school. My dream is to work in the medical industry, I want to take care of and help others.

Nhu is one of more than 1,500 high school students in our SEEDS scholarship program. She is currently attending medical school, working hard to become a dentist. She is from a farming family. Her parents have worked very hard to raise four kids.

Nhu, Pacific Links Foundation’s SEEDS Scholarship Recipient

Vocational Training
Pals User

Baking Dreams

One of our vocational scholarship recipients from Tien Giang recently opened up his own bakery in Saigon after gaining work experience and saving up money from the last 2 years.

“I am very lucky to have so many people care for me since I moved to Saigon. Pacific Links Foundation gave me the opportunity to attend vocational training. It’s almost been 3 years since…I work continuously these days. 6 am… [my baked goods] are sold out!”

We tried his baked goods, and can say that they are quite tasty!

We are so inspired by his passion, determination and creativity to be a great pastry chef! Before opening up his own bakery, he worked in a smoothie shop and bakeries to learn from experienced chefs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he started conducting online courses to teach others how to bake.

Ngoc received our vocational training scholarship in 2017. Thanks to your support he graduated with honors in European pastries.

Pacific Links Foundation

SEEDS
Pals User

Overcoming Odds

Diep has overcome great odds to continue to go to school throughout her life. She is the first in her family to go to college and now the first to graduate.

Diep is from a small coastal town in the poorest areas of Central Vietnam. Her father suffers from a debilitating disease and is unable to work. Their family relies on social allowance (USD 75 per month) and her mother’s income from running a small coffee shop out of their home. In the time of COVID-19, her mother’s income has been wiped out, and Diep has been unable to help support her family.

Despite the tremendous hardship Diep continues to face, she remains resilient and continues to impress everybody. Her determination and fearless attitude inspire us. Diep is now graduating from one of the top universities in Vietnam with a major in Business Administration. While in university, she has consistently achieved the highest recognition in her field, including winning the “Innovation Award” for her healthcare proposal at her school’s Innovation Camp. To supplement her living expenses as a student, Diep worked part-time as a content marketing intern for a leading multi-national coffee brand, a teaching assistant at her university, and a part-time tour guide. On that of all of Diep was an active leader at her school and participated in Pacific Links Foundation’s extracurricular activities. Diep remains a devoted daughter and a source of pride for her ailing and aging parents.

One day, Diep dreams of becoming a marketing executive for an e-commerce company. Another day, she hopes to open a tourism agency and restaurants in her hometown to boost the local economy.

In the meantime, Diep is aiming to attend a graduate studies program overseas. She works hard to improve her English through Pacific Links Foundation’s online learning platform to earn a high score on the IELTS English Language Test.

Since 2017, Diep has received a University Scholarship from Pacific Links Foundation and has been a part of their empowerment and life skill-building programs. With all that she has overcome and more, we are certain that she will achieve what she sets her mind to.

Pacific Links Foundation

GEMS, News
Pals User

Reaching High

It was an honor to meet with Michelle Obama and be a part of her visit to promote education for girls in Vietnam! We’re excited to be a part Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance to help girls reach their full potential, by keeping them in school. We are grateful to have been one of the few selected for these wonderful opportunities.

Pacific Links Foundation

Reintegration
Pals User

Paying it Forward

Dao is a first-year student majoring in Pharmacy at the HCMC University of Pharmacy and Medicine. Growing up seeing her mom and the people in her village, often taking medicine without caring or thinking about medicine’s side effects, encouraged Dao to study Pharmacy. She hopes that she could work with other researchers to develop a new drug with no side effects. Dao wants to work part-time at a pharmacy to learn and gain more experience. Dao’s favorite subject is Chemistry. She finds the application of chemistry in everyday life and industry fascinating and practical.

Dao’s father is a veteran, but her parents got divorced when she was little. Dao lives with her mother in a small house that does not belong to them. Her mother works as a wage earner with an income of $100 per month to support Dao and pay for living expenses.

Dao remembers when she was six, her mom worked all the time, and the family did not have any food to eat, so an elderly neighbor always gave Dao food to eat. Her act of kindness left a lasting lesson on how to give without expecting anything in return. The neighbor became Dao’s first teacher and inspired her to help others and pass on the message of “pay it forward.”

Pacific Links Foundation

GEMS
Pals User

Building Confidence

Over the past two weeks, I have been studying at Camp and saw a lot of improvement. I am especially motivated to write letters in English, which I did not do too often in the past because I was afraid of making mistakes. I also used to be scared of speaking English to my friends. However, after being in a welcoming and non-judgmental environment where the teachers only spoke English, I now feel more comfortable listening to and speaking English. I am not as shy as before. I promise to continue learning English and spend 30 minutes each day on the LMS learning management system (LMS). I will try to learn more vocabulary, grammar, and practice speaking every day to improve my English.

English Camp Participant

Vocational Training
Pals User

Coffee Dreams

Dat’s parents separated very early, his mother raised him by herself in a very small house with no door and barely enough space to sleep and cook. The house is too small that his bicycle must be left outside in the alley.

His mom supports them through her small roadside coffee shop. In 7th grade, he learned that his family could no longer afford his schooling so he decided to quit school. He shared with us: “Seeing my mom work so hard every day but we still don’t have enough money to cover the tuition fee, I want to quit school and do something to help her.”

Dat really likes reading books, especially those related to psychology and human development. He proactively learns English, interpersonal skills from reading books and working. At the place he used to work, his supervisor and the team leader really appreciated his good work ethic. He is hardworking, responsible, and open to learning new things.

He also shared with us that his hobby and dream was to have his own coffee shop where people can come to truly enjoy the coffee. He also told us about how much he wanted to go to Dalat to visit the coffee farms to learn about how they grow, take care of, process and preserve the coffee beans before transporting them to other places to sell.

Currently, Dat is learning the art of coffee. Dat received a scholarship to attend a bartender training program to increase his employment opportunities and help him get closer to his dream.

We believe that as a hardworking and passionate person, Dat will go far in his life and we are proud of supporting his dream.

Pacific Links Foundation

Reintegration
Pals User

Flying Colors

I’ve written periodically about this young woman, one of our trafficking survivors at our shelter in Lao Cai Province. She is a very smart and determined young woman. Her story is full of tragedy, though unfortunately not atypical. A member of an ethnic minority group near the Chinese border, at age 16 she was tricked by her friend and sold to a couple in China who bought her for their son. Soon after she gave birth to a daughter, they sold her to work as forced labor in a coat factory.

The opportunity to escape finally came when she was left alone, but she had to make the agonizing, split-second decision to leave her daughter behind, as the mother-in-law kept her at all times. Upon escaping, she also rescued the neighbor girl who was in a similar situation. Eventually, they were brought to our shelter, where they could live in a safe environment and receive education, art therapy, healthcare, life skills, and most importantly, love. I met her two weeks after she arrived, and was skeptical when she said her dream was to become a doctor. We were unsure of the quality of her education before she was trafficked, and she was already at least two years behind in school. Frankly, I underestimated her; last year she was the top science and math student in her class. We were so nervous when she took her university entrance exams, but I’m happy to report that she passed with flying colors!! Together with our donors and Lao Cai government partners, we provided the opportunities and support, but ultimately she did this herself. She’s currently in university studying pharmacology, making her way towards becoming a doctor! She is driven by her passion for medicine and a desire to help others, and I don’t doubt that she’ll continue to succeed.

Mimi Vu

GEMS
Pals User

Perseverance

I’m currently going to school [studying Business English at a college in Ho Chi Minh City] and working. At first, when I came to Ho Chi Minh City, I did not know anyone, so I had to figure out what kind of part-time jobs I qualified for and how much they paid. I have learned a lot from working and found that Pacific Links Foundation has taught me many things that I find very useful now which I found unrealistic when I was in high school. I could not imagine that life in Ho Chi Minh City could be so hard; my sister had to sell her wedding ring to give me 8 million VND to pay for my school fees and housing. There was a time when I did not call home because I did not want my parents to send money (by borrowing it from someone or selling things). After finishing high school, my mother asked me to find work near home, but I wanted to go to school. I want to prove to my mother that I chose the right path and I believe that I can do it.

My family’s economic circumstances are more difficult than before. My mother suffers from arthritis and her legs ache every time she walks a lot so she could no longer sell things two times a day as before. My mother’s legs hurt so much that each month she goes to the hospital, which costs 1,500,000 VND per month. She continues to sell sandwiches in the morning to earn money, which my family depends on, about 70,000 VND each day. There were many months when my mother refused to go to the hospital because she was afraid of the cost. I would like to thank you for the support I have received in the past 5 years to help me continue to go to school.

Academic Scholarship Recipient