Dua was only 14 when her world took a drastic turn. An ethnic H’Mong girl with dreams of opening her own beauty salon, she never imagined that someone she trusted—her sister-in-law—would traffick her across the border to China. She was sold as a wife for 50,000 yuan, eventually bearing two children with a man she was forced to marry. For 13 years, Dua never stopped yearning for home. Then, one day, Dua found a way back to Vietnam.
Returning home was bittersweet. She was home, yet she felt incomplete—her children remained in China. Dua shared, “I feel lucky to be back with my family, but I miss my children so much!”. At Pacific Links Foundation’s Compassion House, Dua found a chance to heal and rebuild. Before being trafficked, she had envisioned a future where she would own a beauty salon. But after years in China, that dream seemed out of reach.
With the support of the Reintegration Program, Dua took her first steps toward reclaiming her life. She enrolled in vocational training, taking facial classes that reignited her passion. Three months later, she secured a job at a spa in Lao Cai, her hands shaping beauty and her own destiny.
Dua knows her journey is far from over. Every day, she works diligently, gaining experience, and saving to open her own spa, just as she had once envisioned as a young girl. And though her heart aches for the children she left behind, she clings to hope. One day, she dreams of reuniting with them, not as a victim, but as a trafficking survivor.
Dua’s story is a testament to resilience, the power of second chances, and the unwavering strength of a woman determined to reclaim her life.
