While many of us are working to our last drop of sweat to deal with this stinky economy, these people have gone an extra mile to continue their hard work in building bridges for free.  Their purpose?  It’s simply that they want the children to go to school in a shorter distance.  They want the old poor people to walk in a safer pavement rather than a broken tree trunk.  They want to enhance the living of thousand people who do not have the same opportunities as those living in the urban areas.  Their purpose is simple but it makes my heart weeps in happiness and admiration.

The group was founded by Mr. Cong Nguyen, a kind hearted Viet Kieu from France.  All he wanted to do was to help the poors in his home country and improve their lives.  He was able to gather a lot of team members from different parts of the world.  The group comprises of many experienced professionals and engineers, which helps the planning and building of their projects efficiently and cost effective.  At the beginning, the group was clueless about what to do to improve the lives of thousands and million people living in poverty.  Money, food, clothes, and other donated goods will deplete soon or later.  The idea of infrastructure developement finally came to their mind with the rationality that these constructions would last for a long time and significantly improve the lives of every resident in general.  Building bridges had been the major project of the group, but the group also built foster homes, public restrooms, and farm dams.

Group VK - The Heros In Many People Heart (Photo By: Vu Le)

According to Mr. Cong Nguyen, the next step would be lending 50% of the cost to the local without interest, the other 50% will be given by the group as a gift.  When the project completed, the group will collect 50% of the cost back to lend to other locals.  With this new strategy, it is believed that more projects will be done and more lives will be improved in a shorter period of time.  A great example of an efficient philanthropic operation, which is something that OneVietnam Network is thriving to achieve in a greater scale.

We would love to be in touch with this wonderful group of people.  If you have any contact information regarding to the VK group member, please contact me or any of our team members.  Together, we all will make Vietnam a better place to live!

Harvard Widener Library, Source: http://flickr.com/photo/78852958@N00/1524179678

If you’re Asian, more often than not, you’ve probably heard the phrases “Don’t end up working in a nail salon!, “Get into college!” “Be a doctor!”, or something to that effect. College is on the minds of many students and worried parents. From the time a child speaks his first words to the age of 18, this topic probably arises thousands of times. To address these issues, I want to dedicate a series of my blog posts to the topic of colleges: the path to top universities in the nation, the personal challenges, the rewards, and how to succeed in an academic environment.

Today’s blog post will summarize some of the topics. Stay tune for other articles which will focus more in depth on the college application process and the college experience!

Everyone’s experience and path to college is different, but I hope that my “Ivy Walls” series can clear up some ambiguities and questions about America’s Elite Universities.

Harvard Graduation 2009

My Story in a Nutshell

Getting into my top choice college undoubtedly took a lot of hard work and dedication to my studies. I do not claim to be an expert at anything because life is long, success is perseverance, and luck plays a major factor in all areas of life. I merely hope that the stories and advice I share through my series of posts will help you as you apply to your top choice college.

The Path to the Top Universities

Palm Drive, the path leading into Stanford University, Source: http://www.stanford.edu

Getting into these top universities is not impossible, but it does require dedication.

So is it all about the stats and scores? The answer is yes and no. Yes because you should have to bar level stats. No because stats will not be the only thing that will get you that big envelope in April.

So what does it take?  PASSION!  I was driven by passion. Passion for what I’m doing. Passion to help others. Passion to better my life and help my family. Passion to give back to my community. Passion to learn.

If you do things just for the sake of getting into colleges, then admission committees can see through your lack-luster efforts right away. However, if you do things because you like to and give your all to what you’re doing, everything will work out in the end.

So study hard, work hard, do what you’re passionate about, be dedicated, and everything will fall into place.

The Top Universities

Be it Harvard or other Ivy Leagues, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Berkeley, etc., many students set their sight these

Columbia University Library, Source: Picture taken by me

schools.

These schools are amazing because they open many doors for you and teach you things beyond your imagination.  However, you have to understand that education is what you make of it.  Anyone can screw up if they don’t know how to capitalize on the opportunities presented to them.

The experience and opportunities available at these institutions introduce you to many other venues.  They allow you to travel abroad, to do funded research, to spend Holiday breaks in internships, and much more!  These colleges give you exposure to different fields that you never knew existed. They allow you to see your potential. They push you to your limits. However, they can only do these things if you make the most of them.

Less well-known universities also have these opportunities, but sometimes they’re harder to come by and you have to actively search for them. Top private institutions and highly ranked public universities have a better developed network of alumni and more resources that can help students in their endeavors into whatever field interests them most.

The Challenges and Rewards

Annenberg Dining Hall at Harvard, Source: www.fas.harvard.edu/~memhall/annenberg.html

If you want to attend a top institution, you have to be prepared to compete with top students. Adapting to mediocrity may be challenging for students who are used to being at the top of their class.   Furthermore, you may be lost in the myriads of opportunities.  It is hard to know what you want to do when all the opportunities are new and exciting.  However, again, diligence and dedication will make it possible to succeed.

The rewards are plentiful.  You get to learn from people who have changed the world.  You get to be part of history.  Your family will be happy that you are doing well. You will be happy that all your hard-work during high school paid off. There is nothing better than the gratification you get from a job well done.

Isabella’s Comments:

So to sum up this summary article, college is something that many young students strive for, and attending these universities can really change your life.   Check back in two weeks for my next article entitled, “Ivy Walls: How to get into Harvard and America’s Best Colleges.”

Until then, browse our blog to see if there are any topics or opportunities that interest you.  Taking part in any of these activities can broaden your horizons and make you a more diverse candidate for colleges.

Comment below if you have any questions for me, and tell me if there are any topics on which you want me to particularly focus.

Operation Reunite brings over 40 Amerasians together in Saigon.

This April, over 40 Amerasians are returning to Saigon for the first time since they left at the end of the conflict in Vietnam 35 years ago. For many of them, the departure was dramatic—part of the hastily-assembled Operation Babylift that successfully evacuated over ,3000 Vietnamese orphans from war-torn Vietnam to the United States, Australia, Canada, and Europe.

Now, with the help of Operation Reunite, these adoptees are returning to the land of their birth for the first time to learn more about the country they came from. The culmination of over a year of planning, Operation Reunite’s April Reunion Tour will guide the adoptees to a better understanding of Vietnam. The tour includes staple tourist-activities such as a Mekong Delta tour and drinks at the Rex Hotel to more personal moments like the a visit to the crash site of the first C5 plane to leave Vietnam during Operation Babylift. Some of the adoptees are survivors of that very crash.

The ultimate goal, though, is to help the adoptees reach a deeper understanding of the people and culture that they came from. Language classes, visits to orphanages, and a soccer scrimmage with Vietnamese students are planned for that very reason. The most important factor, however, is in the drive of the adoptees themselves to reach out to this forgotten part of their past.

When you talk to Trista Goldberg, Operation Reunite’s founder and herself an Amerasian adoptee, you can easily feel her passion and drive for what she is doing. “I am very excited to see how many Vietnamese adoptees are coming together for this momentous reunion in Vietnam,” she says. Trista herself struggled to find her own reunion years ago. Born Nguyen Thi Thu in 1970, Trista left the country in 1974 and was raised an American girl. When she received her adoption file from her adoptive mother at the age of 25, however, she began her long emotional journey to learn about her past. She took Vietnamese courses and found her biological relatives, eventually having a reunion with them in Hawaii in 2001. Now 39, Trista is helping others start down that path with Operation Reunite.

When asked what she hopes to accomplish, Trista simply says that she “hope[s] everyone is able to walk away from the experience with a sense of love and respect for their homeland.” Thirty-five years after Operation Babylift, Trista and Operation Reunite bring some of those same Amerasian adoptees full circle. I invite those of us who will be in Saigon this April to come out and help welcome them back.

Operation Reunite: http://operationreunite.org/

Contact: phong.quan@onevietnam.org

pictures from: thenonconsumeradvocate.com

“Are men smarter than women?” It seems time has quickly changed, and the more popular question asked now is: “Are women smarter than men?” A quick Google search on “Are women…” will immediately result in millions of sites offering a wide variety of answers.

What do I believe? I believe what I see. In high school, the top performers in my AP classes were all female. Outside of class? They dominated many of the clubs on campus. At UC Irvine, it seemed like the women were more frequently at the top of the bell curve. At Harvard, women play a huge role in research and leadership. The president of Harvard University is a woman.

British researcher and professor of psychology at the University of College, London analyzed some 30 studies to show that men and women are fairly equal overall in terms of IQ. (Newsweek Report 2008). How do these trends hold up in the job market?

Girl Power-house in the US (Entrepreneur, March 2010)

The recession has been bad news for many as unemployment rates remain high. But for the first time in history, the male unemployment rate topped the female unemployment rate. December statistics show that 10.2% of men were unemployed versus 8.2% of women. At the peak of the recession, 82% of the employees laid off were men.

Surprised? Read on…

Women are positioned to soon become the majority of the work force. They start businesses at twice the rate of men. The Center for Women’s Business Research reports that the current economic impact of women-owned firms equal $3 trillion and these firms employ 16% of all U.S. workers–a number that’s expected to rise when the economy recovers.

Convinced? Read on…

A study by Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute, women-led companies will generate as many as 5.5 million new jobs in the US by 2018. Institute director Mark Wolf states,”[Women] are more intense about paying employees well and providing better healthcare”.

The Landscape in Vietnam?

A report by the organization, Onlinewomeninpolitics.com, states that the status and position of women in Vietnam have improved significantly in the last half century. In 1992, women had a high degree of literacy (84% vs. 93% for men). In 2002, the Vietnam Women’s Union, a satellite organization of the Vietnam Communist Party, published statistics that claim women represented 59.2% of all healthcare workers, 70.1% of employees in education and training sector, and 34.7% in show business and sports. The report also states that 43.7% of university graduates and 24.5% of post-graduates are women (Vietquoc.com)

Is the social landscape really changing? Are women receiving equal opportunities as men? Are you surprised by the statistics?

image belongs to philanthropy.com

Richest man in the world spent it on…

Ten billion is one of those numbers that’s simply too big for our human brain to grasp. The truth of the matter is, not many people alive have the privilege of sitting down to think of how to spend $10 billion. You would have to be the richest man alive to have that problem, right? Absolutely. That man is Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft.

This year, Bill Gates committed $10 billion to help develop and distribute vaccines in developing nations. Mr. Gates believes that better health can be a catalyst for more wide-ranging improvements in the world’s poorest countries. He explains his cause here.

How other experts would spend it

Imagine if you had $10 billion to further a cause–What would it be? The Wall Street Journal asked several prominent philanthropists for their ideas. Below are a few ideas from the article:

Percy Barnevik, Hand in Hand International: Stimulate job creation. It costs $200 to create a single job in a developing country. By investing in training and coaching, that $200 has the potential help a poor person earn $2,000 a year for the rest of their lives.

Mo Ibrahim, Mo Ibrahim Foundation: Create a statistics office in Africa. Having reliable data can help improve the decisions of policy makers, investors, and philanthropic organizations.

Nic Frances, Cool nrg: Develop toilets that capture methane to use as fuel. The technology would earn carbon credits by capturing the gas and secondly, use it as a fuel. This provides an economic incentive for companies to provide low-cost sanitation and fuel to much of Africa.

Ronald Cohen, Apax Partners: Create social-investment banks that lend money to social enterprises and allow people to invest in social projects.

Dr. Judith Rodin, Rockefeller Foundation: Discover the “next big thing.” Harness talent and resources to find new answers to big problems. One way to do that is invest in “networks that connect entities across disciplines and sectors, assuring that successful local innovations are more widely adopted.”

How I would spend it…

Personally, I love Dr. Rodin’s idea. I think investing in an organization that networks people and organizations to foster innovation and collaboration is a great idea! Then again, I’m a little biased, *wink.

In all seriousness, I agree that the solution does not lie in a single idea, but rather in our collective willingness to solve the world’s problems. It doesn’t matter if you are the world’s richest man or an ordinary Joe–there’s capacity inside all of us to do something. To harness that capacity, we need to connect, share ideas, and organize to take action. With today’s technology, we can all become global citizens.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes. It summarizes well why we do what we do here:

The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems. – Mohandas Gandhi
—
CNN feature on Gates’ Astronomical Donation

Diaspora Giving: An Agent of Change in Asia Pacific Communities? Vietnam written by Truong Thi Kim Chuyen, Ivan Small, and Diep Vuong takes a close look at the profile of the Vietnamese diaspora, behaviors of diaspora philanthropy over the years, and issues that may increase the efficacy of the Vietnamese diaspora’s philanthropic objectives.

The majority of the Vietnamese diaspora is unique in its immigration experience due to the involuntary nature of displacement. As a result, philanthropic efforts by overseas Vietnamese initially focused on its own community of resettlement. Gradually, as overseas Vietnamese thrive in their communities, diaspora philanthropic efforts changed focus to provide immediate relief to those in Vietnam. With increased openness by the Vietnamese government to the world, diaspora philanthropy has become stronger and more strategic, providing both immediate reliefs as well as targeting more deeply-rooted causes of poverty. The aforementioned research report cites numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that currently bring various forms of relief to the Vietnamese people.

Strategies employed by diaspora philanthropy groups have improved but there remains many issues that, if addressed correctly and diligently, can greatly improve the flow of aid to the poor.  A simpler application process for groups in Vietnam to obtain its NGO status would allow more time spent on applying for funding and encouraging smaller groups to execute their ideas with fewer staff.  Future generations, who may not feel as strong a connection to Vietnam as prior generations, should be encouraged to obtain first-hand experience in the country. There should be mutual respect and recognition of efforts by overseas Vietnamese and the Vietnamese government, thereby fostering a spirit of collaboration. Finally, an accessible central knowledge base needs to be established, where donors and volunteers can exchange information with local partners, improve the parties’ understanding of each other, retain knowledge of best practices in the field, and promote a sense of ownership for each project.

This year is going to be the first time that I will attend the festival, and I’m convinced it’ll be a one-of-a-kind experience.  In the words of Chi-hui Yang, the Festival Direct, this year’s festival is “richly dimensional” and the “live, communal experience of it all engages the senses in ways no regular movie-going can.” Among my favorites of the festival’s programming are the cinematic short series:

Blueprints For A Generation – In a quick-changing modern world, some traditions are meant to continue while some are meant to pass.  This series reveals priceless snapshots of generations who struggle to survive today or who will disappear tomorrow.

Memory Vessels and Phantom Traces – Through a container ship’s still lives, unidentified Vietnamese propaganda films, and an Indian salt field, these three experimental films ruminate on how history is reconstructed via salvaged remnants and material traces.

Scene/Unseen – From Singapore, Queens, India, Canada, San Francisco, London and China, these stunningly bold films give voice to the quiet struggles, strengths, emotions, and thoughts of everyday life.

Take Me Anywhere, I Don’t Care –  What makes them wake up and take a different path in life? Some are transformed by situations thrust upon  them, while others deal with the unintended consequences of their own actions.

Wandering, Wondering – This set of films floats through the city like seeds from dandelions. The same kinds of meanderings are oriented within. On a bus, on a bike, these tales are of love that hides in alleys, hotel rooms, or in the anonymity of large groups. These cinematic kisses will leave you wondering  whether the story is about a moment, a secret, or love.

Two particular films about a man’s journey to his childhood home in Vietnam and a triumphant Vietnamese American community in New Orleans are must-see.  In THE FADING LIGHT, follow Nam as he resurrects memories he thought, and perhaps wished, that he had left behind. Modern-day Saigon reminds him of how far he’s traveled, even if he can’t understand the path. A VILLAGE CALLED VERSAILLES is the empowering story of a tight-knit group in the Vietnamese American community of Versailles, New Orleans. The Versailles people, who have already suffered so much in their lifetime, turn a devastating disaster into a catalyst for change and a chance for a better future.

This year also marks CAAM’s 30th anniversary. Join CAAM in celebrating 30 years of presenting the richness and diversity of Asian American stories with a special gala event on March 15. The most renowned chefs from the Asian Chefs Association will prepare their signature dishes at the infamous Ana Mandara restaurant at the heart of San Francisco. Click here for more information.

Image from Natalie Tran's YouTube Channel

Of all the influential Vietnamese people we have featured on VTP, Natalie Tran might be the most influential.  How influential is Natalie Tran?  Her top two videos on YouTube pull in 18 million views each.  That’s more than the population of Chile!  Natalie has more than half a million subscribers on her YouTube channel and has amassed more than 180 million views from her 200 videos.  She is the 4th most subscribed to director on YouTube.

Natalie Tran is a 23-year-old second generation Vietnamese Australian.  She studies digital media at the University of South Wales.  The topic of her videos range from the “neglected keystrokes on your computer keyboards” to the “rape whistle.”   She ends every video with the segment “porno music slash comments time” to pay homage to her devoted fans.  Her quirky sense of humor, astute observations of life’s awkward moments, and well played sarcasm make her two-minute videos entirely addicting.  Even in doing research for this article I find myself deeply sidetracked.

Natalie’s international star power makes her one of the most influential Vietnamese people in the word, especially with the young generation.  Hopefully Natalie will lend her star power to some of the nonprofits out here! *Wink

Before you run off to Natalie’s YouTube channel, we’ve found a video of her busting out her Vietnamese. Enjoy! (Facebook users go here)

A dead whale was dragged ashore in Vinh Thinh, Bac Lieu province, Vietnam, on Monday, Feb. 22, 2010. Thousands of Vietnamese fishermen gave a royal send-off to the 15-ton dead whale, gathering at the village to pay homage to the creature they call "Your Excellency." (AP Photo/Vietnam News Agency, Huynh Su) (Huynh Su - AP)

Bye, WHALE!

Vietnamese fishermen gathered by the thousands to give a royal funeral and farewell to a gigantic dead whale.

The whale was floating lifeless 26 miles off the coast yesterday before it was spotted.  Ten boats full of fishermen spent a day hauling it ashore.  The whale is referred to as “ngai” (“Your Excellency”) which has an honorific translation used only when referring to kings, emperors, and other esteemed leaders.  “His Excellency” weighs in at 15 ton and measures 52 feet in length.

Today, nearly 10,000 people gathered in Bac Lieu province to pay homage to this magnificent creature.  Fishermen believe that whales bring luck and safety.  The bones of the whale will be placed in a village temple to be worshiped.

The Cult of the Whale God

The cult centers upon the Whale God, a reverent creature that has the power to calm the waves and lead sailors to safety.  Regarded as a god, these large marine animals are never hunted.  Dead whales that wash ashore are buried in a respectful, ritualistic ceremony.  The bones of these creatures are typically placed in a temple to be worshiped.  While the Vietnamese Constitution strictly forbits “superstition,” the whale cult has deep roots in Vietnamese culture and is not considered to be against the law.  Whale-worshiping cults are observed in many coastal communities in Vietnam.

Whale Cult Festivals and Temples

The Whale Temple and sea divinity, Van Thuy Tu, Phan Thiet, Viet Nam

Many temples and festival are devoted to worshiping the whale deity.  During the “Cau Ngu” (Fish Prayer) Festival that occurs annually in many fishing communities, believers ask the spirits of the fish to guide and protect them during their fishing voyages in the coming year.

In Vung Tau, Danang, and Thuy Tu, there are pagodas entirely devoted to the whale god and annual festivals to honor the protection he provides to fishermen.

Since its founding in 1762, Thuy Tu communal house in Phan Thiet city has gathered a collection of hundreds of whale skeletons.  Fishermen of the village have seen these creatures as Gods of the Sea.  After a whale’s death, the remains are brought back to bury.  After 3 years, the bones are exhumed to be placed in a pagoda for worship.  One can see the bone structure of a whale on display at the temple in Thuy Tu.  The structure is about 120 years old, measuring 22 meters in length and weighing in at 65 tons.

OneVietnam Note:

Join OneVietnam as we honor this interesting and fascinating part of Vietnamese culture!

Long Lines at Tan Son Nhat Airport

This may come as a surprise to Westerners, but it’s still New Year’s Day in Vietnam, and much of the rest of Asia for that matter. While the Western New Year tends to involve massive celebration on New Year’s Eve, it’s business as usual on January 2^nd at the latest in many places.

Not so in Vietnam, where Tet celebrations go on for at least a full week. Flights, buses and trains actually see an uptick as many Vietnamese begin returning to work from their celebrations at home right around now. Monday after the first week of Tet is, in fact, the first time cities like Saigon start looking a little more like their bustling selves after the disappearance of the entire city for Tet.

This hardly means, however, that Tet is over for everyone. One café owner in Saigon complained that some of his employees leave for Tet for weeks. Some of it is apparently planned and requested in advance; others just take the time off whether it’s granted or not.

“Tet is the most important holiday in Vietnam for Vietnamese people. This is the only time many of us see our families for the whole year,” Linh, a Vietnamese university student, explains.

This cultural point is something that many foreigners doing business in Vietnam find hard to understand, but is prevalent. John, an expatriate professional in Saigon explains that “a lot of Vietnamese people even put Tet ahead of their careers, and people doing business here have to be able to understand and cater to that.” John’s firm is one of the foreign companies that gives a full week of paid holiday off for its employees during Tet.

Other places that aren’t so flexible, however, find that their employees will risk losing their jobs to leave for a full Tet vacation whether their employer grants it or not. Even schools are affected by this post-Tet exodus. Paul, an English teacher at a foreign language school in Saigon says, “My students start trickling back right now, but I usually won’t have a full class for a few weeks after the official end of Tet.”

That’s at least one situation we can all empathize with. Many students here in the West take days off year-round.