VietBlog

Our first night in Vietnam we visited a special place. As a first year journalism student at WVU the importance of this visit didn’t strike me until much further into the trip, when we were attending workshops in Long Xuyen. That night we went to a place dubbed the “Social Work Café”. During our visit, I was groggy with dehydration, so some details evaded me. However, from the pre-departure meetings with Dr. Newfield and the events of the meeting I knew where we were was important.

We went to a place that wasn’t a café at all, but rather a meeting place for those interested in promoting social work in the country. The Social Work Café is a safe place for social workers to meet and discuss moving the field forward.

Social work in Vietnam is in its infancy. Social services and programs in existence are mainly provided by the government and volunteers. There are only a handful of social workers educated at the master’s level. Dr. Newfield and WVU School of Social Work are working to improve social work in Vietnam. By partnering with An Giang University, Dr. Newfield provides expert information on the field of social work to people from all over Vietnam, and even Cambodia. These workshops provide students and workers with information about counseling, diagnosis, and social work theories.

One of the main issues in Vietnam is the trafficking of young girls to work in sex trade around Southeast Asia, especially over the border in Cambodia. Other issues include drug use, HIV/AIDS, and poverty like many other countries around the world. However, without social work and similar professions to help with counseling and prevention, these issues could escalate.

In Vietnam we visited several social institutions to see how social work has helped these situations already, and how they can be improved. One of the first we visited was a school for disabled children in Ho Chi Minh City. There the owner told us that this school helped poor children with Cerebral Palsy or hearing disabilities. They took contributions from private donors and aid from the government. We then visited a shelter for abused girls. At both locations we were greeted with open arms and engaged in games and songs with the children.

Our next social work visit was in An Giang Province. The Khai Tri School is a school for girls and boys who are poor and usually have one or no parents. Students are fed and taught various subjects, including English. While primary and secondary education in Vietnam is free, private or specialized schools (including those aimed at helping disadvantaged children) can sometimes cost money. All university and vocational education usually costs money and is highly competitive. The Khai Tri School will help send gifted students to tertiary education.

To run the school for a day costs about $100. Again, the school receives money from the government and private donors. And like the other two agencies, when we visited the children, they greeted us with open arms. We laughed, played, sang, and dance for hours until it came time to leave, and every single WVU students had to be pulled away because we did not want to leave. For more information about education in Vietnam, visit Cultural Profiles, Vietnam.

The next social work agency we visited was Project Adapt, an NGO located in Long Xuyen that partners with Pacific Links. Project Adapt helps intervene in the trafficking of girls by providing vocational training and education to use for an alternative for income rather than trafficking. For more information about Project Adapt, visit their website.

The role of social work is just as essential when crossing the border. In Cambodia, social work is taken to a whole different level. There the dominate force is the NGO, or non government organization. The first NGO we visited was COSECAM, a coalition of different NGOs to combat sexual exploitation of women and children. The next was Friends Restaurant, an NGO that trains street children in its restaurants to give them vocational training in the food service industry.

We also visited shelters for abused girls. Because of the issue of sex tourism in Cambodia, there is a real need for shelters for displaced children. Our friend Bunna, a Cambodian social worker who attended the workshops, invited us to her shelter. Even though it was surrounded by high walls covered in glass shards to keep out dangers to the girls, the place was one of comfort and happiness. The girls even performed traditional Khmer dancing, a skill they will be able to use once they leave the shelter. At another shelter called the Agape Restoration Center in Phnom Phen, run by AIM4Asia. This shelter provides services specifically for abused girls, and it’s facilities provide a safe environment, along with educational and counseling opportunities for the girls.

The final agency we visited in Cambodia, and one of my favorites on the trip, was Centre de Protection Pour Enfants in Siem Reap. Our friend Kimhourt, another Cambodian social worker, worked for a separate branch of this organization in Phenom Phen. There they school children performed traditional Khmer music and dance for us. I met a little girl named Ruka who braided my hair and made me a flowered wreath.

Photo courtesy of Minh Lucas Huynh

Visiting these agencies and attending the Social Work Workshops at An Giang University gave me new perspective about social work. Social work in Southeast Asia is not only about helping victims, but preventing situations like human trafficking from occurring. Social workers help connect their clients to health services, provide them with counseling, and help provide better options. And the social workshops at An Giang University help bring information to the social workers that are already active in the region and breed a future generation of social workers.

When I look back at that first night at the “Social Work Café”, I realize the importance of social work. I met the great people whose lives were being improved by social services and the great people who provided those social services. The discussions our students had with the social workers that night are exactly what the profession needs. Perhaps one day, a child can look forward to being a social worker the same way they look forward to being doctors, business owners, and other “real” professions.

The other thing that stood out about that first night was an absence. One of the first things mentioned was the passing of a woman: Madame Nguyen Thi Oanh, (or Madame One, as she was affectionately called). Madame Oanh was a writer and community advocate for social work. Working well into her 80s, she was one of the first to recognize the situation of social work in Vietnam. Even though she passed away earlier this year, her legacy continues. She no longer could join us at our meeting in the café, but the other social workers carried on in her memory. As the sharing of food, ideas, and laughs continued it could be said her presence continued in the room. And while the students on our trip missed the opportunity to personally meet her, we were able to see her work in action.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Barnes.