Work Trip in the Northern Provinces

This past week, I traveled with representatives from my partner organization, VVAF, to some of the provinces north of Hanoi, Nam Dinh and Thai Binh. The main purpose of the trip was to assess proposed business ventures of some of the disabled associations in these provinces in terms of feasibility and long-term sustainability. The goal is for these organizations to be capable of generating their own funding long-term rather than relying heavily upon external donors, such as VVAF.

I was asked to tag along on the trip to provide advice to VVAF on the proposed plans based on my business background. I was excited to participate and to have an opportunity to travel outside of the city to see rural Vietnamese life, but I was a little unsure as to what to expect.

The first day we traveled by car to Nam Binh to meet with one of the provincial disabled association and hear more about some of their proposed business ventures which included expanding the capacity of an existing operation -- raising chickens, ducks, fish and fruit trees -- as well as starting some new projects -- raising bonsai trees and constructing handicrafts. The association was incredibly gracious of our time and appreciative of our advice. In addition to discussing their proposals at the office, we also traveled offsite to some of the locations in which the ventures would be carried out as well as ate Vietnamese food at a local restaurant.

That same night we headed to Thai Binh and had a little time to relax after a busy day in Nam Binh including getting an AMAZING head massage and facial, shopping for shoes and eating yummy roasted chicken and noodles.

The following morning we resumed our business assessment with the Thai Binh disabled people club. During this particular meeting, I became slightly overwhelmed as they presented many, many proposals within a short timeframe. I was trying hard to put all of the pieces together and ask probbing questions about these plans, all while piecing together information through one of the staff members, who graciously served as my interpreter during the meetings, as well as looking at the plans -- of course, all in Vietnamese. However, despite this fact, I think we still had a good visit and, fortunately, I will get an opportunity to look at the plans later on in English and provide additional feedback.

Overall, the trip was very enjoyable. It was nice having the opportunity to travel outside of Hue for a few days to conduct some field work with other organizations in which case VVAF currently works.

I think it is always exciting to be a part of projects that are designed to help people help themselves. I truly hope these disabled organizations will learn to be self-sufficient and sustainable in time -- which is my same desire for the Hope Center.