Welcome to the Official VietACT Intern Blog! It provides an opportunity for the current VietACT Intern to engage in a dialogue with our members, the community, and those interested in our efforts and fight against human trafficking. This blog will feature updates and observations from the shelter in Taiwan, thoughts and feelings from the current VietACT Intern, as well as news updates and information about human trafficking in general. Thanks for visiting!


Saturday, December 12, 2009

Start a Love Trend

After 4 months of washing my clothes by hand, I cracked and went to the laundromat today. When I first arrived, the shelter was housing about 34 residents. Now there are 46, if not close to 50. I really enjoy hand-washing, but there's limited space to dry.

I also have less time to hand-wash. Cha Cuong (Father Cuong) is visiting the states for two months. This man does so much for the shelter. I am in awe of how much time and thought he puts into the messages we send to the survivors. We love him and miss him dearly and wish him safe travels. The shelter has 10 classes a week, morning and afternoon sessions. Cha Cuong teaches about 3/4 of the classes. I'm helping to cover some of his slots plus the ones I teach already. In total I teach Computers, Art (not to be confused with arts and crafts), Dance (hip hop and salsa), facilitate 2 support groups, and teach two English classes, a beginner and more advanced. I'm learning a lot about lesson planning, how to communicate effectively, what topics survivors of human trafficking find boring, and how to make boring things more exciting.

Tomorrow there's a big protest. Should be 1000 people gathered at the Council of Labor Affairs to protest the domestic workers not being included in laws that mandate a day of rest every week. Currently, domestic workers and caregivers are expected to work 7 days a week, which is why we call it SLAVERY. They are treated like machines and regardless if they get sick, they are forced to keep working.

I appreciate humor more than ever at the VMWBO. I tutor two young men English. Each has lost a hand, and finding a job in Vietnam will be much easier if they can speak basic English. I try to make the lessons relevant so they're easier to remember. For a week I had taught Minh, "I have a girlfriend. Her name is Hang. She is beautiful. She likes the color yellow." During Hope's English class, which I do interpretation for, Hope pointed to a young girl and asked, "Who is this?" Everyone replied, "She is Hang." Then another voice shouted quite clearly, "She is my girlfriend. She is beautiful!" Without a doubt it was Minh, bolder and badder than ever. I was quite proud, and the other 45 students had a good long laugh.

Conclusion: I love my life. I love teaching. I love sharing my life and the time and space it's in with the survivors. I even love doing laundry. Perspective is a beautiful thing. To everyone else at the shelter, that girl is Hang. To Minh, she is his sunshine. And we all could use a little more of that.

*Names have been changed to protect confidentiality.
*Photo: Cha Cuong and myself at his birthday party! Party on down, Cha!

4 comments:

tramyh said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tramyh said...

Hi Calix.
I hope the protest goes well. 7 days of work? That is slavery.
I'd like to learn more about Cha Cuong.
It sounds like he is doing great work.
Are you aware of other nonprofits fighting human trafficking on the East Coast? I am looking for a summer internship. :)
Keep up the good work.

Calix said...

Hi Evelyn,
I'm so so sorry I've been MIA on this page and to your comment. I've got so many projects going that I've had to neglect updating the site a bit. Let me ask my peeps about nonprofits back east, ok?

Awhile back I was made aware of your question to sell the artwork made in my classes. I'm not sure about the logistics fully, but I will be taking a good amount of originals to the states with me. I need to discuss with a few people in Taiwan but there's a chance that I might put together some sort of fundraiser with their work to raise funds for Vietnamese Survivors of Trafficking/Migrant Workers overseas. Do you know of others who might be interested in purchasing original artwork?

Hope grad school is treating you well, lady!
Xuan

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