Portraits of the month: this month, discover the journeys of Hoa and Thao, two social workers within the Planète Enfants & Développement team in Vietnam.
Hoa is 36 years old and the father of an 8 year old girl.
ThaoShe is 29 years old and is the mother of a boy who has just turned 1 year old.
What is your background?
Hoa After graduating in sociology in 2008, I first accompanied street children in Ho Chi Minh and then worked with migrant children for 5 years. Seduced by the family accompaniment method, I joined the PE&D team in March 2018."
Thao I studied at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City. Social work was then new and little known in Vietnam. I have been working for 7 years at Planète Enfants & Développement".
What is your mission in the association today?
Hoa and Thao work with vulnerable youth in Ho Chi Minh to promote their professional integration. They listen to them, train them, and guide them so that they can gain confidence in themselves and look forward to the future more serenely.
Both of them animate the Imagine clubs launched by PE&D and The Imagine Project. It is an opportunity for young people to exchange weekly on current issues such as climate change or gender equality. Hoa also works with young people from ethnic minorities with Electricity Without Borders.
What part of your job do you enjoy the most?
Hoa I like the contact with the students. I like to pass on to them the values of living together, of solidarity and to see the progress in terms of confidence and inclusion".
Thao What I like most is to see the change in the young people. These are boys and girls who leave school early, who live in the outlying areas along the canals of the city, who work for a living catching birds and selling lottery tickets. I am proud to see them progress and gain confidence as they go through the workshops.
June 30, 2020
