Volunteer activities of Tran Thi Chang with the Vietnamese Women's Union in Malaysia. Photo: Tran Thi Chang

"Home" in a faraway place

Established in 2014, during the past 7 years, the Vietnamese Women's Union in Malaysia has really become the "home" of Vietnamese women and workers in foreign countries.

As the founder of the Union, Tran Thi Chang and hundreds of members organized many meaningful activities to bring together women and Vietnamese people, share in difficult times, and always look back to their homeland.

Not only that, with the enthusiastic support of the Vietnamese Embassy, they are also determined to open a Vietnamese language class for Vietnamese children or Vietnamese brides in Kuala Lumpur.

With the help of the National Heart Institute of Malaysia, members of the Union also organize free health consultations for the community on cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and first aid instructions for stroke patients.

In particular, in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic for the past 2 years, the Union has always stood by the community, especially Vietnamese workers who encountered difficulties in the host country.

Chang said that, despite being far from home, the spirit of solidarity, attachment and mutual help is always in the hearts of Vietnamese people. Although it is very difficult and unsafe to travel during the pandemic, members of the Union are still enthusiastic about doing things to help the community.

The support of the sisters

With a new life in Korea - one of the countries with the highest number of Vietnamese brides in the world, many Vietnamese women are still striving every day to be able to live happily and integrate well into the local society. The Vietnam Women's Union in Korea was born from the need to share, support each other, exchange information, culture, law, and language so that people can get used to life here.

Members of the Vietnam Women's Union in Korea. Photo: Vietnam Women's Union in Korea

Head of the Union Mai Thi Hong Ngoc said that in order to successfully integrate into the host country, Vietnamese women in Korea must always be confident, overcome their limitations, actively learn and have sense of striving. That's why she always encourages women take part in courses such as "self-development," or "becoming a member of a team to support women's rights."

They also organize an exchange program to guide Immigration Law, Labor Law, useful information for women, go to the movies, listen to music together to gain a deeper understanding of the local culture.

They have successfully organized a charity fund-raising program and directly brought gifts to visit orphans, awarded scholarships to poor children overcoming difficulties, and poor households throughout the North, Central and South regions.

Although life away from home is still difficult, everyone wants to contribute and share the love with their homeland.

The love of Vietnamese mothers

The Vietnamese Mothers Group in Australia was founded by Nguyen Bao Chau, who is currently living in Melbourne, with the desire to contribute a part to jointly build a feeling of solidarity and affection among Vietnamese mothers living here.

As a place to meet, exchange, help and support each other in all aspects of life as well as share experiences of raising children in foreign countries, the group currently attracts more than 12,000 participants. The activities of mothers are even more meaningful at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic is complicated and affects the lives of Vietnamese people in Australia, especially mothers and unemployed workers.

At the time of the outbreak, there were two groups of people they cared about and supported: the lonely elderly and the unemployed mothers with small children. Therefore, those who really need help just need to call the group's hotline to receive essential support. Group members also provide shelter for homeless mothers.

Along with the Vietnamese Mothers group in Australia, Tiem Mot is also a proof that Vietnamese women always have a way to find each other. This is a great project of 5 people living in Finland, France, Sweden, Norway and Germany. Although each person has a different place, they have known each other through their passion for books and the desire to preserve Vietnamese language for their children when growing up abroad.

It is possible to see at Tiem Mot Vietnamese books accessible to readers in Europe and books about Vietnam, somewhat alleviating homesickness and helping children growing up away from home to understand more about Vietnam.

They hope that the Tiem Mot project will contribute to preserving the beauty of the mother tongue in the heart of each expatriate child.

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