Submitted by Initiative Lead Thanh Tazumi

As Christmas is approaching and we are nearing the end of 2023, I am happy to share some joyful news and stories with all of you.  This summer, Mark and I had an amazing time with students, their families, and ICO volunteers in Vietnam.

Street food with students and volunteers in Hanoi

I arrived in Hanoi on July 22nd and spent about 20 days with students and volunteers in Hanoi, before Mark joined me on August 10th. The best decision we made on this trip was to rent a two-bedroom Airbnb. It allowed me to host volunteers from out of province, and I was able to invite students over for meals and sleepovers (only female students when I was on my own).

An incident stood out to me during my first three weeks in Hanoi. I had invited three female students to stay over for a couple of nights so we could get to know each other. They accepted the invitation but indicated that they would probably just stay for one night, and I was happy with that. I let them sleep in the next day, as I knew their days were usually hectic and full, and this was a rare opportunity for them to just chill. They got up, we had brunch, went for a walk, went for coffee, had a siesta, and then it was time to make dinner so we went to the store, picked up groceries, made dinner, ate… 

I kept waiting for them to tell me when they were heading back to their dorm, but it never happened. They asked if we could go to the swimming pool the next day. So, in the end they stayed for two nights and three full days. I know they appreciated the air conditioning, the food, and being able to do their laundry at my place. I would like to believe they also enjoyed hanging out with me.

Lunch with students at our Airbnb in Ho Chi Minh City

Having an extra room in the Airbnb was so successful, we decided we would do that as much as possible wherever we traveled. When Mark joined me in Saigon, we were able to extend the invitation to the male students to stay at the Airbnb with us as well. We did the same when we went to Quy Nhon. In fact, we rented a three-bedroom condo, as we were joined by three students and an ICO field lead.

I am thrilled to share with you that we are able to support 43 students for the academic year of 2023 and 2024. We are profoundly grateful to all. They can be assured that 100% of their donations will go to students’ scholarships. We do not take their trust for granted.

I must admit I felt slightly overwhelmed when I received 22 applications for scholarships.  I did not think we would be able to support all the applicants. I have never been so happy to be WRONG in my life. I feel like I’ve already received the biggest Christmas present already: Eleven new sponsors came forward in the last three months, and with a little help from our existing sponsors (15) we were able to support all 22 new students.  Our team of 26 sponsors are providing scholarships to 43 students. Isn’t that amazing!!

ICO-sponsored students and families came together to celebrate with Kieu and Toan. This year we were able to celebrate seven graduates in three different cities.

Kieu and Toan (in middle of photo)

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