ICO – Viet Nam Education Initiative UPDATE – Spring 2025

We are excited to tell you about another busy winter and spring with the Viet Nam Education Initiative! One big announcement is the decision to expand the initiative to include younger students (pre-university.) We have learned that not all promising students have equal access to elementary and secondary education. By identifying ‘bright sparks’ at a younger age and providing small amounts to support their school costs, these future leaders will be better prepared to succeed at post-secondary level. The scope of this initiative is now expanded to identify, support and encourage students as they move towards secondary school graduation. We continue to appreciate the efforts of our field leads who identify the students that may benefit from this initiative. 

The winter months brought many opportunities for Mark, Thanh and the initiative volunteer team to attend craft and gift fairs across Vancouver Island which helps to raise funds to support students.  The sale of beautiful 3-D gift cards for all occasions, which are made in Viet Nam by an amazing family-run business, also provides an opportunity to share information about the initiative with community members in Canada. We appreciate Mark’s incredible organization and retail skills which help achieve this success. Thanh and Mark’s delicious home-made Spring Rolls have an enthusiastic following in Campbell River and selling bags of frozen rolls also helps to generate funds to support the work of this initiative.

In early April, Thanh went to Viet Nam to spend time with the students and initiative field leads and Mark joined her in late May. This trip was full of connecting with students and local ICO staff, attending graduations, and spending precious time with current and graduated students to support each of their journeys.  It is very exciting to meet with the students who have graduated and are now working in their professional roles and learn about their lives now.

Students had the opportunity to learn from a young and successful scholar and professor from Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Professor Dao spoke about effective networking; focusing on building quality relationships over quantity. He also spoke about the importance of establishing work ethics; honesty, integrity, and teamwork.