Today was probably one of my favorite days of the entire trip. We started our morning with a lecture all about the history and current teachings of Buddhism. Buddhism began as a philosophy that was shared by the enlightened Siddhartha Gautama, otherwise simply known as Buddha. Today, Buddhism is a considered a materialism religion that seeks to help followers escape from dukkha (sorrow and suffering) and show followers a path to nirvana. The way Buddhists reach this state of enlightenment is from following Buddha’s “wheel of the dharma.” This wheel outlines the noble eightfold path that leads to nirvana. This path includes right mindfulness, right intentions, right concentration, and more. Personally, I found this lecture very intriguing because of my own recent dabbling in practices such as meditation and mindfulness. These are practices that I hope to someday make a regular part of my life, and I found it very interesting to hear the roots of these practices. Additionally, the lecturer explained that because Buddhism is more of a philosophy than a religion, it is not uncommon nor contradictory for people to practice Buddhist methods while also practicing a separate religion.

After learning about Buddhism, we visited a pagoda in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. The building was absolutely beautiful with great detail in every element. I found it especially interesting to be in the same room as the locals who came to the pagoda to practice their religion. I appreciate the peacefulness and mindfulness of the religion as a whole and cannot wait to read more about it.

After lunch, we attended our final company visit of the trip which was at VinaCapital. Two branches fall under the main trunk that is VinaCapital. Those two branches are the VinaCapital Foundation and the VinaCapital Opportunity Fund (VCOF). Although they are two separate entities, their work is intertwined like the branches of a tree. VCOF works in investment management and is a real estate development firm while the foundation in an international NGO that focuses on a range of humanitarian projects in Vietnam. These two entities are intertwined by the fact that VCOF funds all of the foundation’s overhead and also provides office space, volunteers, connections, and expert help to the foundation.

A large portion of our visit with the company today focused on the foundation piece of VinaCapital which happens to be the branch that really peaks my attention. The foundation’s mission is to “empower the children and youth of Vietnam by providing opportunities for growth through health and education projects.” Mr. Rad Kivette, the current deputy president of VinaCapital Foundation, explained that their vision is a Vietnam where all children can take advantage of opportunities so they may contribute to society and accomplish their dreams. VinaCapital Foundation is working to make this a reality by reaching out to the communities in Vietnam through programs such as Heartbeat Vietnam and Survive to Thrive. Such programs and more target specific problems throughout Vietnam. For example, Heartbeat Vietnam funds life-saving heart operations for financially disadvantaged children thus allowing the children to grow into adulthood and strive for their goals and dreams. Ultimately, each program takes aim at different problems to make their vision more of a reality each day.

Looking back at all of the companies we have visited, I have noticed a few common threads that have aided the rapid development that Vietnam is experiencing. From my perspective, the most notable thread is the importance that the companies place on sustainability. For one, Phu My Hung, the planned city, follows a master plan that carefully calculated all elements to ensure that the community can survive and thrive long after construction is finished. At Glass Egg Digital Media, management places a large focus on hiring and training Vietnamese  people while simultaneously inspiring educational programs, vocational programs, and more. Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park, also known as VSIP, creates quick start industrial space that can be used and reused as manufacturing and office space for companies for years and years to come. II-IV Incorporated, the manufacturing company based on engineered materials, strives to buy locally, hire locally, and develop the skills and education of the local labor. Finally, VinaCapital Foundation provides their beneficiaries a lifetime of service. This means they will continue to help and follow up with the affected beneficiaries years after they are directly given aid. Moreover, the ways in which each company creates sustainable development is not limited to those mentioned above.

I can probably ramble on and on about all of this stuff, but I will try to get to my point. To put it simply, according to the World Commission on Environment and Development, sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Each company recognizes that it is in their own best interest to take an active part in meeting the needs of both the present and future generations. This has lead to company-centered involvement and development of improved education programs, improved housing, improved health programs, an improved economy, and an improved overall quality of life. All of these improvements in the Vietnamese way of life only lead to improvements in the business sector such as improved quality of labor. As you can see, one can easily argue that companies are a large motivating force in the rapid development of Vietnam.