Xin Chao! Woke up a little late today so I didn’t get to enjoy all of the amazing breakfast. Our company visit today was VinaCapital Foundation. VinaCapital is an organization that is focused on improving the lives of disadvantaged children and women. Our tour was given by CEO Rad Kivette. Mr. Rad spoke to us about VinaCapital’s various services and projects during the 26 years he’s been living in Vietnam. One program that Mr. Rad emphasized were the heart surgeries VinaCapital provides to children with heart conditions. With two thirds of the population of Vietnam living in remote rural areas, access to treatment for dire conditions is scarce. With this program, VinaCapital bridges the gap and goes out to remote areas to test people for conditions, then gives them the necessary heart surgery accordingly. This was just one of the ways that they had saved the lives of thousands of children. Comparing this to the US, VinaCapital’s importance becomes even more apparent. Since the rural areas in the US are typically much more accessible than those of Vietnam, it’s easier for people to get access to testing and treatment in the US. VinaCapital bridges the gap in accessibility to provide life-saving services to people who need them. In the future, I would be curious to see what else VinaCapital would be able to provide. I think an area that VinaCapital should pursue is research. As an organization that focuses on uplifting women, this would be extremely beneficial since women’s health research has historically been neglected.
Through the entire visit at VinaCapital, I came to admire and respect them but it wasn’t just because of how many lives they told us they saved. With every word that Mr. Rad spoke his sincerity and passion became more and more apparent. With so many fraudulent organizations around today that pretend to do good, it was refreshing to see people that truly care about their cause.
Other highlights of the day were getting to paint on traditional rice hats and going on the waterbus tour. Although I’m not the best painter, I enjoyed making my own design and watching everyone else paint theirs. I also had a lot of fun playing ping pong at one of the waterbus stops. The people there were extremely gracious and kind for letting us play at their tables.