Visiting Vina Capital left us so touched that our typically boisterous group spent the bus ride to lunch seriously reflecting on the difference the organization is making in Vietnam. We all want to be apart of it, and many of us are already seriously considering coming back next summer to intern with Vina Capital. We didn’t see Vina Capital’s teams in action, but CEO Rad Kivette’s southern charm and genuine passion for the mission made our visit incredibly inspiring. Rad is a leader who acts more like your favorite grandpa, not your boss. His storytelling was the best part; he had us laughing one second and jerked a couple tears the next. His drive and focus on VCF’s mission of empowering and treating women and children was captivating.

Rad revealed a dark reality in rural Vietnam to us. Women are too often abused and forced into marriage and childbearing as young as 14 years old. Besides domestic issues, VCF also connects children with congenital heart defects with cardiac surgeons. They’ve been able to reach a capacity of 10,000 surgeries a year to treat these children. As Rad mentioned, one of the biggest challenges VCF faces is trying to encourage fair treatment of women in communities where women are culturally viewed as highly subservient.

As a finance student, I was most impressed with Rad’s ability to fundraise for VCF. He told us a story of how he raised over a million dollars to bring ventilators to Vietnam during COVID, which was especially deadly in the region. Seeing the ways Rad ties together business acumen, passion, and cooperation with the Vietnamese government makes me want to explore the world of NGOs. I hope this isn’t the last time I interact with VCF and Rad. Their work is so impactful it’s impossible not to want to be a part of it.