From: tnguyen@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Thang Nguyen)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.vietnamese
Subject: [Misc.] A call to volunteerism
Date: 11 Dec 92 20:31:32 GMT
Reply-To: tnguyen@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Thang Nguyen)
Organization: Carderock Division, NSWC, Bethesda, MD

Dear netters:

Following is a message that I delivered to high school and college 
students at a youth conference organized by the VSA at UC Berkeley 
(Nov, 15, 1992).  This message I today would like to share with you.
Some of the points might be irrelevant to the audience on SCV.  Just
disregard them.  

Cordially,
Thang


===================================================================



Dear friends:
     Many of you are at a very important junction in your life. 
You are breaking out of the cozy cocoon, which is your family, to
make the first timid steps into a largely unfamiliar world.  It is
a discomforting experience, I know. You might feel intimidated,
disoriented, or simply confused.  
     It is alright to feel that way.  I felt the same before. 
     I no longer do.  I have found that out there there is a world
full of excitement all mine to discover.  In that world, I have a
place and a role.  And there are so many good people out there that
I know and many more that I do not know but I do care for.  It has
become, if not yet a family then an increasingly familiar place.
     What has caused me to feel that way? 
     It all started four years ago.  
     In 1988, a group of college students in Southern California,
mostly freshmen and sophomores, came together, raised fund and sent
volunteers to refugee camps in Hong Kong.  One day, a friend who
was a volunteer at that time, called me up.  He asked me to come to
Hong Kong and see what I could do to help Vietnamese boat people
there.  I agreed and packed up for a two-week journey.  Four years
later, I am still on that journey, a journey that I am about to
invite you all to join in.
     The past four years have changed my outlook on life. During my
visits to camps throughout Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, I have
seen humans in suffering and in distress.  The more I work with
them the more I realize that my life is so intimately interlocked
with theirs, to the point that I can feel their pain and despair
and sorrow as my own.  I have become aware of my obligations
towards others, the same obligations between kins in the family. 
Like a large family, the world is no longer a strange and
intimidating place, because out there there are many people whom I
am connected with and care for.  
     In those four years, I have also made many friends. They are
the young Vietnamese, very bright and very dedicated, who spend a
good part of their lives helping the boat people.  Some are
volunteers in remote camps where they bring consolation to each
dejected life.  Some work as interns in Washington DC where they
fight against unfair policies towards refugees.  Others have spent
many sleepless nights and long days to raise fund in support of
refugee causes.  For me, their presence makes this world a cozy
place, almost like a family, because we share the same ideals and
the same commitment. 
     So, my young friends, I encourage you to join with many others
who land a helping hand to their less fortunate fellow beings. 
Become a volunteer.
     By helping others, you give yourself a place and a role in
life.  Caring for others brings out the good in you.  With each act
of giving, you get back many times more in fulfillment and
happiness.  Having a cause to serve gives you a direction in life
and makes you feel good and confident about yourself.  So, you are
actually helping yourselves when you help others.
     And you will make new friends.  You will get to know many good
people whom you will love to be friend of and to work with.  
Even today, you will talk to many of the speakers.  They are
examples of the good people that I talk about.  They are the ones
who care because otherwise they would not here.  And the organizers
of this conference too, they care because otherwise they would not
have organized it.  You can make that family of those who care your
own family, if you too care.  So join in instead of staying out,
frozen in a permanent state of intimidation, disorientation and
confusion.
     There are many causes to serve and many people to help. 
However, to you all, I would like to make a personal appeal on
behalf of the 100,000 Vietnamese boat people still in the camps
because they are closest to my heart.  They are very desperate. 
They have gone through untold hardhips and are facing many dangers. 
They need our help.  We may be their last hope.  
     Together we can make a difference in their lives.  In small
ways and big ways, you can help and please do.  I will be available
later today to talk to you more about their plight and to answer
any question you have.
     To the organizers of this conference, I commend you for having
brought us all together.  However, this is only the first step.  Do
not to stop here.  Bring everyone together again, but this time
with specific projects in mind.  Give others, especially the
younger ones, the chance to work with you and give yourselves the
chance to work with many other wonderful people.  
     Don't feel down because of today's small attendance.  There
are things unexpected at each turn in life.  I still remember a few
months ago I came to speak at a symposium organized by Project
Ngoc.  The attendance was even smaller but it turned out that I met
a young female Vietnamese who really cared.  She is now in Hong
Kong and has so far done much more for the boat people than anyone
else that I know.  So, don't feel down.  One thing will lead to
another.  Keep up your spirit.  Keep up the good work.
     Finally, to those of you whom I know before and who are here
today, I would like to take this special occasion to tell you how
much you mean to me.  You brighten my life and give me strength. 
You are the wonders that I discover at each turn in my journey and
that I cherish so much.  Keep the light in you shine always and
share it plentily with others.