Staff Spotlight – Khoi

Khoi was born in a poor family with responsibilities to shoulder, her educational path was not the same as others.

“In my life, I have encountered some tragedies that I was struggling with. The more people tried to help me, the more I felt stuck and could not get over it.
Until one day, I accidentally met and talked to a woman who was working in social work. After that conversation, I found my direction and knew what I had to do to get through that difficult time.
Her help was so different from any support I had ever received. And I realized things would be valuable and meaningful when you got the right help. It was at that moment that I found what I wanted to pursue.”

For Khoi, becoming a Case Manager for Hagar has been a memorable milestone in her career. Through casework she realizes that supporting clients with skills and knowledge is much more effective than simply helping with kindness.

“Nowadays, social work in Vietnam has been developed and recognized, however, this is still not enough. One of the major barriers is the cultural difference in each region. Cultural values limit and prevent clients from looking for recovery opportunities.

Sexual abuse survivors are often defined by society as no longer valid people. Past incidents push them to a lower level than everyone else and they can never stand in the same position as others. Women or girls who experience sexual abuse may not be allowed to dress up, attend social activities or raise their voices when they grow up. Because if they do, people will criticize. They are extremely sad and hurt when they are no longer virgins and thus have few opportunities.”

Khoi realizes that these are challenges to motivate her to keep going and improve her work.

“I found my mission in Hagar. From my experiences in the previous workplace, it is the ideal environment to carry out my mission of supporting women and children who are disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in the society.”

“Perhaps it was only when I worked at Hagar that I became open and respectful of everyone’s differences. Respect not only for my colleagues but also for the people I am helping – those who are forgotten in society. Besides the responsibility, it is the passion that fosters me to persevere with this job. My compassion therefore never ceases. In the past, I used to feel inferior because of my starting point when I came to Hagar. But now self-doubt has been replaced by self-confidence. I started to say thank you to myself and I’m proud of what I’ve been trying for – something I never was able to do before.”