Ha My Pham is a recent graduate from the Rochester Institute of Technology, with a BFA in Photography.  After learning of the OV program, she was sure that Hong Bang is a purpose she wanted to pursue.  As Ha My describes, “I see Hong Bang as an amazing opportunity to rediscover Viet Nam, its people, and a remarkable chance for me to offer myself to a worthwhile cause. I could claim my motivation to pursue Hong Bang as an identity quest, but it is so much more than that. I had been feeling the energy from that part of the world, and my past for quite some time now. I sense that there is so much to experience and photograph in Viet Nam. I hope to see Viet Nam for its true beauty, and not just what I can remember or what I am told. Since my departure from Viet Nam when I was 7 years old, I had the opportunity to revisit the country once when I was 16. From that one-month stay and observation, I could only describe the country as “desperate”. Yet in that desperation there was so much beauty and determination in its people. Through Hong Bang I hope to realize my potential to make a difference in the lives of the Vietnamese people, even if it is only slight. I want to better my Vietnamese language skills, and expect to better understand that being Vietnamese is my identity. As a photographer I want the chance to illustrate to the world and especially the Vietnamese people that what they possess is beautiful, that their lives are incredible, even if life is difficult. As for my expectations of the Hong Bang experience and of myself: I anticipate that this will be a challenging experience. I hope to make some incredible discoveries, and expect myself to try my best in all situations that I encounter. I hope to walk away from this experience a much stronger, and more giving human being.”

 

Ha My spent her 4 months in Viet Nam teaching conversational English to poor, young rural women at Phuoc Loc Vocational Training Center.  This is where she also worked on designing an accelerated English curriculum specifically for the school’s new housekeeping course; a project developed in 2005 with the assistance of one of our earlier OV, Thai.