Ms. Rachel Lucas first fell in love with Vietnam and discovered the work of TFA during her 4th-year university clinical placement in Hue, Central Vietnam, in 2014. Recently, she returned to Vietnam, this time working in Hai Duong, hosted by the Hai Duong Medical Technical University (HMTU). During her assignment, she contributed across two local hospitals.

In her own words, Rachel reflects on her experiences and what inspired her to volunteer with TFA.

&ldquo;The need for Speech Therapy (ST) services was very apparent and at the time there were only a handful of locally trained STs in the entire country. I resonate with the sustainable focus of TFA&rsquo;s mission to build local capacity to expand and develop the profession in Vietnam and have been waiting for the right timing to volunteer ever since graduating. 

The ST profession is growing exponentially in Vietnam which is exciting to witness because there is such a need. There are amazing locally-trained therapists who are now running university programs to train the next cohorts of therapists. It was special this trip to have 16 students in one year level at one university, when ten years ago there were only a few STs in the whole country. A sustainable, capacity-building model is so important in facilitating this type of growth and for ensuring that direct therapy itself is delivered by Vietnamese clinicians for culturally and contextually appropriate care. 

The teachers and students had learned the theory about AAC but had never used it before in practice. We had lots of powerful discussions around functional and holistic goal-setting, child-led intervention, autonomous communication, robust AAC, benefits of interprofessional practice, and cultural and linguistic relevance for the Vietnamese context. It was such a joy supporting the students and teachers to put this into practice for the patients and watching the students&rsquo; confidence in modelling AAC grow.&nbsp; 

I would really recommend reaching out to TFA to discuss what options for volunteering are available and getting in touch with previous volunteers to discuss their experiences. My experience overall was invaluable, challenging, amazing, hard work, and a huge learning curve. It was an excellent opportunity to experience daily work life in a completely different country and culture. I&rsquo;m so glad that I did it and feel really proud of the work that the lecturers, students and I achieved together&rdquo;.

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<img src="https://ktr-dev.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/blogs/image-20250106144210-1.jpeg" style="height:528px; width:705px" />

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Ms. Rachel Lucas first fell in love with Vietnam and discovered the work of TFA during her 4th-year university clinical placement in Hue, Central Vietnam, in 2014. Recently, she returned to Vietnam, this time working in Hai Duong, hosted by the Hai Duong Medical Technical University (HMTU). During her assignment, she contributed across two local hospitals.

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In Country Volunteer Blog: resonating with TFA’s mission to build local capacity to expand and develop the profession in Vietnam.

The Beyond Borders Mentoring Program (BBMP) has successfully concluded its 2024 cycle, celebrating impressive achievements:

<ul>
	<li style="text-align:justify">11 mentoring groups led by 11 mentors supported 38 mentees.</li>
	<li style="text-align:justify">Over 110 hours of mentoring delivered.</li>
	<li style="text-align:justify">At least 33 learning goals accomplished.</li>
</ul>

The 2024 BBMP was led by Ms. Carla Mira, with the support of Ms. Phuong Anh Lai. This six-month program focuses on developing leadership capabilities and increasing awareness of the challenges and skills required by the next generation of leaders in the profession. 

This year&rsquo;s program connected mentees from across Vietnam with mentors from Australia, Ireland, the UK, and America, highlighting its global reach and impact. Each mentoring group was supported by a Vietnamese interpreter, of whom are graduates of TFA&#39;s and Enjoyable English 2024 Interpreter/Translator program.

Congratulations to all participants for their dedication and success in this transformative program!

The Beyond Borders Mentoring Program (BBMP) has successfully concluded its 2024 cycle.

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Beyond Borders Mentoring Program Wraps Up for 2024

<img src="https://ktr-dev.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/blogs/image.png" style="height:528px; width:528px" />

The 33rd IALP World Congress will take place in St. Julian&rsquo;s, Malta, from 24 to 28 August, 2025.

Abstract Submissions and Registration are now open through the IALP 2025 Congress website&nbsp;<a href="https://ialpmalta2025.org/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3OQIopLN4fFdJAVmUZctY6uaWiwUJfTHhDzNi2dH-UmwQ6ko8Fhn_5G7Y_aem_S53V87mXW9ab360-fTiAkQ" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">https://ialpmalta2025.org</a>.&nbsp;

Guidelines for the submission of abstracts:

<ul>
	<li>Call for Abstracts Open &ndash; 20 September 2024</li>
	<li>Close of Abstract Call &ndash; 30 January 2025</li>
</ul>

Trinh Foundation Australia would encourage our graduates to consider submitting&nbsp;your research for presentation at IALP 2025. 

Please note that TFA is circulating this advice for your information- we are not a sponsor for the conference.

Trinh Foundation Australia would encourage our graduates to consider submitting your research for presentation at IALP 2025.

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33rd IALP World Congress – Call for Abstract

Trinh Foundation Australia sends our thoughts and best wishes to our speech therapy colleagues, partners and friends in Vietnam after the terrible impact of Typhoon Yagi and now landslides and flooding. We hope that you and your families, your patients and services have not been too badly affected and that any damage is quickly repaired.

Kind Regards, 
Bronwyn Coop on behalf of the Board of Directors.

Our thoughts and best wishes to our speech therapy colleagues, partners and friends in Vietnam after the terrible impact of Typhoon Yagi 

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Back in May 2024, our in-country volunteer Sally Howard provided 3 
weeks of clinical supervision and mentoring for the BSALT at Hai Duong 
Medical and Technical University (HMTU). In her words, Gemma shares 
her experiences and what motivated her to volunteer with Trinh 
Foundation Australia. 
 
I love travelling and new experiences and Vietnam is one of my favourite 
countries. When I saw the volunteer opportunity through the Trinh Foundation 
this looked like an amazing opportunity to combine my love of travel and my 
work as a speech pathologist. 
 
Speech pathology is a new profession in Vietnam, and it is not yet widely 
recognised that speech pathologists have a crucial role in supporting people 
with communication and swallowing impairments across the lifespan. With 
improved access to speech pathology services in Vietnam it will be great to 
see awareness improve. 
 
Capacity building is important for addressing the gaps that exist in an 
emerging profession, including training of speech pathologist&rsquo;s and building 
awareness of the scope of speech pathology practice. By recognising the 
value of speech pathology and prioritising capacity building, the profession will 
grow resulting in improved outcomes for people with communication and 
swallowing impairments in Vietnam. 
 
There were so many things that I enjoyed about volunteering in Vietnam. I 
enjoyed the opportunity to be a part of the local community and experiencing 
working in a foreign health care and university setting and being a part of their 
team. I also enjoyed being able to share my 20 years of clinical experience 
and supporting students in developing their skills and knowledge. 
Volunteering in Vietnam is not only making an impactful contribution to the 
speech pathology profession, but you will also experience professional growth 
and personal satisfaction. You will meet wonderful people and make 
connections for life. It is also an opportunity to see an amazing part of the 
world and experience the Vietnamese culture and food. I don&rsquo;t think anything 
prepares you for the reality of the cultural differences of the Vietnamese and 
Australian health care setting, however the Trinh Foundation and MCNV are 
very organised and prepared in setting up a successful trip.

<img alt="" src="https://ktr-dev.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/blogs/MAIN%20IMAGE%20-%20BLOG%20SALLY%20HOWARD%20%281%29.jpeg" style="height:354px; width:641px" /> 
 
<img alt="" src="https://ktr-dev.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/blogs/BLOG%20IMAGE%20SALLY%20HOWARD%202%203%20%281%29.jpeg" style="height:439px; width:640px" /> 
 
<img alt="" src="https://ktr-dev.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/blogs/BLOG%20IMAGE%20SALLY%20HOWARD%202%20%281%29.jpeg" style="height:486px; width:640px" /> 
&nbsp;

Back in May 2024, our in-country volunteer Sally Howard provided 3 weeks of clinical supervision and mentoring for the BSALT at Hai Duong Medical and Technical University (HMTU). In her words, Gemma shares her experiences and what motivated her to volunteer with Trinh Foundation Australia.

MAIN IMAGE - BLOG SALLY HOWARD (1).jpeg

In Country Volunteer Blog: Professional Growth and Personal Satisfaction

This drawing shows my first impression of Vietnam!

&nbsp;

We want to share the work in speech pathology being done in Vietnam and let the community know about our Beyond Border Mentoring Program 2024.&nbsp;In her words,&nbsp;Cat&nbsp;shares&nbsp;her journey as a speech pathologist and how she got involved in speech and language therapy in Vietnam!

&nbsp;

I came to speech and language therapy later in life. After I had my son, the local health visitors were offering free baby massage classes. They told me that this was because there was a very high rate of communication difficulties in children in that area of London, and that this was a way of promoting parent-child interaction. This got me intrigued&hellip;I then volunteered for the Stroke Association UK in a communication group, and befriended a stroke survivor with very severe aphasia. He had been a musician - the only man in an all-girl rock band, and ran a music studio. We became great friends and I learned a huge amount about the impact of stroke and communication difficulties and how to communicate with someone without speech.&nbsp;Sadly,&nbsp;he passed away, but I am still good friends with his daughter.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

After training at City University London, despite originally wanting to work in adult neuro rehab, I ended up being offered a job by my college tutor in mainstream schools, and as my children were young and it was a term time only post, I accepted and became a paediatric therapist. I love it, and also run drawing and art classes for adults with aphasia and dementia and other neuro conditions, so get a bit of both worlds.

&nbsp;

One of my colleagues married a Japanese man and went to live in Japan. She was interviewed for a blog about British therapists working abroad, which had links to organisations for those interested in volunteering abroad, which is how I came across TRINH. I volunteered for the Beyond Borders programme for four years before the opportunity came up to go to Vietnam to supervise a clinical placement for the first&nbsp;master&rsquo;s&nbsp;cohort at An Binh Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. On my first day, a &lsquo;get-to-know-you meeting&rsquo; turned out to be a full presentation ceremony with the entire board of the hospital and a banner welcoming me as an expert! No pressure!

&nbsp;

My time in Vietnam was incredible - the students were all super-experienced physiotherapists and doctors, so already highly motivated and knowledgeable. Many of them are already becoming leaders of the profession in Vietnam. I spent some time getting to know the country, including a&nbsp;22-hour&nbsp;train journey to Huế, which was beautiful and magical, if not always massively comfortable!&nbsp;

&nbsp;

From knowing barely anything about Vietnam, I now feel like my second home. I am continuing to volunteer for the Beyond Borders programme with another lovely pair of mentees, and am looking forward to taking my youngest son (age 19) with me this summer to meet my Vietnamese family. He has never been on a motorbike, so he&rsquo;s in for a treat. I will be running some workshops at An Binh Hospital for parents of children with communication difficulties, and visiting the art group for people with aphasia run by Dr. Dien, which has run in parallel with the one I run for the past ten years.

&nbsp;

My hopes for speech and language therapy for the future are already being realised - the passionate and committed therapists of the country are building up their knowledge, experience and professional networks so that foreign therapists are becoming colleagues rather than mentors. Much work is being done on developing Vietnamese tools for assessment as well as knowledge of phonetic and linguistic structures of the languages and dialects in order to understand communication needs in a uniquely&nbsp;Vietnamese context. I am absolutely honoured to have been a very small part of this journey.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<img alt="Dr. Dien and Ms Cat Andrew at An Binh hospital     " src="https://ktr-dev.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/blogs/IMG_1172.JPG" style="height:624px; width:500px" />

Dr. Dien and&nbsp;Ms Cat Andrew&nbsp;at An Binh hospital &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<img alt="The aphasia drawing group at An Binh hospital" src="https://ktr-dev.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/blogs/IMG_1173.JPG" style="height:375px; width:500px" />

The aphasia drawing group at An Binh hospital

We want to share the work in speech pathology being done in Vietnam and let the community know about our Beyond Border Mentoring Program 2024. In her words, Cat shares her journey as a speech pathologist and how she got involved in speech and language therapy in Vietnam!

In Country Volunteer Blog: resonating with TFA’s mission to build local capacity to expand and develop the profession in Vietnam.

Beyond Borders Mentoring Program Wraps Up for 2024

33rd IALP World Congress – Call for Abstract

Our thoughts and best wishes to our speech therapy colleagues, partners and friends in Vietnam after the terrible impact of Typhoon Yagi

In Country Volunteer Blog: Professional Growth and Personal Satisfaction

A much-loved mentor- Cat Andrew

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