Pacific Links Foundation

I have had many great opportunities to empower youth and women as a volunteer at Pacific Links Foundation. The way they help youth and women to gain more knowledge and skills for their better lives is amazing. During the Covid-19 pandemic, PALs organized a successful Virtual Summer Camp, has been running the Cook2Give challenge to raise funds for disadvantaged people and many other activities effectively. I feel so wonderful to join with dedicated staff, volunteers and help many girls and women in Vietnam. Thank you, PALS, for all that you do!

I feel so fortunate to have found an organization like Pacific Links Foundation to get involved with. The team at Pacific Links Foundation is incredible, with less than 30 full-time staff impacting tens of thousands every year through their wide range of projects in counter-trafficking and education, ensuring that youth and women can achieve success in the 21st century and stay safe from traffickers. I've had the opportunity to hear from dozens of wonderful students and women who have had their lives changed because of the organization. Thank you Pacific Links Foundation for the work that you do and for giving me an opportunity to work with communities in Vietnam.

I was one of the beneficiaries of Pacific Links Foundation. I have never stopped feeling grateful for the huge support from the organization, and I know that my friends who are also the beneficiaries would feel the same.

I like that Pacific Links Foundation has a diverse program portfolio that can provide support for many disadvantaged people in terms of education, counter-trafficking, and many other social fields. PALS' programs have made great impacts on thousands of people, and I was so lucky to be one of them.

Special thanks to Pacific Links Foundation!

I had a great time with Pacific Links Foundation as a translator and a presenter in Summer Camps. They have worked very well on bringing beneficiaries useful knowledge about anti-human trafficking, career introduction, soft skills, and self-awareness. I am very glad I am involved with the organization and am able to assist them with the good work they do for the youth of Vietnam.

After graduating from university, I wanted to work in Vietnam to empower young girls and women in disadvantaged communities. That's how I became a volunteer at Pacific Links Foundation. I had many amazing opportunities to work directly with the girls in the Mekong Delta, listen to their stories and dream, and help them develop the necessary skills for the workplace. I am incredibly happy and grateful that I could become a mentor for these girls and encourage them to continue their education. After volunteering at PALS for one year, I continue to work for PALS to support disadvantaged youths.

Pacific Links Foundation is an innovative non-profit doing amazing work in some of the poorest areas of Vietnam. They have a wide variety of programs focusing on education and trafficking prevention as they leverage both new technology and a deep knowledge of the culture. They provide thousands of low-income students (mostly girls) with scholarships that also come with opportunities for English classes (through their own online platform), mentorship, job training and soft skills workshops, and so much more. They are doing a lot of great work on the ground and it will continue to bear fruit as students from really difficult circumstances are able to attend college and secure a better future for their families. I enjoy volunteering with them and am always so impressed by the scope of work they do with a small staff.

I have been volunteering for Pacific Links Foundation for over one year as an online English tutor, Summer Camp and English Camp presenter, and as an advisor for the development of the English Tutoring Online Program (ETOP). The mission of Pacific Links is close to my heart since I was born and raised in the Mekong Delta area, and I understand firsthand how so many young people there need help with their education to excel in their lives. Working with the team at PALs, I can see there is always a long-term plan in place and a great infrastructure in every program that they run. I have been teaching and mentoring a group of students for almost a year now, and I can see how much my students have grown not only with their language skills but also with regard to their self-awareness, confidence and critical thinking. I am very glad I am involved with the organization and am able to assist them with the good work they do for the youth of Vietnam.

I had the chance to volunteer as a presenter for the English Camp organised by PAls a month ago. No words couldn't do the justice to my feelings and my expressions I had from that camp. Unlike me, the children participated in the camp don't have an adequate living. They lack the access to education, especially learning English which will somehow change their future in a positive way. I thank PALs for having connected me with the children so that I could share my knowledge and they, in return, might have learned something from me. And I really appreciate that. I hope that they will keep doing this or even develop more in the near future so that more vulnerable groups of the population can be helped. I highly recommend this organisation to everyone out there who wants to help other people but don't know how.

Pacific Links Foundation does fantastic grassroots work in Vietnam, particularly with at-risk youth and women. I was lucky enough to spend 2 years volunteering with them.

I am so impressed with the work that is being done by the wonderful staff. They are dedicated, smart, and capable. You see the joy the joy on their faces while doing such great work.

with very limited resources, pals is doing fantastic work for the at risk little girls in the very difficult & depressing setting of children trafficking. will continue to support and solicit support for your organization in whichever way i can. keep up the great work, thank you and good luck.

I worked with Pacific Links Foundation as a volunteer, consultant, and partner from 2008 - 2012. The organization makes a clear impact on the quality of life and opportunities for the people they serve: young girls and women in remote border regions of Vietnam. The organization can still improve their ability to communicate their impact to the public. The staff are dedicated, passionate, and genuine, though often stretched too thin.

How to stop human trafficking and What can we do ? I really didn't find out the answer before, but I now has the effective answer when I work at PALS. Keeping poor girls going to school until graduation, so that they can have many choices for their future, helping girls who dropped out of school long ago by vocational training and introducing job and raising awareness of human trafficking for girls and the community are good ways to prevent human trafficking. "If I didn't receive ADAPT scholarship, I dropped out. Thank to PALS for helping me keep going to school until graduation high school". That is what the scholarship recipient had commented, it really changed her life. PALS has make a great effort to help poor girls could have a better future by education. PALS can help more poor young girls to get a better life with supporting money and effort from me and you.

I started at this organization as a volunteer, then staff member, and now proud Board Member. My commitment to this organization wouldn't have spanned over 5 years and counting if I didn't truly believe in the impact PALS is having in communities in Viet Nam, particularly in the lives of young women and girls. I've been able to witness firsthand how PALS approaches their work through an empowerment framework working directly with girls, families, and communities to give them agency to improve their own lives. This is evident in their ADAPT, anti-human trafficking project at Viet Nam's borders with Cambodia and China. ADAPT employs a comprehensive model of prevention, reintegration, and capacity building services that supports girls to persevere and realize their full potential. PALS is the reason I believe international development can happen at the very grassroots level, which too few NGOs can claim.

PALS is doing very well in their activities to prevent girls from being trafficked, protect victims and help built women’s capacity to fight against human trafficking. In fact, PALS has contributed significantly to anti-human trafficking through their scholarship program – support poor girls in the border provinces to go to school, reintegration assistance program – provide a safe place and help create stable sources of income for returnees, or other activities such as providing vocational training and job placement for girls who dropped our of school, organizing training courses for women to help increase their awareness of human trafficking and strengthen their capacity, or supporting for workshops on social work training, etc.

With nearly eight years of operation, PALS has become a significant organization preventing and fighting against human traficking in Vietnam. The 2 shelters for the victims of human traficking, one in the North and the other in the South, together with the scholarships for girls in border provinces who are in poverty and at high risk of dropping out of school are what PALS has been doing in the battle of anti- human traficking.

Human trafficking should no longer exist in the twenty first century. Yet, it is prevelant in more places and in almost every society. Please spread awareness and do at much as you can to support Pacific Links Foundation and other like organizations.

I'm recently a donor to PALS in the last 6 months and found they are professional and dedicated people, staff and volunteers inclusive. They are committed to the prevention of women trafficking and providing safe houses and re-habitation and reeducation to women returned from their keepers. I will total recommending PALS for any organization or individual who looking for a great cause to support. Keep up the great works PALS.

I know the work of Pacific Links first hand as I had the chance to see the projects in Vietnam. Two summers ago, I met hundreds of young girls in the Mekong delta who are able to attend school because of the scholarships they have received from the ADAPT program developed and supported by Pacific Links Foundation. I also witnessed the success of Pacific Links with trafficking victims. Over 24 young women enrolled in the Saigon's Chefs without Borders where training opportunities enable them to obtain decent, well-paid jobs in the food industry. These are but a few projects developed by Diep Vuong and her team throughout southern Vietnam with women and girls over the past 10 years. These young women would have so little chance in life without Pacific Links. I have been involved in the non-profit world for over forty years many of those years with the YWCA working with women and girls. The programs of Pacific Links are among the most meaningful if not the most overall. Lucille Panet-Raymond, Montreal, Canada

I have vistied Adapt in Vietnam on three occassions in the capacity of a volunteer evaluator of the scholarship program for the most needy and at risk girls in the Mekong Delta. The program staff are dedicated to keeping the girls in school and making education process. Despite their challenging home environments, often at great distances from school, the girls are making excellent academic progress fully equal to the performance of their non-scholarship peers. More importantly, the dropout rate for ADAPT students is well below their peers and the average of dropouts across ethnic groups in the U.S. One gets the sense that the staff refuses to allow a girl to fail or quit. Where the program truly excels is aiding retunees who have been rescued or who have escaped human trafficers in Cambodia and China. The charity provides housing, healthcare access and employment training. In addition, the returnees receive counselling in a nurturing non-judgmental environment. Many have successfully reentered Vietnamese society.

I have been a donor and also a volunteer in the context of providing volunteer experiences for students in a college class that I teach. Pacific Links Foundation does amazing work to educate young women and their families about the dangers of trafficking, to give those young women opportunities to say no to becoming trafficking victims, and to give victims of trafficking new hope even after suffering through this horrendous experience. I sometimes think they do this great work out of sheer passion and commitment because they have done so much with minimal staff and funding. They ask for little, and the people who know their work give generously because we know that every dollar packs a punch when left in their hands and that they will keep up the fight as long as a single girl is still being victimized.

Writing both as a past donor to PALS and as a not-for-profit professional working in Vietnam, I truly admire the work that Pacific Links is doing in Vietnam. Tackling the root causes and addressing the needs of victims of human trafficking is no easy task. The Pacific Links staff; however, do not dwell on the difficulties. Instead, the do all they can using the resources they are given. They are not afraid to innovate, they effectively employ volunteers to support their work. I was particularly impressed to see the way PALS engages the Vietnamese Diaspora, particularly those with social work skills, to support their work from abroad and in country. Every time I attend a PALS event, I am moved to tears, not because of the difficulties their beneficiaries are facing but because of the impact PALS is having on those women's lives and communities.

Pacific Links Foundation (also affectionately known as PALS) is one of those rare organizations that is not yet well known internationally but is surprisingly solid in its mission, objectives, and staff composition. I've known the staff for more than 2 years and have had some humbling experiences during my trips to participate in some programmatic activities. Anyone who is able to interact with the staff or visit the recipients and their families in the impoverished regions in which PALS operates will undoubtedly fall in love with this little NGO gem.

I meet Adapt/Pals almost two years ago & I am impressed what they want to achieve with these victims; re-education, mental health, nurturing a healthy positive environment. It gives the girls hope that they can take with them for a better life

Pacific Links Foundation has many projects in Vietnam to fight human trafficking which is a serous problem in South East Asia. With very small budget, they have been extremely effective without running costly operation. Their staff are very professional who are passionate about their endeavor.

It will be a challenge to find a team who would be more dedicated to the mission of empowering young women like PALS team. I am indebted to our team and volunteers for being my constant source of inspiration the past decade.

When I was first placed at PALS as an English Resource volunteer, little did I know it would be one of the most transformative experiences of my life. PALS serves girls and young women in the rural border regions of Vietnam and trafficking survivors with an exceptional hard working staff. I learned so much from the community and the local staff both professionally and as a human being.

Pacific Links Foundation (PALs) is the best international non-profit working against human trafficking in Vietnam today. PALs is a pioneer organization running 2 shelters for rescued victims while providing scholarships to young girls in the poorest regions of Vietnam, to increase their potential and value in society via education. I’ve learned that human trafficking relates to this, because these young girls live in the most at risk regions of Vietnam, where young girls and women are trafficked, exploited, and abused. Therefore, PALs has taken the initiative to empower these at risked girls through education, and the staff conducts annual visits on these girls and their families as apart of the follow up and building relationships approach. I have worked with other non-profit organizations, and have also examined the work of various NGOs, and one of the key things I’ve noticed is how essential the process of “follow up” is when distributing any form of charity to the people. For example, an organization (will not name) provided computers for students in a small village in the Philippines, but within less than a few months the computers were missing and used as personal property in the homes of the school and government officials. The students never got to learn how to use the computer due to the lack of follow up on that charity.

Working with Pacific Links Foundation, has allowed me to partake in multiple grassroots development work. I was able to go on scholarship visits for the first time with the PALs staff on a 3 weeks journey. We trekked out to the most rural villages of the Mekong Delta, and what I’ve seen was so beautiful yet tragic at the same time. Its beauties not only reside within the unique scenic landscapes of lotus ponds and rice patties, but in the potential of these young girls with a chance at a brighter future. While its tragedies root from poverty, which places extreme odds against these girls and their families, subjecting them to potential risks in abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking.
After the scholarship visits in An Giang, Kien Giang, and Don Thap, there are certain realizations that has cemented in my knowledge and understanding of these poor communities. I’ve learned that most of the parents of the scholarship recipients are of low to no education levels, which forces them to work in rice patties, construction, or laborious rented services. Their employment are based on seasonal changes, therefore most of them are without income during the dry season. This is common among the majority of our scholarship recipient families that we have spoken with.

I’ve caught a glimpse of how this country’s increase in development and globalization through foreign investment, import and export trade, has left the rural villages of Vietnam out of the economic prosperity loop. Forcing the villagers to re-adapt to the rise in prices of daily commodities, while their wages remain the same. These conditions have forced many villagers to migrate to the cities to for employment, which increases the rate of human trafficking both in the labor and sex industries. Every year students are forced to quit school in order to help financially support their parents. Most of these are young girls end up: working with their parents, migrate with a neighbor or relative for work, or stay at home to watch over their younger siblings.

I’ve visited about a dozen families a day and there were a few situations that stood out to me. One young girl was abandoned by both her parents after a divorce, leaving her wit her grandmother, who was a 70-year old woman, selling lottery tickets at 30-40,000 VND (1.50-2.00 USD) a day to support her. Her grandmother was uneducated and has lived a laborious life, and did not want the same for her granddaughter. She was thankful for our support. She said, “You know, I couldn’t do this alone, thanks to your organization, my granddaughter can have an education. I am old but I will try my best to support her going to school for as long as I can do this job.” This family stood out to me, because the grandmother’s immense love and sacrifice for the young girl who lacks the presence and support of her mother and father.

There were various situations outside of school that our organization was unable to assist, but it was evident that these circumstances worked against the girls’ educational efforts. Some of the scholarship recipients had no bicycle for school, no electricity to do homework at night, worked graveyard hours with parents, and usually get teased by classmates for being poor. I’ve also gather some interesting information pertaining to the miscommunication between parents and schoolteachers about the availability of tutoring to assist the students in school. All these were issues that I’ve recorded during the interviews, and these issues are the main causes that have deter the girls from accelerating in school. I’m aware that these obstacles are out of our control to resolve, but it’s good to be aware of them, so that we can better support these girls.

I’ve also noted the majority of the families are now more aware of the increase in human trafficking through news, radio, school, woman’s union and our organization. So the awareness campaigns have fulfill its purpose in reaching the at risk population. I’m glad to be apart of such a great grassroots development project, that empowers the girls through the gift of knowledge, while preventing the risk of them being trafficked. I hope this scholarship program continues to expand and assist these young girls who would not have a chance otherwise.

I've heard of Pacific Links through a friend. Among the many factors which compelled me to volunteer for their cause were: their focus on prevention through scholarships for at-risk girls, their work in the field at their shelters in Lao Cai and An Giang, and reintegration programs. The most important aspect for me, however, was their focus on education. By educating the community about human trafficking and putting at-risk girls through school, they've effectively prevented many tragic stories from happening. In volunteering at Pacific Links (office in Milpitas), I found the leaders of the organization to be passionate and their program effective. It is an organization worth supporting and my family and I will continue supporting it for as long as we're able, either through volunteering or donations. Thank you, PALS, for all that you do!

Pacific Links Foundation ("PALS") is one of the best and most effective non-profit organizations fighting human trafficking in Viet Nam. I am the former Program Director for ADAPT ("An Giang Dong Thap Alliance for Prevention of Trafficking") in Long Xuyen, Viet Nam. The program was launched in 2005, but I did not know about it until I was introduced by Diep, PALS President, during my visit to Viet Nam in October, 2006. I accepted the ADAPT Program Director position and moved to Viet Nam in November 2006.

The office is located in a small city, Long Xuyen, in the Mekong Delta. It is about 5 hours (very bumpy) bus ride from Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City). Diep said the reason she chose Long Xuyen is because one important focus is to help vulnerable children whose families live near the Cambodia border. These children easily become victims for the many predatory human traffickers in that area.

In 2006, we provided approximately 700 scholarships for children (ages from 10 to 16) in 40 schools, within two provinces, An Giang and Dong Thap. We also provided assistance to other teenagers, who had dropped out of school for a long time, with vocational training classes. We also helped the girls by giving them bicycles to go to schools since, in many cases, their houses are too far from schools.
Some young girls have to carry their heavy school bags and walk more than 5km in the 100F heat to and from schools. Our purpose is to keep these young girls in school, and the longer the better. The higher grade they reach, the more and more chance they have to escape traffickers, and a brighter future they will have. Obviously, the longer they stay in school, the more knowledge and confidence they gain.

During my year working as the Program Director for ADAPT in Long Xuyen (and not counting the time I stood on my bed screaming about mice), I have learned so much about life. Yes, it is just a simple word --- life --- but it has so many different meanings. I have met and witnessed so many beautiful innocent young girls, whose wishes are so simple, that if I were given a magic wand, I would make their wishes come true instantly. Their simple wishes are to remain in school until graduation; have more rice than cassava mixed in their meal; have a bike to ride the often long distances to school; have just a decent place to live without getting wet every time it rains; to be able to sleep as late as 5:00 am in the morning and not have to get up at 4:00 a.m. to bake cakes and sell them before going to school; to have her own pair of running shoes so that they don't have to rush home to give them to an older sister.

All of the things we take for granted, every day, are the same things about which they can only dream their simple, innocent dreams.

There are many more sad stories I can tell of these young girls and their families, and it is those stories which made me realize how fortunate and blessed we are --- and I am --- just to live in America.

I left VN in late 2007. But I still go back to visit "my" girls almost every year. Working as the Program Director for this project, and having had the great fortune to embrace these young girls' lives in my heart, I have learned NEVER to take things for granted, and I am always mindful of other's needs and our happiness in sharing our blessings.

I hope after reading my review, your heart will be open to those young and innocent girls who need your support in order to make their wishes come true.

Having worked with this organization for over 6 years, I found it to be a preeminent model of prevention and intervention in human trafficking. Using a model of capacity building at the community level, they have developed an expert and experienced team of persons in the country who are dedicated to the prevention of the trafficking and the reintegration of trafficked women and girls back into the community. This has been accomplished by placing the majority of the financial resources into areas that directly impact the communities being served. Examples are scholarships for young girls to support their continued schooling, shelters for trafficked girls, education programs for women who have been trafficked.

Pacific Links is an impeccably run, LIFE CHANGING organization that has impacted the lives of hundreds of women and girls affected by human trafficking and slavery. The organization has been able to prevent, save, and rehabilitate girls from trafficking to lead happy, safe and productive lives. They have been able to go into some of the most remote, dangerous territories of Southeast Asia, where international organizations can't get access. I can't think of a more honorable organization.

I was introduced to Pacific Links Foundation by a college roommate who volunteered with them in Vietnam for 2 years. After volunteering with them in their CA office, I can see why she continues to dedicate time- the PALS team is extremely dedicated, at times truly self-less, to ensure that the young women and girls in the comprehensive programs are empowered to be self-sustaining during and after to PREVENT and COMBAT human trafficking. I continue to give to PALS because ALL girls needs to be invested in. Like any organization, PALS can use more money and volunteers to continuously improve their programs.