About Us

Vietnam Foundation is an Australian Non-Profit charity registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC). The Foundation was established in 1995 to serve as a bridge between Australia and Vietnam to help improve the lives of poor people and disadvantaged communities in rural Vietnam.

We are an approved organisation under the Overseas Aid Gift Deductibility Scheme (OAGDS) of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT), and our VNF Vietnam Relief Fund was granted Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). All donations of $2.00 or more to the Fund by individuals, organisations and Companies in Australia are fully tax-deductible.

Our Mission

Our mission is to help and empower the poor and disadvantaged people and communities in remote areas in rural Vietnam to break out of the cycle of poverty.

We work collaboratively with our local partners to deliver a range of well targeted development and aid programs in a cost-effective, empowering and sustainable way.

Why Vietnam Foundation?

OUR POINTS OF DIFFERENCE

1. All donations over $2.00 to our VNF Vietnam Relief Fund are fully tax-deductible.

2. All Directors and staff of Vietnam Foundation are volunteers with no renumeration, and we operate entirely without overheads. This ensures that close to 100% of your donation money goes directly to creating the greatest impact in the lives of children and families in areas of extreme poverty in rural Vietnam, where people subsist on less than two USD per day per person.

3. Our direct and cost-effective approach to projects’ delivery is based on partnering with local NGOs and charities to empower people and communities in these areas to rise out of extreme poverty.

Our Approach

Partnering

We place strong emphasis on working with our local partners in Vietnam to optimise the effectiveness of funds, and on participation by local communities, which also helps aid recipients and communities build capacity and resilience while creating a better, more sustainable environment.

Empowering & Sustainability

We seek not only to fund and help deliver development and aid projects but to also empower aid recipients by encouraging participation by the local people and communities. This grassroots participation helps local communities build capacity and develop resilience and self-reliance.

Our Recycled Bicycles program for school children and Rain Water Harvesting program promote recycling and Environmental Sustainability, as well as significantly improving the welfare and health of local children and families.

Our People

Board of Directors & Executive Committee Members

President

Dr Nhan Gia Ly – BE (Hons 1), PhD UNSW

Former Senior Principal Research Scientist & Program Manager, CSIRO Division of Wool Technology.
Former Senior Program Manager, Australian Wool Innovation.

Vice-President

Mr Hao Van Nguyen – BE (Hons 1), ME University of Canterbury NZ

Former Technical Director- General Electric Company (UK-NZ)
Former Construction Director- Building Services Co-Partnership (NZ)
Former Project Director- Waterman International (UK- Australia)

Vice-President

Mr Truong Quang Minh – BE (Hons) UNSW, MAS University of New England

Operations Manager, Manian
Consultant, Ethnic Communications
Vice President, Association of Vietnamese Performing Artists Australia

Treasurer

Ms Tinh Tien Le – BA, MA (Hons) University of Canterbury NZ, MAS Southern Cross University AU, CPA Australia

Certified Practising Accountant
Former Public & Management Accountant
Former Tax Agent

Secretary

Mr Hong Ba Le – MSc (Hons) University of Canterbury, NZ

Former Enterprise Systems Consultant, Hewlett Packard Australia
Former Computer Services Centre Manager, Prahan College of TAFE, Melbourne
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE)

Board of Directors

Professor Binh Tran-Nam – BEc (Hons 1) James Cook University, MEc ANU, PhD UNSW

Professor, School of Taxation and Business Law, UNSW

Adjunct Professor, School of Business and Management, RMIT University Vietnam
International Fellow, Exeter University & Adjunct Research Fellow, Monash University

Dr Thuy Mai-Viet – BE (Hons), PhD UNSW

President, University Preparation College
Former Senior Statistician, Pathfinders and Australian Post
Former Director, Australia-Vietnam Business Council
Former Director, Australia-Vietnam Medical Hoc Mai Foundation

Mr Hai Dinh – BE (Hons 1) University of Newcastle

Former Technical Director – Intelle Building Services
Former Technical Director Buildings – Aurecon Australia
Former Director-in-charge Building Services – Meinhardt NSW
Former Director Building Services – Hyder Consulting NSW
Former Director Building Services – Engineering Consultants of Australia

Mr Nguyen Kim Long – BEc University of Tasmania

Former Finance Officer – The Treasury (Canberra)
Former Senior Investigation Officer – Ministry of Finance (PNG)
Former Head Project Administration – Asian Development Bank (Philippines)
Independent Consultant – Agriculture and Rural Development

Dr Khoa Ho-Le – BE, PhD Monash University, BSc University of Melbourne

Former Research Scientist, CSIRO
Former Senior Application Developer, Leading Edge Technologies
Former Managing Director, Abaki Pty Ltd
Supervisory Board Member, Mekong Conservancy Foundation
Member of Board of Directors, Australia Vietnam Education Promotion Association.

Mr Rhys Williams – BA, Grad Dip Education, Dip Applied Social Research, Grad Cert Adult and Vocational Education

Owner/Director Imago Creations: Education and not-for-profit advisory
Former Director, Transnational Education Partnerships, Victoria University. Operated VU courses with partners in China, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Sri Lanka)
Former senior manager, RMIT University. Roles: offshore courses, online learning, social science department head
Board member KOTO International Limited, supporting disadvantaged youth in Vietnam

Vietnam Foundation Ambassadors

“I was inspired to become a VNF Ambassador to help create different opportunities for and with others, deepen my understanding of transnational relationships and maintain a connection with Vietnam.’’

Mai Nguyen-Long is a visual artist. Tasmanian born, she grew up in Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. She has a Bachelor of Arts/Asian Studies Australian National University (1991), Postgraduate Diploma Museum Studies University of Sydney (1993), and a Master of Arts in Visual Art Queensland College of Art, Griffith University (1997). In 1994 she studied Vietnamese language at Vietnam National University and Vietnamese Art History at Vietnam University of Fine Arts. She received an Australian Government RTP scholarship in 2017 to undertake a Doctor of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong.

For more than a decade Mai worked for Aus Health International, the former international arm of NSW Health. As international client relations officer she managed study tours for visiting health professionals and government officials and assisted marketing and development projects. As an exhibiting artist, Mai has participated in storytelling performances and received Commonwealth and State grants for community development projects, working with disadvantaged schools and participants from diverse backgrounds. In 1999 Mai was an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development supported by AusAID. Since 2018 she has been Vice President Vietnam Centre Australia.

In-Country Representatives

Associate Professor Nguyễn Thiện Tống – BE (Hons 1), PhD Sydney University, MPA Harvard

Former Head of Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City
Former Vice President, Mekong University, Vinh Long Province.

Dr Huỳnh Công Hoài – BE HCMC University of Technology VN, ME AIT Thailand, PhD INPT France

Associate Professor, HCMC University of Technology, Vietnam

Dr Lưu Thái Danh – BSc(Agr) University of Queensland, MSc KU Leuven, PhD UNSW

Lecturer, Cần Thơ University, Vietnam

Ms Nguyễn Thị Huyền Trân – BA University of Social Sciences and Humanities VN, MSM L’Université Libre de Bruxelles Belgium, BA HCMC University of Law VN, Attorney-at-Law License (Ministry of Justice, Vietnam)

Deputy Manager of Administration, Legal and General Affairs, Sojitz Vietnam Co Ltd

Our Story

Vietnam Foundation (VNF) was established in December 1995 by a group of former Colombo Plan scholars, Dr Dương Tấn Trung, Ms Lê Ngọc Lan, Ms Mai-Viết Thanh Tâm, Dr Mai-Viết Thủy, Dr Trần Kim Hoa and Mr Trần Văn Quan. From its inception, Vietnam Foundation has served as a bridge between Australia and Vietnam to bring relief and aids to poor people and disadvantaged communities in rural Vietnam, true to its motto Helping Hands From Australia.

Over the years, Vietnam Foundation has grown into one of the most recognised and trusted charity organisations within the Vietnamese community in Australia, and has touched the lives of thousands in Vietnam.

Our fund-raising events and activities do not just provide much needed funds for aid projects and programs in Vietnam, but also help preserve and promote Vietnamese culture and heritage in Australia, such as our ‘Saigon Through The Years” Symposium in 2018, World Festival of Vietnamese Traditional Music in 2015, and World Expo Paris 1900 Symposium in 2013. Our fund-raising dinners, such as the joint function with Blue Dragon’s Children Foundation in 2017, have become a much anticipated event in the social calendar of the Vietnamese community in Sydney.