Shadowing Fr. Martino: A Review of His Investigation into a Sex Trafficking Claim

Last week, Father Martino--a.k.a. "Cha Thong" as he is called in Vietnamese--invited us to join him on an impromptu investigation mission. We travelled for six hours to another province to meet with someone who contacted him via social media with a tip about young girls being trafficked to China.

Our role was to shadow him and learn what he does. We were to provide assistance when needed.

[Podcast] Week in Review, Episode 02

In this week's podcast: Jesse goes apartment hunting, Jesse and Thuy shadow Father Martino on a child trafficking investigation trip, the OBV kids go wild when Father Martino comes home, and Thuy takes Jesse back to Kinh B village in Can Tho province to meet her relatives.

Special guest: Uncle Thai's dog, Lu.

Listen directly through this blog post or download the mp3.

First In-Person Meeting with Fr. Martino, Founder of One Body Village

Father Martino Nguyen Ba-Thong arrived late Monday evening for one of his regular visits to One Body Village. We met with him at 8:30 AM Tuesday morning for our first in-person meeting since taking on this opportunity.

Prior to this meeting, all of our interactions with him and the rest of the OBV board have been either through phone or email. It's actually quite amazing how we've been able to build trust and coordinate everything that has transpired so far without actually meeting face-to-face. We didn't know them, and they certainly didn't know us, so clear communication aside, both sides had to rely on trust and luck that we all carried the best intentions for one another.

[Podcast] Week in Review, Episode 01

For those who prefer their stories in audio format, we're experimenting with a weekly downloadable podcast that covers some of the previous week's stories posted on the blog, as well as a few other happenings not mentioned or covered in detail.

Below is our first podcast. It's a work in progress. Will figure out how to spruce this up as we go along. Feel free to make suggestions!

First Meeting with the OBV Children: Harsh Reality Sets In

The following post includes a bit of difficult and uncomfortable content. We invite you to read at your own discretion.

Arriving at the OBV House

Taking the bus to the OBV house

Early on our first Saturday morning in Vietnam, Thuy, OBV employees An and Quynh Anh, and I traveled to the OBV compound.

First Days in Ho Chi Minh City

We arrived late yesterday evening and were met at the airport by An, Xuan, and chu Binh, employees of One Body Village. After a 20-minute ride, we arrived at the OBV office and housing unit in District 3.

Sans specifics--keeping the locations of OBV units is important for safety reasons--the housing unit is situated behind one of the many retail stores along our street.

We have to cross through the shop to get to and from our room. I've already had to pull Thuy away from sifting through the clothes and shoes in the shop.

Bringing $400 in Medical Supplies for OBV

Thuy offered to purchase and bring medical supplies to the One Body Village compound. OBV got back to us with a list of items; Thuy purchased them yesterday at Costco. These supplies will be distributed across the Saigon and Cambodia compounds. As you can see in the photo, that's not a lot to distribute.

A colleague within our local Vietnamese community had suggested that we put together a Kickstarter campaign for our project work with OBV. Once we get there and assess the situation and needs, we may look to you all for additional support.

Visions of Walter White flashed in my head.

When Searching for a Job, Accept Discrimination as a Potential Norm

I've ramped up my job searching. I'm looking for a product marketing or brand management role for a multinational company in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG, a.k.a. "consumer packaged goods" here in the States) space. Fortunately, there are a couple of LinkedIn groups specifically focused on these kinds of jobs. I get daily updates from these groups. A new job is posted to the group nearly every other day, so I'm optimistic that I'll find something.

However, actually getting my foot in the door may not be as easy as it seems.

Here's an example of a job posting. While not along the career nor industry path I want to walk, it's a telling sign that Vietnam seems to approach hiring a bit differently.

"We're looking for Talent Development Manager /Training Manager (building materials) based in HCMC, Vietnamese only, 33-40 years old. Salary range: 50-55 mio (gross), ..."

It was sobering to read the 'Vietnamese only,' and '33-40 years old' part.

I realized that what I would view as blatant discrimination in the US may just be regular habits in Vietnam. I'll have to get accustomed to the fact that I'm an outsider operating under a completely different set of rules. I can't get too angsty if I feel like I'm hitting brick wall after brick wall because of things outside of my resume.

While I may have some positive characteristics that may help me in my search (native English speaker, MBA, working knowledge of the Vietnamese language and culture), I'm not Vietnamese, I'm not exactly the prototypical American/Westerner (i.e. I don't have white skin), and I don't have the familial nor personal relationships that could help me get an interview.

I'll continue applying to jobs while I'm here. My job hunting will probably pick up more once I'm in the country.

Two Weeks Left! Found Krav and Salsa Places in HCMC

We're two weeks away from departure! We're definitely starting to feel anxious and excited. Those feelings became more real when I started organizing a few farewell get-togethers.

I spent an hour researching places where I can engage in my two favorite hobbies: Salsa dancing and Krav Maga. Took some sleuthing, but I came across spots for both of these hobbies.

Krav Maga
K1 Fitness and Fight Factory
100 Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien, District 2, HCMC, Vietnam

Salsa dancing
La Salsa
212 - 214 Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, District 3, HCMC, Vietnam

The only problem is that these places seem rather far away from where we're probably going to be residing in District 9. Then again, we won't really know what the commute will be like until we arrive. I'd just hate to spend a lot of time and money commuting to engage in these activities.

Will report back on what I learn once we're there.