Issue No. 1
RVP Newsletter
2022
ISSUE NO. 1
table of Contents
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A MESSAGE FROM THE COCHAIRS AND WEBMASTERS
WHAT IS RVP? + RECENT FUNDRAISING UPDATES
HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN PLAIN SIGHT
TIP: CLICK ON THE TITLE TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE PAGE!
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SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!
CONTACT INFO + LEARN MORE
Hello!
a message from the co-chairs and the webmasters:
On behalf of the RVP board, we’d like to thank you for reading our inaugural newsletter. Our webmasters have been working extremely hard to put this together. When we first joined RVP, we were welcomed to another world–a world created by passionate high schoolers and advisors to fight the global atrocity of human trafficking. RVP is one of the few organizations that allow high schoolers to have a direct impact on mitigating trafficking in Vietnam and educating the Bay Area about the global health concern. Through this newsletter, we hope to spread awareness about trafficking and update readers about upcoming RVP fundraisers, service events, and leadership opportunities. Happy reading! Sincerely, Ava Fu and Katherine Lim 2021-2022 RVP Co-Chairs
Hey readers!
We are Andy Phung and Jordan Nguyen, and we will be your RVP Webmasters for the 2021-2022 term! Although we’re a *bit* late into the term, we’re just getting started, and we have a lot in store for you guys this year. As webmasters, we hope to continue this monthly newsletter for the rest of the term and keep you guys updated on our initiative so that anyone, even if you aren’t an Interactor or Rotarian, can get involved with RVP! Hopefully, we’ll be able to finally have fundraisers, service events, socials, and more to help raise money towards scholarships for girls in Vietnam, which is RVP’s main focus. We hope your 2021 was great, even with the pandemic. With the new year here, it’s a perfect opportunity to get more involved (or continue) with community service. Anyone can make a difference, even internationally, and even if you’re just a high schooler like we are! We hope to meet you guys (in person) this year at an upcoming event. Here’s to an even better 2022! Best wishes, Andy & Jordan
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What is RVP? RVP, or the Rotary Vietnam Project, is a project that combines Interactors and Rotarians from District 5170 to help raise money for youth at risk of trafficking, dropping out of high school, and/or otherwise being unable to complete their education. Throughout the year, we run fundraisers and events to help bring awareness to human trafficking and work with high schoolers and adults alike to help raise money for Pacific Links, which provides scholarships, programs, technology, and more for students in need. Although we have help from our advisors, RVP is mainly student-run, with Interactors from all over District 5170 helping to create service events, fundraising opportunities, outreach materials, and more! Anyone can get involved with RVP, even if you’re not in an Interact or Rotary club! You can support our project in a variety of ways, whether it be through volunteering, donating, or attending our many fundraisers we have planned for the year. Any and all help is greatly appreciated and will help girls in Vietnam be protected from human trafficking and have access to education.
Fundraising Updates The Rotary Vietnam Project had its first fundraiser of the year on December 22, 2021! It was hosted by the Southern and Western Division at Gong Cha in San Jose’s Eastridge Mall. The fundraiser was a success, and we managed to raise $54.80 for our mission. We look forward to hosting more fundraisers going into 2022 and continue fighting human trafficking. Best, Jacqueline Pham, South/West Division Lead
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human trafficking in plain sight The woman you just walked by? She was forced into sexual exploitation under the premise of repaying a large debt. Kept under close watch at all times and constantly
If you’ve ever been to Vietnam, you’ll be familiar
reminded that her family will suffer if she
with its crowded urban streets. Walking
leaves, she has no hope of breaking free.
through one, you won’t see much out of the
These are just a few examples of human
ordinary—just a bunch of citizens going about
trafficking, the use of force, fraud, or
their everyday lives. Looking around, you can
coercion to forcibly control victims, often for
easily find people out bargaining at stalls at the
labor or sexual exploitation.
market, catching up over lunch with their friends, or hailing a motorcycle to get to work—
Globally, around 25 million people are
but it’s much harder to spot the hundreds of
trapped in this so-called “modern-day
victims (and soon-to-be victims) of human
slavery”, and the majority are exploited for
trafficking among the crowds.
labor.
The young boy you just waved to? He’s being led into a truck by a distant relative, who’ll send him to another country as a child laborer. As one of the thousands of children being forced to work in a cannabis factory, he’ll suffer unimaginable abuse, often while drugged or locked up with no hope of escape. He’ll likely die in less than seven years.
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rafficking in plain sig t n a ht hum
Traffickers are usually people victims know
All of this is especially pronounced in developing
personally, like a relative or classmate; they
countries like Vietnam, which happens to be a
gain control by preying on their victim’s
source country for sex trafficking and forced labor.
needs, starting a cycle of dependency they
With over 700 confirmed victims in the past three
exploit to make a profit. Most victims are in poverty, lacking education, or in debt, making them all the more likely to accept a trafficker’s “help” and fall into their trap.
years and possibly thousands more, it’s critical that we back efforts to lift citizens out of poverty and educate the children at greatest risk of being trafficked. This is where you come in. We highly encourage
Children who are from an unstable home,
you to support the organizations we’ve listed on the
have used drugs or alcohol, or have been
last page of this newsletter—with every cent you
sexually abused are at especially high risk of
donate and every hour you volunteer, you’ll be
being trafficked.
helping protect the lives of millions.
With the amount of abuse these victims face every day, their mental and physical health understandably takes a huge toll. Traffickers and abusers will oftentimes mercilessly beat, insult, and threaten their victims to force them into submission. This instills extreme fear, stress, and anxiety into victims, hindering their ability to escape or call for help.
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R U S O U Y P P W ORT O H S The Blue Heart Campaign is an initiative that aims to help raise awareness to and fight human trafficking. To show your support, draw a blue heart on your hand, take a picture, and tag us @rotaryd5170vietnamproject! 💙
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contact us @rotaryd5170vietnamproject @RVP5170 rvpinternationaloutreach@gmail.com rotaryvietnamprojectd5170.org
Interested in sponsoring or collaborating with us? Feel free to reach out at rotaryvietnamprojectd5170@gmail.com for more information.
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO SUPPORT:
Pacific Links Our Future of Change Her Future Coalition
UNICEF Save the Children Love146
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