Giang: 20 years of giving everything, every time, to help children thrive
After 20 years helping children at Blue Dragon, Giang is passing on her skills to other social workers.
Restless nights
“When I first started working at Blue Dragon, I was so young and enthusiastic. Now I’m not so young, but I’m even more enthusiastic in different ways.”
Giang’s first years working at Blue Dragon were intense. Being young and new to the role, she couldn’t help but immerse herself in the children’s problems – to the point where she was dreaming of them every night.
Giang believes that those restless nights were her way of “learning how to process and reflect,” and that they were a vital step toward becoming the person she is today.
“Nowadays, I have developed those skills and I can spend more energy helping the children rather than dreaming about them.”
Giang has always loved joining Blue Dragon kids for lunch.
Never stop
Before Blue Dragon, Giang worked at a school for children with disabilities. She remembers the students there as “relaxed and happy,” and she enjoyed helping them to grow and thrive.
Then Giang attended an event that changed the course of her life – and many of her views about street children.
“It was at a Christmas event where I heard of Blue Dragon for the first time. The kids were playing football, and they were just running around free and happy and laughing – the total opposite of what I’d heard about street kids. They were well-behaved, playing fair, working in a team and supporting each other, and I realised that every single child was great inside, they just needed a safe, secure place to grow and be kids.”
Shortly after that event, Giang successfully applied for a job at Blue Dragon. She has been here ever since, and has never stopped learning through all the ups and downs of the last 20 years.
Blue Dragon kids think of Giang as a big sister.
Everything, every time
When Giang first started at Blue Dragon, part of the reason she became so immersed in every child’s problem was that she found it difficult to accept some of the harsher realities of working with street kids.
“The cases that really make me think are the kids who never reach a successful life even after we have supported them so much – there are still some cases where kids can’t quite get through their difficulties and lead good lives.”
One such boy is Linh. When Blue Dragon met Linh, he had spent years living on the streets, where he experienced abuse that has left him with permanent psychological scars. Whenever it seemed like he was finally about to turn his life around, those old wounds would flare up and drag him back down to his old ways – begging, sleeping rough and committing petty crimes to survive.
“How could we have done things differently? Why did it not quite work out? These are the questions that kept me up at night,” shares Giang.
Over time, Giang learned how to accept that there were only two things in her control when it came to helping children thrive: doing her best, and helping others to do even better. Sticking to this principle helps Giang to process the good times, the hard times, and the times that don’t quite work out as hoped.
“Even now, at the end of each day, I’m always thinking about what I did that day, and I believe that even if I could live it over again I would do exactly the same. Because I know I give everything, every time.”
Giang with three former Blue Dragon kids who thrived with her care and support.
“You are my hope”
While stories like Linh’s stick in Giang’s memory, she sees countless things every day — small moments of joy, kindness and bravery — that fuel her to keep going.
“It happens so often. One night I’ll see a child on the street, begging and wearing filthy clothes, then the next day I come to work and see them eating and chatting to new friends, wearing a new school uniform and suddenly excited about life.”
It’s that eagerness that children have to grow; to turn their lives around and fight for a better life full of friendship, laughter and compassion, that moves Giang most deeply.
“There’s one kid I remember who never took off his school bag no matter where he was. He was just so proud and really eager to learn and change his life. Another boy I remember, when he got his first ever salary, he bought us a cake and surprised us at the Blue Dragon centre. ‘You are my hope,’ he said to us. ‘It’s because of you that I realised I needed to change my life. Now here I am.’”
Every day, Giang sees things at Blue Dragon that fuel her hope for a better world.
20 down, 20 to go
With every up and down she has experienced over 20 years at Blue Dragon, Giang has learned, adapted and come back stronger. 10 years ago, she changed her role to focus on training other social workers to do the same.
“I believe that if we have the skills and energy, then we have a responsibility to use it to inspire others. 20 years on from when I started, I’m more enthusiastic than ever, and my mission for the next 20 years is to make sure that others have the skills, tools and knowledge to thrive in their roles too.”
Everything Giang has experienced in the last two decades at Blue Dragon has confirmed what she realised in that football stadium all those years ago: every child is great inside.
Whether they adapt quickly from street life to school life, or whether it takes decades of hard work as they fight to rise above their trauma, Giang never gives up on a child.
“Linh, even though I know that sometimes he just can’t rise above his trauma, I believe that he has a good heart and that he understands right from wrong. Wherever he is, whatever he does, I am always here for him if he decides to come back.”
As Giang trains other social workers to fight every day with the same energy and unwavering determination as her, she is spreading her commitment to giving everything, every time, to help children thrive no matter what.
By passing on her skills, energy and experiences to other people, Giang is helping to create a world where all children can thrive.
