OUR STORY

The story of Vietnam

We are living in a time of high anxiety, much of which is the result of the Covid pandemic. Many changes are taking place at the systemic, family, and personal levels and they produce a sense of “losing control” for a large audience in our areas of contact. Fear, anger, frustration, depression, and anxiety may seem like many and different emotional challenges, but they are the consequence of having to cope with the recent uncertainty. In the case of Vietnam, we are witnessing many war traumas that are only emerging now, when people are faced with unfamiliar circumstances but lack trust in life due to many hardships of war after war, passed on from generation to generation. Therefore, many are coping by tightening their areas of control, rather than opening to new and potentially much better possibilities that life are now offering in replace of the old and unsustainable ways of operating. In our view, this is the most pressing mental health issue, but also the biggest opening of opportunities that will allow new ways of being to emerge. 

Amidst social chaos, a strong sense of self-awareness is needed to prevent one from following outside pressure and listening in to one’s authentic voice that will give rise to new ways of life. Yet, Vietnam has also been suppressed by many waves of imperialism, not only from the wars, but also developmental ideologies that expressed an order of Vietnam as only a follower of foreign models rather than tapping into our many strengths and resources and developing according to our own authentic being. Internalizing this inferior mindset, many Vietnamese, young and more mature people with lived experiences, are used to ignoring their own inner voice and lack confidence to stand up to the existing social order to claim their own ways of life. If Vietnam is to find a way out of the current state –  chaotic but also full of opportunities, we need to look back to ourselves, understand and have compassion for ourselves, and take actions from this place of self-confidence. 

Who we are

Authentic Live & Learn (ALL) is a pioneering organization in the mental health sector of Vietnam. Originating from a project which aimed to bring happiness and compassion to a university of 10,000 students, we are now an independent organization with a large network of experts working in mental health inside Vietnam. Thus, we have experience and expertise of the sector, both the demand and supply sides. We are highly aware of the pressing need for mental health support, particularly in the urban areas, and we are determined to bring the needed resources, both financial and human, to where the biggest gaps are to be filled. Having worked in the sector for eight years, not long – but significant for Vietnam’s nascent field of mental health, we are aware of many efforts that have been done, their strengths and weaknesses, and the areas of leverage that have yet to be tapped into. We also serve as the bridge between many international mental health efforts (the Center  for Mindful Self-Compassion, Eurasian Learning  Institute for Happiness and Well-being, the Global Compassion Coalition, to name a few) and local initiatives (Social and Emotional Learning programs in a few universities in Ho Chi Minh City, The Schools in Nature program for many schools in Hanoi, the Mindful Self-Compassion for Healthcare Communities, and more). Therefore, we are in a position to create large impacts. 

---

Thanks for supporting ALL!