Ho Manh Giang, is the first and sole Pako ethnic minority man in Thua Thien-Hue province, to achieve an MA degree from a big US university.

Giang (second from left) and his classmates at Hawaii University Photo: TPO

Whilst doing charity work in a mountainous district of A Luoi, I heard about a program sending young intellectuals from mountainous districts to managerial courses overseas. Among them is Ho Manh Giang who graduated from Hawaii University.

Tracking Giang down is not an easy task but finally I am lucky enough to meet Giang “Harvard”. He has just finished a meeting with other district leaders and the provincial Department of Education and Training.

The young man recently requested to move his work from a State agency in the city to a disadvantaged district in a remote mountainous region.

Secretary of the A Luoi District Party’s Committee Le Van Tru says Giang’s family is very poor but he is incredibly studious and industrious.

He does not like to speak of his hardship and difficulty so as to avoid judgment and misunderstanding about himself.

In 1998 when he was preparing to take his secondary graduation exams, his father died suddenly. Losing his biggest support he considered quitting school and travelling south to find work.

Thanks to support from relatives, teachers and friends, he agreed to stay and took his entrance examination.

Many people were concerned about how his family would support him to go to university, if he passed the tertiary exam.

However, due to his outstanding results at secondary school, he was lucky enough to be selected to study at Hue University’s Economics Department.

He graduated after four years of study and subsequently worked at the Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Board in 2004. His biggest desire was to work in his impoverished homeland.

After obtaining an MA degree in the US, he decided to return to his motherland to work as a socio-economic expert. Relatives and friends thought he was mad to quit a secure, well-paid job in the city to work in a disadvantaged area.

He describes how in order to obtain a scholarship under the International Fellowship Program funded by Ford Foundation, he had to spend five years gaining experience and learning English.

Giang reveals it is necessary to speak to foreigners, professors and other foreign students.

When studying in Hawaii, there were no fellow countrymen in his class to exchange, but he did not hesitate to talk about his weakness in the hope of making progress.

Hawaii where he studied has beautiful landscape and its people are as friendly as his homeland.

“Everywhere I went I told international friends that Vietnam is a beautiful and peaceful country,“ Giang says.

“When I returned home I kept in contact my international friends via email”.

His biggest regret was not attending his graduation ceremony. He had to go home early due to family problems.

“The most important goal was to gain a MA degree and obtain knowledge so as not to betray office and relatives at home,” Giang says.

An interview with Giang does not last long, he politely asks to leave because he has to prepare documents for an afternoon meeting.

Ngo Thoi Muoi, Head of the district People’s Committee office, says although Giang moved to work here in 2012, district leaders are already considering promoting him to a new position.