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- March 27, 2006
Rising above tragedy to help needy
Tough life 'made me a very strong person'
Husband's death prompted return to school
by Nicholas Keung
Immigration/Diversity Reporter
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Fleeing
the grasp of the Communist regime in Vietnam, Kim Hoang Trinh and her
sister got into a small boat one summer night in the early 1980s.
Cramped with 75 people, the craft broke down and floated aimlessly for
days before an Indonesian fishing crew spotted it and took the
passengers to the safety of a refugee camp.
What's atypical about this typical "boat people" story is that, unlike
most of her compatriots, Trinh couldn't take a blue-collar job when she
arrived in Canada as a refugee.
"I had polio when I was 1 year old," says Trinh. "I've lost use of my
left arm and my right leg is weak. I wasn't able to do any labour work."
Then a 22-year-old accounting graduate, Trinh spent a year learning
English in Prince George, B.C., before joining her sister in Toronto,
where she was accepted to a 45-week job-training program offered by the
Toronto Office Skills Training Project, the predecessor of today's
Skills for Change.
One of four graduates from the inaugural class of 1983, Trinh found her
first job as a data control clerk at Toronto General Hospital and later
as a bookkeeper for another employer.
Trinh had long dreamed of working in social services, hoping to give
something back to the society that had extended her a helping hand, but
it took a tragedy to provoke that career change.
After her husband drowned in an accident in Lake Ontario in 1998, Trinh
decided to go back to school and began social service studies at
Sheridan College.
"Before my husband's death, I just didn't have the willpower to do
that," notes the recipient of the 2006 Skills for Change Graduate Award.
"But I really wanted to use my power to make a change, to make a
difference. If I could make one person smile and give the person some
hope, I would be very happy."
Today, Trinh is program manager at the Vietnamese Association of
Toronto, and has volunteered to help youth and seniors at community
organizations such as the Dixie Bloor Neighbourhood Centre and the Phap
Van Buddhist Cultural Centre.
Trinh counts herself fortunate to be in a professional field where she
can better herself and help the needy.
"I never ask the question why, but I always ask how. I never asked why
God took my husband away from me. I just accepted it," she says.
"Life has been tough, but it's made me a very strong person," she adds.
"The (New Pioneers) award isn't really about me. It is a recognition of
all those who have the compassion to help others like me. Without them,
there wouldn't be me today."
