Our Journey

VOICE informally began in 1997 in Manila as a small legal aid office (formerly called the Representative Office of the Vietnamese Community in Australia) to help the 2,500 stateless Vietnamese in the Philippines. Since then, our office has helped to resettle almost 2,300 individuals. Below is a summary of our journey so far:

  • 2000 – 2002: Australian Special Humanitarian Program which enabled 230 refugees to reunite with their close relative(s) in Australia;
  • 2004 – 2005: Vietnamese Resettlement Project – Philippines which resulted in the resettlement of 1,573 individuals to the U.S.;
  • 2005 – 2007: Residence Permits for Vietnamese Nationals in the Philippines with Close Relatives in Norway which saw the departure of 49 cases (188 individuals);
  • 2005 – 2006: Canadian Public Policy for Vietnamese in the Philippines enabled 7 cases (23 individuals) to reunite with their close relative(s) in Canada;
  • 2007: Canada’s Announcement to Facilitate the Immigration of the Remaining Stateless Vietnamese in the Philippines via Humanitarian and Compassionate Consideration. On December 31, 2007, VOICE submitted applications for all eligible cases (161 individuals) to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) on behalf of the stateless Vietnamese in the Philippines.

At this time, VOICE is one of the only organizations spearheading advocacy efforts for the last remaining stateless Vietnamese in Southeast Asia from the ‘boat people’ exodus, following the fall of Saigon. Like a compass, our work and continuing advocacy efforts ensure that their ‘boats find a harbor.’

This year, we expanded our work beyond refugee protection to advocating for, and aiding victims of the human trafficking trade in Southeast Asia. We aim to open an office in Cambodia to provide direct legal, financial, educational, social and medical services to Vietnamese women and children who have been sold for their virginity and/or trafficked into the sex trade.

At the heart of our mission (and our name) is “Empowerment.” VOICE is more than an aid organization – we want to help those in need, but not to create a precedent of ‘dependency.’ It is our goal to empower individuals so that they can become self-sufficient and therefore, be able to make their own choices.