Returning Home to Give Back – Part 2: Light from the Heart

While living and working abroad, Mr. Kien has remained deeply concerned by the reality that many visually impaired students in Vietnam lack opportunities to access higher education, despite their ability and diligence.

On a morning as spring approached, the Sunflower Audiobook Library for the Blind in Tan Dinh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, was livelier than usual. Visually impaired students arrived early. Gently guided by volunteers, they found their seats one by one. Though unable to see one another, joy was evident on every face, as they eagerly exchanged warm and sincere embraces.

In the front row sat a man wearing dark glasses, his hands softly tapping along to the rhythm of the music. It was Mr. Pham Duc Trung Kien, Chairman of The Vietnam Foundation, who for 26 years has quietly dedicated his personal financial resources to creating educational opportunities for visually impaired students in Vietnam.

When Light Fades, Understanding Deepens

Born and raised in Vietnam, Mr. Kien left his homeland with his family in 1977 to settle in the United States. Beginning his new life as a factory worker, he continued to pursue education relentlessly and went on to earn scholarships that enabled him to complete a bachelor’s degree at the University of Colorado, followed by an MBA and a Master of Arts degree at Stanford University.

While living and working abroad, Mr. Kien has remained deeply concerned by the reality that many visually impaired students in Vietnam lack opportunities to access higher education, despite their ability and diligence.

“In fact, it began merely as an experiment. We only requested that five students be allowed to take the  entrance examination at a university in Ho Chi Minh City,” Mr. Kien recalled. All five students performed well academically, and their achievements after sustained effort gradually strengthened the institution’s confidence. From the initial five, several more students were admitted, and news of the scholarship program spread throughout the visually impaired community.

To date, hundreds of visually impaired students have graduated from university, with many continuing their studies at the master’s and doctoral levels. The Sunflower Scholarship Program initiated by Mr. Kien has awarded a total of 1,069 scholarships, with a combined value exceeding VND 5 billion, providing enduring support for students’ educational journeys.

“I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute to education in my homeland, especially for disadvantaged young people, so that they can live independently, with confidence, the courage to act, to think, to dream, and the capacity to contribute meaningfully to society,” Mr. Kien shared.

Throughout his journey, he has consistently emphasized a guiding principle: not to dispense charity, but to create opportunities. “If we do not ‘give’ but ‘share,’ if we do not ‘donate’ but ‘invest,’ and if our actions come from the heart, the students will feel it. Genuine care and sincerity, I believe, can always be recognized or felt,” Mr. Kien reflected.

It is this mindset that helps visually impaired students preserve their dignity and determination to rise. They do not see themselves as recipients of assistance, but as individuals who are trusted. From that trust, many have gone on to give back to society and to support the generations that follow.

A decade ago, a major turning point occurred when Mr. Kien completely lost his vision due to retinal degeneration. Rather than bringing his journey to a close, this turning point opened a new, deeper, and more intimate chapter in his companionship with visually impaired students.

“Visually impaired students have moved from being my ‘learners’ to becoming my ‘teachers,’” Mr. Kien shared, explaining that he turned to the very students he had once supported to learn how to live and work as a visually impaired person. There were days when he sat for hours simply listening, learning even the smallest details of daily life — things he had never truly ‘seen’ when he still had his sight.

“I had listened to the students year after year during our conversations at scholarship ceremonies. I thought I understood them, but only after losing 100 percent of my vision did I truly ‘feel’ the difficulties and challenges of everyday life, and I am still learning,” Mr. Kien acknowledged.

No longer able to see one another, their handshakes became awkward. And so they embraced each other instead, replacing conventional greetings. For Mr. Kien, these were unexpected moments of happiness that life had gifted him.

Going Far to Bring Back More

After many years of living and working in international education environments, Mr. Kien returned to Vietnam with the knowledge and achievements he had accumulated, establishing and organizing numerous initiatives in education and humanitarian fields.

He served as Executive Director of the Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF), a foundation established by the U.S. Congress to provide postgraduate scholarships in science and technology for Vietnam’s most outstanding scholars. Through VEF, hundreds of Vietnamese students have received support to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees at leading universities in the United States.

Beyond providing scholarships, he also directly negotiated with U.S. universities to secure tuition reductions or waivers for Vietnamese doctoral candidates. As a result, the annual cost of doctoral training—often amounting to tens of thousands of U.S. dollars—was significantly reduced, creating opportunities for many students to pursue long-term research pathways.

As a result, more than 400 Vietnamese doctoral graduates and over 100 master’s degree holders have completed their studies at U.S. universities through programs he helped shape. Many of them have returned to Vietnam to teach and conduct research, becoming a core intellectual force for the country.

He went on to establish The Vietnam Foundation in 2008 with a broader mission of bringing high-quality knowledge to all Vietnamese people, regardless of geography, socioeconomic background, or access to technology.

One of Mr. Kien’s most significant milestones was introducing Khan Academy—one of the world’s leading free learning platforms—to Vietnam. Today, more than two million Vietnamese students are using the platform, making Vietnam one of the countries with the highest number of Khan Academy learners globally.

In parallel, audiobook programs, learning resource libraries, and online learning support for the visually impaired continue to be implemented at the Sunflower Audiobook Library for the Blind, extending the philanthropic journey Mr. Kien initiated from its earliest days.

Despite having lived abroad for many years, Mr. Kien has never considered himself an outsider to his homeland. “This country gave me 12 years of free public education. That was an investment by society, by my family, and by my teachers. I feel a responsibility to give back,” he said.

“In the United States, I learned a very important principle — the idea and practice of helping others, meaning helping people you may not know personally. When someone is in need and you are able to help, you do so. In Vietnam, our tradition often leans toward helping those we know, or those within our communities and neighborhoods. I hope that the spirit of helping others can spread more widely across the country,” Mr. Kien expressed.

For Mr. Kien, his greatest pride lies in the advancement of Vietnamese people in education, alongside the country’s remarkable transformation over more than 40 years of renewal — from hardship to a nation with an increasingly improving living standards.

“I am simply a Vietnamese person who lives with purpose and ideals, unafraid to pursue my dreams. I live with both heart and mind, seeing achievements as milestones along my journey. I do not want to stop and admire those milestones; I want to keep moving forward — and even faster, as I am already 68 years old,” Mr. Kien reflected.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tro-ve-cung-dung-xay-que-huong-ky-2-anh-sang-tu-trai-tim-20260115225959312.htm