12 January 2007

Ha Noi: Every year, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme and the Online Volunteering Service honour ten exceptional women and men, who have made exemplary impacts on human development by sharing their expertise over the Internet and by demonstrating their commitment to volunteerism.

Minh Vo, a Vietnamese expatriate living in the United States, has been selected for this honorable award. In this interview with volunteer Minh will share with us her sweet experience of being an online volunteer.

Congratulations for this honorable award. We would like you to share your volunteering story with all of us, so to start with, could you tell us briefly about yourself?

Well, thank you. I lived in Saigon before moving to the United States. I hold a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Virginia Commonwealth University - Medical College of Virginia. I am currently working for a multinational pharmaceutical company as a clinical scientist. 

What about your voluntary work? When did you first involve in voluntary action and what was your feeling about that?

I went back to Viet Nam in 2001 for a three-month internship with the World Health Organization in Ha Noi rotating through different hospitals in Ha Noi learning the healthcare system and application (or lack) of clinical pharmacy in Viet Nam. Discovering dire healthcare needs in Viet Nam, I have returned to Viet Nam either as a WHO short-term volunteer or on my own for a few weeks every year since. Most of my voluntary action in Viet Nam is related to healthcare providing technical support to the Vietnamese colleagues.  

The first voluntary assignment I initiated was in 2003 conducting a workshop at the school of pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City. The workshop was a great success as it was on a topic that is very new in Viet Nam and is important to a safe and effective use of drugs. The greatest feeling was to be able to do something beneficial for the Vietnamese healthcare professionals and to receive their warm welcome of my experiences and knowledge. 

And your online volunteering work?

My first assignment as an online volunteer was with the United Nations Volunteer programme in Viet Nam in 2005 conducting a case study on the impact of volunteers on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The study was conducted in one and a half year via online communications. My goals then were to share my knowledge and experience with and to learn from those in developing countries. These goals were sometimes impossible to reach with time and financial constraints to quit one’s job to be present in the developing countries for voluntary work. Online volunteering offers me an alternative to reach my goals. Now, I can take my voluntary work wherever I go. From this aspect, online volunteering increases my efficiency and effectiveness and provides me an opportunity to volunteer with organizations located outside my hometown.

How do you think of being online volunteer, does it conflict with your daily work? If it does, how to best balance?

The unique aspect of being an online volunteer is being able to volunteer at anytime that is convenient and there is no need to be physically present at the site. It is a great experience to be able to benefit those who live so far away from us. 

Online volunteer work did not cause too much a conflict with my daily work but it sure did require working on some weekends and weeknights to complete the assignments. I do not know how best to balance volunteer work with daily work but have found that setting specific timelines and keeping a strong and clear purpose of the voluntary activities are helpful to maintain the continuity of the assignment. A very high level of self-discipline is also needed. 

How was your experience with the Online Volunteering work that you’ve been recognized for?

The work I was recognized for the Online Volunteer of the Year Award in 2006 is the contribution I made to PEOI (Professional Education International Organization; a non-profit organization supported by online volunteers providing on-line university level courses to anyone, anywhere, and at anytime at free of charge). I designed two online courses in basic pharmacokinetics and clinical pharmacology research. I spent from five to ten hours per week for online volunteering. It was a great experience with much assistance and guidance from the director of PEOI. By collaborating with an organization such as PEOI, I was able to blend in my offline and online voluntary activities.

What do you think of the Online Volunteer of the Year award?

I never thought I would be awarded for my voluntary work. I volunteer because I want to and it is my choice how I would like to make use of my resources. Receiving recognition for such a choice is flattering.