Our Vision
A Vietnam where girls and women can exercise leadership, find their voices, and enrich community development and family life.
Our Mission
Women’s Empowerment and Voice (WEAV) is a non-profit organization that promotes gender equality in education for girls and women in economically challenged communities in the Mekong Delta.
Our Philosophy
- Educating girls and women is the best return on investment in developing countries
- Mentoring girls and women is critical for empowerment and voice
- Transparency of our organization and the sustainability of our programs are key to operational efficiency and effectiveness
- Low operating costs and volunteerism maximize awards for girls and women
- Strong local and global partnerships enhance our capabilities to address the needs of women and their families
Our History
Lois Testa Vietri, Ph.D., founder and executive director, laid the groundwork for WEAV during her academic career at the University of Maryland. WEAV is pre-dated by the Maryland Vietnam Partnership (MVP) established in 1991. MVP activities included conferences on Vietnam’s Challenges in the Global Economy and Sustainability and Environment in Vietnam; courses on Vietnam and the Greater Mekong Region; study abroad programs in Vietnam; and academic exchanges of Ford and Humphrey Fellows.
Pictured below are the students and faculty of the 2010 program in Ho Chi Minh City.
University of Maryland College Park students in Ho Chi Minh City, January 2010.
WEAV founder and executive director, Dr. Lois Vietri, first row, second from the left.
As a gender studies specialist, Lois Vietri was well aware of the problems faced by adolescent girls in Vietnam and the importance of women as main contributors to the formal and informal economy in Vietnam. Most disturbing are girls and women’s low level of educational and professional status compared to their male counterparts. Mekong Delta girls tend to lag behind boys at most educational levels especially at the secondary and post-secondary levels. This Vietnamese proverb still influences the boy preference in educational decisions:
Having a son means everything.
Having 10 daughters means nothing.
Consequently, Women’s Empowerment and Voice began its education programs for adolescent girl in the Mekong Delta in 2011. Our vision is to promote gender equality in education for every girl in Vietnam. WEAV choose the delta because of affection for her people, dedicated volunteers, and the 50% rate of girls dropping out of school. We wanted to address these educational inequalities and develop scholarship and mentoring programs to keep these girls in school. Educating girls and women empowers families to live healthier lives, reduces poverty, human trafficking and early marriages, and enhances the self- esteem of girls.
WEAV launched its operations at Thanh Hoa Junior High School in Hau Giang province in 2011. The families of the 35 scholarship recipients attended the ceremony as did local school and public officials. Girls received their scholarships to resounding applause from the audience. Pictured below are the WEAV scholars including one recipient who prepared a musical presentation to thank the WEAV board members and volunteers.
As of today, nearly 140 scholarships have been awarded to keep delta girls in secondary school. Recently, WEAV initiated a college scholarship program and now 15 young women are attending universities in Greater Can Tho City. Our first college graduate is pictured with Lois Vietri, WEAV Executive Director.
The next scholarship awards ceremony is planned for January 2015. The scholarship applicant pool has been expanded from one to four school districts in the Mekong Delta. Ideally WEAV can double the number of secondary and college scholarships to keep even more economically disadvantaged girls in school.
Our Team
Dr. Lois T. Vietri, Executive Director
Dr. Vietri established the Maryland Vietnam Partnership at the University of Maryland in 1991 and has been working over the last two decades to facilitate development, higher education and service learning programs in Vietnam.
Board Members:
Maria Carzon has a wealth of experience serving Vietnamese refugee youth at the Indochinese Community Center -Youth Leadership Program and Asian-American LEAD. She brings skills in event planning, contract administration, and financial and board management.
Margaret Colleluori has extensive experience in nonprofit management, job training and placement, marketing and social enterprise.
Dang Thi Ngoc Lan, Ph.D is an international educator and administrator at Can Tho University in the Mekong Delta. She is an expert in leadership development and adolescent and professional mentoring.
Ed Henry, a Vietnam veteran, is a travel consultant specializing in Southeast Asia. Over the last 25 years, Ed has served as a guide for thousands of U.S. veterans traveling back to Vietnam.
Anna Marie Marrollo, CPA works with Ernst and Young’s Tax Performance Advisory practice in Philadelphia. She has extensive global taxation experience and comes to WEAV with a long and rich history of volunteerism.
Ken Liffiton currently resides in Vietnam, and provides management consulting services and data analytics to banks. He is a University of Maryland alumnus and holds an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Thuy Nguyen is a leader in the Asian American community and an accomplished financial services professional and philanthropist. Like Margaret and Lois, Thuy is a Rosemont College alumna.
Nhan Huynh is an entrepreneur and a well respected Vietnamese chef and cookbook author in the Greater Philadelphia area. She is a native of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. She will be opening Vietnamese restaurants in 2018.
Scott N. Sforza served as White House Deputy Director of Communications. He received an Emmy for coverage of the Gulf War while at ABC’s Nightline. He is a global communications consultant and a University of Maryland alumnus.
TẦM NHÌN
Một Việt Nam nơi phụ nữ và trẻ gái có thể thực hiện vai trò lãnh đạo, tìm thấy tiếng nói của mình, làm phong phú cho sự phát triển cộng đồng và đời sống gia đình.
Sứ mệnh
Tổ chức phi lợi nhuận WEAV “ Vì tiếng nói và Quyền của phụ nữ” là tổ chức phi lợi nhuận thúc đẩy bình đẳng trong giáo ục cho cácc em gái và phụ nữ tại các cộng đồng còn khó khăn về kinh tế.
Triết lý phi lợi nhuận của WEAV
- Giáo dục trẻ em gái và phụ nữ đem lại lợi ích đầu tư tốt nhất tại các nước đang phát triển
- Giúp đỡ kèm cặp các em gái và phụ nữ là tạo nên quyền và tiếng nói của họ
- Tính minh bach của tổ chức họat động và sự bền vững của các chương trình là then chốt để tạo hiệu suất và hiệu quả hoạt động.
- Chi phí họat động thấp cùng sự tự nguyện tham gia giúp tối đa hóa cơ hội trao cho trẻ em gái và phụ nữ
- Sự hợp tác mạnh mẽ tại địa phương và tòan cầu giúp giải quyết các nhu cầu của phụ nữ và gia đình họ.
Lược sử về WEAV
Lois Testa Vietri, Ph.D., người sáng lập và là giám đốc điều hành, đã đặt nền móng cho WEAV trong cuộc đời sự nghiệp học thuật của mình tại trường College Park, đại học Maryland. Trước WEAV, đã có tổ chức MPV Hợp tác Maryland Việt Nam thành lập vào năm 1991 với các họat động bao gồm hội nghị về Các thách thức đồi với Việt Nam trong nền kinh tế toàn cầu và Sự phát triển và tính bền vững ở Việt nam; các khóa học về Việt Nam và Đại Vùng sông Mekong (Yunnan, China; Laos; Cambodia; Vietnam; Myanmar; and Thailand), Các chương trình nghiên cứu ngắn hạn ở nước ngoài dành cho Sinh viện đến Việt Nam , trao đổi học thuật giữa các học giả theo học bổng Ford và Humphrey.
Sinh viên University of Maryland College Park ở TP HCM, Tháng Giêng năm 2010.
Người sáng lập và là giám đốc điều hành của WEAV , Tiến sĩ Lois T. Vietri , đứng ở hàng đầu, thứ hai từ bên trái.