Social Responsibility
CHANGE FOR A BETTER WORLD – My voluntary collaboration with Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation in Hanoi.
“I am Giang, Head of Social Work and Child Protection at the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation in Vietnam – an organization that rescues Vietnamese children and families in crisis situations, such as street children, abused children, and victims of human trafficking. Blue Dragon provides them with exceptional care and creates long-term change for a better world.
I am so grateful that Caroline has been willing to coach me over the past six months. Through my experiences with her, I see that she is an excellent coach with incredible coaching skills. She has such sensitivity in working with people from different cultural backgrounds, as I am Vietnamese (Asian). Despite the many challenges we face – such as distance, technology, time differences, and cultural differences – she has been deeply committed to our coaching. The complexity of my work requires frequent travel to mountain areas where internet access is not always reliable. Sometimes I also have to reschedule sessions because I am dealing with emergencies. In all of this, I have always experienced Caroline as a very caring and understanding coach, who is committed and always seeks the best way forward for both of us.
Although we are half a world apart and were complete strangers at the beginning, we have developed a very strong connection and close working relationship. When I am in a coaching session with her, I feel respected, absolutely safe, and know that she listens with her heart. Over the past six months, she has supported me in seeing and recognizing who I am, what I stand for, and why I do what I do. We worked on my beliefs, values, thoughts, and emotions – and how all of these influence my behavior and the results in both my personal and professional life.
In addition, the coaching has helped me to see others from a new perspective, to recognize their uniqueness and different values. Looking at myself now, I realize that I am a miracle, I love myself, and what I have accomplished is incredible. This motivates and inspires me to continue my work.
The coaching has had a major impact on my work, as I can now truly see how much I contribute to Blue Dragon by supporting and changing people’s lives. In the past, I sometimes felt insecure about recognizing my own value and contribution to the organization.
Coaching also helps me to deal better with conflicts among colleagues. We are more open with each other, and as a result our relationships have improved. I also receive a lot of positive feedback from my colleagues, my team members, and my supervisor about how much I have changed over the last six months.
The work Caroline provided me with was exactly what I needed to unfold and grow as an individual and as a professional in my field. I highly recommend her as a coach – regardless of distance.”
von Tô Thị Hương Giang
Senior Social Work Practitioner at BDCF
