Stories That Inspire: Vinh Nguyen

The life of a refugee is paved with many challenges, roadblocks and struggles. Catholic Charites has a long history of supporting refugees and helping them succeed in their new lives here in Des Moines.

Vinh Nguyen, a former Catholic Charities Refugee Services client, is grateful for the life-changing experiences he has had through Catholic Charities.

Vinh was born during the Vietnam War. In his early 20’s, he boarded a boat along with 134 other people in hopes of escaping persecution. Calling themselves the ‘boat people,’ his and other groups started the long and dangerous journey.

“I was a part of a journey that nobody was asking for or looking forward to,” said Vinh.

Vinh describes the conditions of this journey as very rough and hard. He remembers the boat being very small and feeling like they were sardines packed together. They were at sea for a week and were stopped serval times by local fishermen and pirates, before being saved. They were sent to different countries and organizations waiting for someone to take them in.

“Fortunately enough, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Des Moines, saved me and brought me to the Des Moines area and that was the beginning of everything else,” said Vinh.

At the time, Catholic Charities was working in partnership with Lutheran Services of Iowa (LSI) on refugee resettlement. Catholic Charities would primarily sponsor the young adults while LSI would sponsor the minors. Vinh remembers working closely with the late Deacon Joseph Huynh Van Ngoc, who served as his caseworker.

“With our caseworker’s help we got our lives together,” said Vinh.

Vinh recounts how Deacon Huynh would always be there for him and the other refugees he journeyed with. He helped them navigate what life was like here in Iowa and gave them the opportunity to explore and experience things for themselves.

“Our case worker helped us whenever we needed it and very much guided us to be self-sufficient as soon as possible,” said Vinh. “Instead of just teaching us, he let us experience things for ourselves so we could learn more.”

Through the support he received from Catholic Charities, Vinh started down his own road to success, giving back and supporting others along the way.

He began attending Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) to learn English. Through his studies and the support of his caseworker, Vinh was offered a job with Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) to help teach math to Vietnamese students. As his English became stronger, he enrolled at Drake University, obtained his Bachelor’s Degree and began his teaching career. He started teaching at North High School, later moving to Hoover High School before joining the DMPS central office.

While teaching, Vinh had the opportunity to help and teach many refugee students. He found great pleasure in being able to support these students and help them succeed and grow.

“I loved teaching and influencing my refugee students to be somebody and most of the time I would use my own example to influence their work,” said Vinh.

While with DMPS, he helped create and shape the English Language Learner Program to further support refugee and immigrant students. When the program started there were around 1,600 students involved, by the end of his tenure the program grew to around 7,000 students and continues to this day.

Vinh’s impact on the refugee and immigrant community in Des Moines is profound. He continues to support this community through his current work with LSI.

He is grateful for the opportunities and support he received through Catholic Charities and appreciates all the organization does for those who are in need of help.

“Part of the vibrancy we see in Des Moines is thanks to the refugee populations and the work Catholic Charities does within the immigrant and refugee community,” said Vinh. “I often say, I am who I am because I was picked up by Catholic Charities. If I wasn’t, who knows where I would be. I could be a completely different person.”

Vinh recently expressed interest in volunteering as a meal provider for the Catholic Charities Emergency Family Shelter. He is excited about giving back to others in the community who are struggling while supporting the organization that gave him so much.

“I can give back and I can do something good for society because of the work Catholic Charities has done to give me the chance to do that,” said Vinh.

For more information on how you can get involved and support the mission at Catholic Charities, contact Director of Development and Marketing, Bobbi Jo Smith at 515-237-5064 or bsmith@catholiccharitiesdm.org.