VOICE and Senhoa Separate

20th January, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

VOICE AND SENHOA TO BECOME TWO SEPARATE AND INDEPENDENT ORGANIZATIONS

In recent times (late 2009), the Cambodian Government expressed concerns over the political advocacy activities of VOICE interfering with its humanitarian anti-trafficking work in Cambodia.

On 9 December 2009, the Board of Directors of VOICE called an urgent meeting in which board members expressed a fervent wish for the humanitarian work serving underprivileged communities in Cambodia to continue. The organization addressed all concerns raised by the Cambodian government and has made the decision to split VOICE’s work into two separate entities: refugee advocacy (to be delivered by VOICE) and anti-trafficking work (to be delivered by SENHOA).

A new anti-trafficking nonprofit organization called “SENHOA” has been established in California, United States with the core mission of providing vulnerable women and children with vocational training, economic opportunities and social reintegration programs. SENHOA is also working with the Cambodian Government to register as a non-profit entity in Cambodia.

VOICE will elect new board membership in the near future and continue to work on issues relating to its

core mission. As from December 2009, VOICE has closed its office in Siem Reap and withdrawn from Cambodia.

VOICE and SENHOA have become two different and independent humanitarian non-profit organizations that are governed by different individuals. Both organizations would like to emphasize that they remain fully supportive of each other and united in their passion and dedication to serving underprivileged communities. It is believed that this is a more focused and positive direction which will yield stronger and more sustainable organizations.

On behalf of both organizations, we would like to thank the Government of Cambodia, the US Embassy in Cambodia, partnering NGOs and our donors for their continual support during this period.

VOICE – Maxwell Vo

SENHOA – Lisa T.D. Nguyen

PRESS CONTACT – Lisa T.D. Nguyen, Email: lisa@senhoa.org or Telephone: +1 (714) 500 0634

2009: Canada’s Plan to Facilitate Immigration of Vietnamese in the Philippines

PHOTO: The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, met representatives of the Vietnamese community to discuss the situation of Vietnamese refugees in the Philippines. Toronto, April 27, 2007. From left to right: Hoi Trinh, Lisa Nguyen (VOICE), Mr. Max Vo (SOS VietPhi), the Minister, Dr. Thua V. Ho (Vietnamese Association of Toronto), and Dr. Can D. Le (Vietnamese Canadian Federation).
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VOICE, together with SOS VietPhi and the Vietnamese Canadian Federation (VCF), lobbied the Canadian government for the resettlement of the remaining stateless Vietnamese refugees in the Philippines.

In May 2007, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced its plan to facilitate the immigration of the remaining stateless Vietnamese in the Philippines under Humanitarian and Compassionate consideration (H&C).

To date, the offices of VOICE in Manila and Washington, DC have submitted applications on behalf of all stateless Vietnamese in the Philippines eligible for the Canadian H&C program. On the field, VOICE is currently overseeing the departure of approved cases from the Philippines to Canada. In addition, VOICE is working in tandem with the VCF and SOS VietPhi to raise the necessary funds to help these individuals with their resettlement.

Updates on VOICE’s activities

December 2009

VOICE and Senhoa become separate organizations. Information throughout this website will gradually be updated to reflect this change.

24 September 2008

VOICE Australia meets with Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans.

23 September 2008

VOICE Washington D.C. meets with Kelly Ryan, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Population Refugees and Migration.

1 – 3 August 2008

VOICE attends the uNAVSA Conference in Portland, Oregon. VOICE is invited to present the keynote speech for the uNAVSA Gala Dinner.

19 – 23 July 2008

To mark the beginning of VOICE’s work in Cambodia, VOICE teams up with Hope for Tomorrow to organize the VOICE of HOPE Medical Mission. Volunteers from Australia, Canada and the United States flew into Siem Reap. Over the course of 4 days, the team screened, surveyed and treated 300 villagers in Siem Reap proper and on the Ton Le Sap Lake.

July 2008

VOICE locates office space for our Cambodia mission. Work is underway to set up the office.

6/20/2008

VOICE presents workshop on student activism at Vietnamese American Youth Leadership Conference (VAYLC) 2008 in Virginia.

4/26/2008

VOICE attends Yale University’s ViSA Summit and presents a workshop on student activism.

4/23/2008

VOICE collaborates with the union of North-American Vietnamese Student Associations (uNAVSA) Collective Philanthropy Project (CPP) to present a workshop about community activism at Rutgers University.

4/5/2008

VOICE presents a workshop on Sustainable Solutions in Human Rights Work at the Vietnamese-American Students Conference (VASCON) in Washington, DC.