Announcing if-me.org in Vietnamese
By: Van-Anh Le
More communities need mental health support. Our site is now available in Tiếng Việt! This post is available in Vietnamese.
I have a Bachelor’s degree in English and Literature from a Vietnamese university. I was the recipient of the Community Services Scholarship from USAID. I did community work for student development programs at Hoa Sen University in Vietnam for eight years.
I moved to the United States in 2014. I work as a Patient Services Representative for the Community Health Services Clinic. I help the elderly, low-income people, and immigrants access affordable healthcare. I am passionate about human services and community building.
I love participating in cultural, fundraising, and charity events. I spend my time with family, drinking coffee, jogging, reading, and listening to music.
Why is mental health important to you?
When I have good mental health, it makes me feel healthy. I am able to have a positive effect on the people around me and be productive. I believe that good mental health helps us live longer and makes the world a better place for everyone.
Mental health is one of the social determinants of health — healthy individuals help to maintain a healthy environment. We’re like fish in a tank — living together so that we can survive as individuals.
How is mental health perceived and treated in Vietnamese American communities?
Mental health awareness in the Vietnamese American community is limited. Many of us do not prioritize our mental health.
Socioeconomic barriers and stigma make it difficult to access adequate mental healthcare. It’s a lot easier to make an appointment for physical pain than it is to see a doctor for depression and other mental illnesses. Going to a psychologist isn’t seen as normal in Vietnamese culture. Unfortunately, you can be judged as crazy or a psychopath.
Within Vietnamese American communities, there are some mental health services that focus on us and our experiences as refugees escaping the war. They are generally low or no cost for the elderly and low-income people. These services are important because they are offered in Vietnamese. Some services also offer transportation for patients.
Keeping up with mental health treatment is difficult in our communities. An individual will likely see a counselor if they are referred by a family member in a moment of crisis. Once the crisis has passed or been resolved, the individual will likely stop treatment even though continuing is necessary.
Why did you want to participate in translating if-me.org?
I joined if-me.org by chance! I was introduced to Julia Nguyen, the founder, by a friend who I’ve known since 2009 after attending a Vietnamese culture summer camp.
The most important thing I support about if-me.org is its mission to build a mental health platform that supports as many people as possible through the translations project. I admire that the project is not-for-profit and open source.
Translating the site to Vietnamese will encourage us to share our stories with our family and friends and get the help we need. Overseas Vietnamese struggle a lot with mental health issues because of the trauma of being displaced from our homeland. Getting help will improve our lives and help us focus on pursuing our dreams.
The contributor community is diverse, well-organized, compassionate, and enthusiastic. I learn a lot from everyone. I really like the project’s collaborative environment. This gives me the motivation to participate.
Were there any interesting challenges you came across while translating?
Translating word for word is not difficult, however, it’s more difficult to translate sentences that are coherent and cohesive. The first thing I do is read a sentence repeatedly to make sense of it. Then I will attempt to translate it to Vietnamese and through the editing process, improve the translation. I want my translations to be easy to read, easy to understand and to preserve the original text’s intent.
This was my first time using GitHub for basic coding. I wanted to learn so I asked my friend to guide me through the process of cloning a repository, making commits, and creating pull requests.
The more I translate, the more I want to make my translations better. While working on the translations, I’ve gotten a chance to improve my knowledge. It’s challenging, but worth it in the end.
It’s like navigating a river and passing through rocks, trees, moss, and other forms of nature. Eventually, you get to your destination.
