In the early 1980s, Bac Huu teamed up with James Freeman to develop an English language course and job training program for refugees in Santa Clara County.

In 1987, Bac Huu visited South East Asian refugee camps and found cases of extreme neglect and abuse, and sadly, with many unaccompanied minors as the victims of these cases. Upon his return, Bac Huu and a group of professionals founded  Aid to Repatriate Children Without Parents (ARCWP) in response to the critical need in assisting the thousands of unaccompanied Vietnamese refugee minors. 

Through the organization, Bac Huu called attention to the plight of unaccompanied minors and raised funds through private donations, concerts, and the Vietnamese Student Associations, all without help from the government or international organizations.

Through Bac Huu’s leadership, ARCWP respectfully approached local authorities, with a pure and genuine intent for  politically neutral and non-confrontational humanitarian help.  These funds in turn financed education, the building of schools, healthcare services, and cultural activities.

In 1991, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) invited ARCWP to assess the situation of repatriated unaccompanied minors.  Four years later, ACWP financed a children’s shelter in Hue and also provided educational services and work/study training programs.

In 1996, ACWP raised over $336,000 to contribute to the construction of “Viet Village” in Palawan, Philippines which provides temporary housing for  approximately 9,000 Vietnamese refugees.

 “Our concern is to limit, as much as possible, the damage to these children, offering a new life to those whose worlds have been shattered, letting them know that someone cares about them, giving them hope, and providing realistic ways for them to begin to reconstruct their lives. (Freeman & Nguyen, 2003).”

Bac Huu is a man with integrity and humanity.  “From the start, our aim at ACWP was to fulfill the promise we made to children in the camps who came from central Vietnam: if they repatriated, we would do what we could to help them until they became adults (Freeman & Nguyen, 2003).”

ACWP’s strategy is to help one child at a time is yielding wonderful results.  Children who have been helped are now becoming leaders in their local communities. These children understand that they need education in order to better than lives.  With your help, you can provide a child the opportunity for a promising future.   

In 1999, after this promise was realized through ACWP, Bac Huu co-founded the Friends of Hue Foundation (FHF) to assist impoverished families and provide emergency relief in Hue - central Vietnam   and serves currently serves on the Board of Directors for FHF.

Although Bac Huu is now retired from ACWP, he still wishes that the young people continue to carry out the mission as long as there is needy child in Vietnam.

 References:

Freeman, James and Nguyen, Huu Dinh.  2003.  Voices from the Camps Vietnamese Children Seeking Asylum. University of Washington Press.  Seattle, Washington.