Shelter Self-Improvement
in Vietnam | October 2009

Shelter managers in Vietnam join forces to assess and improve shelters for trafficking victims nationwide

In October 2009 UNIAP, with support from USAID, has been working with the managers and counselors of the 8 shelter facilities in Vietnam. The goal: improving trafficking victim protection and services nationwide through improvements in shelter facilities, referral systems, and case management.

The Process

Work in Vietnam on this project began with bringing together managers from 1 shelter and 3 border reception centers in the north, and 3 shelters and 1 reception center in the south.

The shelter managers and counselors were formed into 2 teams and, after targeted training and skills-building by UNIAP, one team was deployed to visit the 4 facilities in the north of Vietnam, while the other visited the 4 facilities in the south of Vietnam.

The teams conducted shelter assessments and participated in peer-to-peer discussions on topics such as facility improvement; safety and security; sharing age-and gender-appropriate leisure and learning activities; and strengthening reintegration assistance.

A workshop held in Ho Chi Minh City on 1-2 October brought the two teams together for the first time, where they reported on their findings and recommendations to each other, touching on how each shelter could be improved, and noting good practice for sharing.

This workshop marked the first time that all shelter managers in the country of Vietnam had ever been brought together. The shelter managers indicated that this was the first time that any of them had ever had the opportunity to visit and learn from another shelter before.

After their meeting, the shelter managers drafted and submitted improvement plans for each shelter outlining their improvement priorities including what they would like to improve, how they would do it, and estimated costs.

Managers then planned a follow-up training to build skills in high-demand techniques including first-instance assessment, counseling techniques, case and shelter management, and life-skills program planning.

As a part of the Shelter Self-Improvement Project, UNIAP and USAID will help to fund these improvements, from general improvements to shelter environments, to providing case worker training on how to integrate more empowering techniques into their counseling.

UNIAP and USAID will continue to convene this unique group of managers who have now found they can support one another in the difficult work of protecting trafficking victims.