Why Thai Dang, a Survivor of War and Malaria, Gives to UNICEF
Our supporters have personal reasons for giving. Some believe in the cause. Others give because they encountered UNICEF at a crucial crossroads in their lives — and it made all the difference. Thai Dang was one such child. When he was 13, Dang contracted a bad case of malaria, but in his small village in Vietnam, there was no treatment for him. "They used traditional medicine and prayed. I was so bad, they were just about ready to give up on me and leave me to die," he remembers. Then a UNICEF medical team arrived and provided the medicine that saved his life.
But this wasn't the only time UNICEF came to his aid. "High school was a dream for me. In fact, I was the only one from my village who got to high school," he recalls. "My parents couldn't afford to send me to college, but I found a brochure for the National School for Social Work that UNICEF sponsored. Miracle! I got accepted! To me back then, that school was like a five-star hotel. I never slept on a mattress before I got to that campus. UNICEF is my savior. Besides my parents, UNICEF is the third member of my family."
Here, in his own words, is why he gives to UNICEF:
After the Fall of Saigon, Dang and his older brother escaped Vietnam on a very small boat that almost capsized. Rescued by a fishing boat, he spent eight months in a refugee camp in Indonesia before moving to Duluth, Minnesota. Now, decades later, having created a life in the United States, he returns the favor, supporting UNICEF to give today's children life-changing opportunities. "You've got to reach out and help — and UNICEF is the tool for me to continue doing that for the rest of my life."
#GiveHope now to support UNICEF's programs around the world, because all children deserve the right to good medical care and a quality education.
HOW TO HELP
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War, famine, poverty, natural disasters — threats to the world's children keep coming. But UNICEF won't stop working to keep children healthy and safe.
UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories — more places than any other children's organization. UNICEF has the world's largest humanitarian warehouse and, when disaster strikes, can get supplies almost anywhere within 72 hours. Constantly innovating, always advocating for a better world for children, UNICEF works to ensure that every child can grow up healthy, educated, protected and respected.
Would you like to help give all children the opportunity to reach their full potential? There are many ways to get involved.
