Calmar physician honoured by University of Alberta

Q&A with Dr. Nhung Tran-Davies

CALMAR -- Calmar-based physician Dr. Nhung Tran-Davies has been named as one of the recipients of the University of Alberta's Alumni Honour Awards.

Dr. Tran Davies has dedicated her life to enriching the lives of others, not just through her medical practice, but through various philanthropic ventures that have seen thousands of dollars raised for underprivileged children across the globe. She arrived in Canada when she was just five years old after her family fled Vietnam in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.

She spoke with 93.1 The One about her incredible journey.

AR: Your bio on the U of A website says you originally came to Canada as a refugee from Vietnam -- can you tell me a little bit more about that, how you first ended up making your way to Canada, and how old you were at the time?

Dr. Nhung Tran-Davies: Yes, it was more than 45 years ago. At the time, it was right after the Vietnam War, after the fall of Saigon in 1975. After that, the conditions of the people in Vietnam were horrendous because the government that came in -- the communist government -- was very oppressive to the people. The country was ravaged, with lots of destruction, so lots of people were living in poverty. Our family was one of them. It was basically just my mom and six kids -- I was the youngest of six kids. I was only four at the time. It was just so difficult to live in such an environment because there were times when mom, and my older brothers and sisters, had to forgo eating so the little ones could eat.

There were times that soldiers blindfolded and dragged my mom -- so it was just a very harsh condition to live under. Mom saw no future for her children in Vietnam, so she gathered us, and we were able to get onto this little fishing boat. At the time, many people, because of the oppression, were trying to escape Vietnam. So, mom gathered us, and we got onto this fishing boat that had 300 other people squished onto it as well, and we were at the bottom of the boat. Our family was fortunate in that this little rickety fishing boat was able to cross the sea to make it to Malaysia, where there was a refugee camp. Despite the storm, and the waves at the time, our boat remained intact, and when we got there, they took us into the refugee camp where our family stayed for 8 months.

Every day, mom prayed that some country wanted our family, or could help our family, but it seemed like no one wanted us. Until we got word one day that there were people in Canada who wanted us. Mom rejoiced, but when we got to Canada, and landed, she didn't want to get off the plane because she realized that she just had a dollar in her pocket and had six kids in a new country. She was afraid that she couldn't raise her six children in a new country because she didn't know anybody. It took a translator coming on the plane to tell her that people were inside the airport waiting for us, and convinced us to get off the plane. When we got through the gates at the Edmonton International Airport, our lives changed forever.

Coming through the gates, having lost everything because of the war, we were greeted by all of these warm Canadians, who we found out later were our sponsors. They were a church group from the Enoch area, the Our Lady of Mercy church group -- they had children of families that they felt no other nation wanted, because there was a mother -- a seamstress with little education, and six kids. I, being the youngest, was greeted by another little girl who came up to me and presented me with a doll -- and my heart lit up at that point. I had nothing, and I was given this doll, and that was a moment I realized that all these people had so much compassion, generosity, and kindness, and were changing the course of our lives.

The hope they had instilled in us in that moment, I feel has stayed with me for my entire life. That act of kindness shaped who I am, and I continue to live in honour of the sponsors that helped us come to Canada and hope to pay for the kindness that they had given me. That was one of the lessons that our mom had taught all her kids -- to be grateful, and pay forward the kindness that was given to us. This is how everything started and how I got to be where I am today.

AR: Can you talk to me about the Children of Vietnam Benevolent Foundation? When did you found that organization, and what was your goal?

Dr. Nhung Tran-Davies: The Children of Vietnam Benevolent Foundation is a registered charity that I and a group of friends founded in 2013. In the year 2000, I chose to go back to Vietnam to do a medical elective. The war ended in 1975, our family escaped in 1978, and we got to Canada in July of 1979 -- but when I got back in 2000, 20 years had passed since I had last been in Vietnam, and I realized how much poverty was still in the country. There were a lot of children still begging in the streets, and to see them not in school just broke my heart. There was no consistent hot running water, and the state of the medical system was very poor in terms of how patients were cared for. But, especially seeing the young children that were not able to go to school, to not have the opportunities that I was given because of the sponsors that brought us to Canada, and given myself and many other refugees the hope and opportunities to pursue our dreams and do what we want, I felt compelled to do something.

It was my mom who sparked the idea of founding the charity, because she pointed out that she had seen me going to various charities over the years, but she hadn't seen me go to a charity specifically for Vietnam. That sparked an idea, that I myself, could establish a charity of my own, with a focus on helping those who I consider my little brothers and sisters in Vietnam. To give them the hope and opportunities that we have been fortunate enough to find in Canada. Every year, we hold an annual fundraising event, and we've been able to raise quite a bit of funds every year because of the community that shares our goals. Since 2013, we've been able to do quite a few things for the less fortunate. In terms of helping to build schools, renovating orphanages, providing basic needs to children living in the orphanages, and providing thousands of dollars in scholarships. We've been able to do quite a few things for the underprivileged children.

We just want to honour the kindness that was given to us, and the kindness of the donors who've been able to walk alongside us through all these years to help the less fortunate. Even though the focus has been on Vietnam, through the years we've been able to expand to also direct funds to other international projects around the world, where we see children in need. As well as funds for food banks, and various other non-profit organizations that are in need of help as well. So, when we gather, we don't only have the children of Vietnam in mind, but we have children and youth locally, and internationally as well. We've just been fortunate to have been able to connect with so many people who have the heart and passion to help make this world a better place.

AR: How did you first end up in Calmar, and can you tell me what that community has meant to you over the years?

Dr. Nhung Tran-Davies: After I graduated medical school, myself and my husband moved to St. John, New Brunswick, for our residency. There, we were placed in a lot of rural communities to do our family medicine rotations, and I grew to love small-town practice. So, when we came back to Alberta, I specifically wanted to find a small town to practice in, and we found Calmar. First, we established in Devon, then we moved to Calmar. It has been the best move of our lives because of the small-town community. Our patients don't just remain our patients, because they also become our friends. There are a lot of personal connections with everybody that comes through our clinic. The small-town connection is so genuine and real, that in many ways they become a part of our family through the clinic.

It's an honour and privilege to be able to care for the people of this community because they are so good and so wonderful. I see the hard work that they go through and there are a lot of farmers in the area as well. It's just an amazing little town. They have supported our clinic through the years, and I feel honoured to be able to care for the families here. It's wonderful to see the babies being born in the town, and seeing them grow, as we've been in Calmar for nearly 18 years. We're quite established here.

AR: How does it feel to be honoured by the University of Alberta with one of their alumni awards?

Dr. Nhung Tran-Davies: It was a surprise to learn that I was one of the recipients of the honour award. I actually cried when I heard -- it seemed like life had come full circle because education is so important to me. Growing up, and having so little, living in a low-income family when we first established in Canada, mom had the lesson of how people can take everything away from you, but they can't take your education. I worked hard at school, and I pursued medicine because I felt it was the only profession that was consistent with who I am, in terms of being able to help others. It took three tries before I was able to get into medicine, but the U of A is a central part of my life. I feel that not only the sponsors who brought us to Canada helped shape my life through their kindness, but also the University of Alberta through the education that they provided me.

I feel that who I am today, with the knowledge and the aspirations that I have, being able to achieve my dreams of also being able to write books for children, is because of all the skills that I've learned through the years from all the wonderful teachers and professors at the U of A. The University of Alberta holds great significance in my heart. Having graduated back in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science, and a medical degree in 2002, that's over two decades -- so I didn't think they would remember me. To have this recognition from the University of Alberta, it just felt like life came full circle. I feel deeply humbled and honoured, having read the bios of all the other recipients this year, to know how accomplished and inspiring all the other recipients are -- I just feel really humbled to be in their company. This award is one of the greatest honours of my life, just after the honour of having my children. It holds a very special place in my heart now. I'm just grateful. It's a sum of all the experiences and people I've met along the way.