A group of Hamilton students was recently recognized for their commitment project at the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) in Chicago. Ngoc Ngo ’20, Tiffany Ly ’20, and Hyein Kim ’21 were honored for their project in a session on keeping girls in school.
Their team also includes Kimberly Ly ’20 and Michelle Chung ’20 who are abroad and were unable to attend CGI U.
The students described the project:
Our Commitment to Action is aimed at increasing access to reproductive health education and resources for Vietnamese women. At an estimated 40%, Vietnam currently holds the highest abortion rate in all of Asia. The gap in reproductive health education and lack of reproductive health resources has led to the use of abortion as a primary contraceptive method, with many feeling as if it is their only choice.
While we believe all women should have the right to a safe and affordable abortion, our focus is on the number of repeat abortions that occur in Vietnam. These repeat abortions can have severe consequences on a woman’s physical and mental well-being.
We plan to partner with the American Center within the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam to integrate reproductive health education into their regular programming, with hopes of mitigating the social stigma surrounding reproductive health in the country.
Anna Mowat ’18 and Aurora Cai ’21 also attended this year’s CGI U. Cai is working on a project in China to increase access to English language education for children of migrants to Chinese cities. Mowat is part of a group that helps homeowners reduce their heating bills through physics-based modeling.
