Volume 24No. 2 |Winter 2014
6
Meet ournewest SVD
Missionaries, preparing for
first assignments
Nguyen, Phat TrienSVD
Assigned toChinaProvince
Trienwas born inVietnam, the fourthof
a familyof six, and says his upbringing
helped formhim into thepersonhe is
today.
“Living inabig familyhelpedme to
knowhow to share, how to respect theelder and to love
the younger,”he says. “I also learnt frommyparents that
workinghardwouldbeanessential element of success.”
Trien’sMumandDadgrewup in the timeof theVietnam
War andneither of themcouldcontinueon in school after
primary school. After thewar, in1975, theyhad towork
hardon the farm to support their family.
“Living inharshconditions, andhaving low self-esteem
becauseof poor education, they formed in themselves a
strongdesire that their childrenmust haveabetter future,”
Trien says.
“Thebest that they coulddowas toprovide their children
agoodeducation. Itwas a sacrifice that theyworked very
hard to fulfil on thecoffeeplantation farm, savingall the
money theyhad for us to study.
“Becauseof thepoor qualityof education inour small
village, theymadeadecision thatwhen Iwas seven years
old, they sentmeandmy twoolder brothers toSaiGon
(HoChiMinhCity), 450km frommyhometown, to study.
“We lived inadormitoryof theLovingHolyCross
Congregationwheremyeldest sister,Nga, isnowa
member, and I grewup there.”
Trien says that leavinghomeat age sevenwas the
beginningofmany significant events inhis lifeand ledhim
toanother family– theDivineWordMissionaries.
“My choice to joina religiousordermight havecome from
mymum,”he says. “Shewantedme tobeamissionary
priest, rather thanadiocesanpriest, because the
missionarieshada strongbrotherhood relationship.”
After finishinghigh school Trien joined theSVD seminary.
Healso spent five years at TechnologyUniversity, studying
Civil Engineering.Whenhegraduated, the time for
discernment about vocationhadcome. A timeof inner
ProjectYendi and theSVD
commitment toeducation
DivineWordMissionaries have always beenpassionate
about their Educational Apostolate, with approximately
40per cent of all SVDs around theworldbeing involved in
educationministry, directlyor indirectly.
St Arnold Janssen, SVD founder, was himself a school
teacher, highly valuingprovisionof education topoor and
marginalised communities as a crucialmissionarywork.
In the last twoSVD chapters, theEducational Apostolate
was the focus of discussion aiming for a common
orientation andguidelines for SVDwork ineducation,
given thatDivineWordMissionaries run key educational
institutions inmanyparts of theglobe.
On average, about 70per cent of funds raisedby SVD are
utilised for educational endeavours.
As such, SVDAUSProvincial FrHenryAdler says Project
Yendi is “aperfect fit for the visionofmission ineducation
that is supportedwholeheartedlybyDivineWordhere in
theAustraliaProvince”.
