Ca Van Tran left his native country of Vietnam on the last ship out of Saigon Harbor on April 30, 1975. With the collapse of the U.S. effort in Vietnam, Ca and his wife were among the thousands of Vietnamese fleeing their native land. During the Vietnam War Ca worked with the U.S. Marine Corps in his home province of Quang tin, and later worked for U.S. International Agency for Development (USAID) in Vietnam. Arriving in the United States Ca had nothing but the clothes he wore. In the finest American immigrant tradition, Ca, starting at the lowest rung of the ladder, worked tirelessly as a janitor cleaning shopping malls and restaurants until he was able to open his own restaurant and began to enjoy the fruits of his labor.

It wasn't until 1991, upon learning of his father's illness, that Ca decided to return to Vietnam. Upon arriving, he was shocked at the sight of so many disabled and crippled Vietnamese; victims of the war and the pervasive poverty afflicting the country. He resolved then and there to do something to help alleviate the hardship of those disabled Vietnamese.

Immediately upon returning to the United States from Vietnam, Ca set out to establish Viet-Nam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH) VNAH coordinated the manufacturing and delivery of wheelchairs and artificial limbs to war, land-mine victims and other disabled persons. Since that time VNAH, with the support of grants from USAID, U.S. Department of Labor, the American veterans organizations such as the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, private foundations and the Vietnamese-American community totaling over nine million dollars, has provided tens of thousands of artificial limbs and wheelchairs to the disabled. VNAH works with the Government of Vietnam and relevant organizations to improve and promote better policies and programs for the disabled through the provision of technical assistance and training.

During his early visits to Vietnam, Ca was especially moved by the plight of the displaced and severely disadvantaged children. In response to their needs, in 1993 he established the sister organization to VNAH; Health and Education Volunteers (HealthEd). HealthEd's primary objective is to address the needs of displaced children. Ca's success at mobilizing resources for a pilot program to house, care for and re-integrate displaced children in Dalat City, in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, impressed the Vietnamese government enough, that they have requested that this project be duplicated in Can tho and Hung yen provinces. In addition, Ca has helped coordinate a multi-million dollar airlift into the country, raised donations to build several elementary schools and vocational training buildings and helped establish clinics and training for prosthetics and medical technicians. Ca has led a number of United States delegations to Vietnam, including US Senators, veterans group leaders, high government and former military officials and heads of corporations.

Ca owns and manages a prospering restaurant chain in the Northern Virginia area. He is now a successful American businessman, living the American dream, but he has not forgotten his roots and continues to work tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of the people in his native Vietnam.

HealthEd has long had a strong interest in stemming the growing threat of HIV/AIDS in Viet Nam. HealthEd efforts in this area began in 1996 when it partnered with the Viet Nam Youth Union (VNYU) to organize the first national conference focused on combating the threat of AIDS among Vietnamese youth. That conference brought together local and international experts and the most senior Vietnamese health care leaders to discuss the spreading epidemic and how it might be best controlled. In 1997, HealthEd/VNAH organized a series of concerts to raise HIV/AIDS awareness. These concerts were preceded by an innovative song-writing contest and the nationally televised concerts showcased the winning songs. A number of these songs are still in use by HIV/AIDS educators in Viet Nam. In 1978 HealthEd/VNAH joined with the US Center for Disease Control to sponsor with the VNYU three-day Workshop on managing the growing problem of HIV/AIDS in Viet Nam.

HealthEd has continued its involvement in HIV/AIDS sector with the Youth Against AIDS project in Hanoi. This project aims to increase HIV/AIDS awareness and promote safe sex behavior among youth in five wards in Hanoi City. The project was funded by USAID and has been implemented in partnership with the Viet Nam Youth Union. A recent evaluation of the project by an independent consultant pronounced that the project has significantly increased the knowledge of HIV/AIDS among youth at target sites and improved the capacity of the Youth Union to implement HIV/AIDS prevention activities.

Other HealthEd projects have:

Worked with commune officials in Viet Nam to help meet the needs of orphans and displaced children in especially difficult circumstances by providing them with education, vocational training, health care, housing and family/community reunion

Provided small-scale rural development projects (potable wells, training for village health workers and primary school construction) in remote and mountainous areas in the Central Highland.

Operated micro-lending programs and income generating schemes for families suffering economic hardships (also a child-centered program)

Provided emergency relief in response to disasters such as catastrophic floods.

VNAH programs include:

Extensive technical assistance in the drafting of the new Ordinance on Disabled Persons. Improving policies and programs for people with disabilities through technical assistance and training to the Government of Viet Nam and other relevant organizations in Viet Nam with special emphasis on employment, inclusion, and integration people with disabilities into the society. Under this program, VNAH has been providing technical support to the Committee on Social Affairs of the National Assembly to implement the Ordnance; assisted the Ministry of Construction to develop and promulgate a Barrier-free Design Code and Standards; and worked with Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to set up a National Coordinating Council on Disability (NCCD).

Strengthening groups of and for people with disabilities to give them a voice when Government policies and programs are being designed and implemented.

Providing technical assistance and training for the drafting of a progressive law governing Vietnamese Non-Governmental Organizations.

Working with the Vietnamese Ministry of Transportation and relevant agencies to develop the Code and Standards for a national accessible transport system (bus, railroad car and aviation)

Providing prosthetic and orthotic devices and rehabilitation services to war victims and disabled children and adults in Viet Nam. VNAH also coordinate the production and delivery of high quality, low cost wheelchairs, which have been especially designed for conditions in Southeast Asia. The productions use almost 90% of locally available materials and supplies.

A major focus of the VNAH approach is to reach people with disabilities in rural areas through regular outreach visits. To date, VNAH has organized and delivered over 80,000 artificial limbs and wheelchairs to war victims, disabled children.