Tight up against the Chinese border in northern Vietnam is a mountainous, tribal area from which, almost daily, Hmong girls are tricked, drugged, kidnapped and smuggled deep inside China. There, they’re sold into coercive marriages and domestic, agricultural or sexual slavery. Disoriented, most lack the language, means and skills to escape. Most disappear forever.

Long-time OZ member Sue Schein, in an illustrated talk will describe how she has been working with partners to design and launch workshops aimed at interrupting this practice, by teaching girls how to identify and resist grooming, negotiate their own safety and, at times, even effect their own escape.

Note: this Lunch & Learn talk was videotaped by CCTV / Town Meeting TV and can be viewed on their website.

About OZ’s Lunch and Learns:

Speakers cover a wide range of topics. A delicious lunch will be offered, which is served promptly at NOON. The talks begin at about 12:15pm and end no later than 1:15pm (including some time for Q&A).

Suggested cash contribution of $10 for food can be paid on the registration form or collected at the event — but feel free to give more or less. Please also consider being a sponsor of one or more Lunch & Learn talks. Information on this is on Lunch & Learn talk registration pages, or contact OZ Program & Engagement Manager Evan Rose at: 802-864-0218 (and select option 1 to reach Evan).

Please Register Here to Help Us Plan

2024-2025 Series of Lunch and Learn Talks:

• Thursday, September 26, 2024: A Storytelling Lunch Hour. Readings by Lenny Levine & David Schein
• Thursday, November 21, 2024: The Challenges Facing Caregivers. A talk by caregiver and author Alan Rubel.
• Thursday, December 19, 2024: Bridges of Hope: Learning about Mental Health. A presentation by staff & volunteers with NAMI-Vermont
• Thursday, January 16, 2025: Volunteering to Stop Human Trafficking in Vietnam. A talk by OZ member Sue Schein
•  Thursday, February 20, 2025: Jewish Life & Antisemitism in Today’s Germany. A talk by UVM Professor of History & Holocaust Studies Alan Steinweis
•  Thursday, March 20, 2025: Artists & the Holocaust: Documentation, Memory, Elegy. A visual presentation by former UVM Fleming Museum Director Janie Cohen
•  Thursday, April 24, 2025: The Music of Terezin. A talk, with music, by composer Michael Schachter
•  Thursday, May 15, 2025: Last Messages from the Dying. An exploration with End of Life Doula Sarah Villanueva

Download Our Lunch & Learn Brochure with Details on Each Talk