I fled Vietnam for Philippines in 1987, risking my life for happiness and freedom. Along with friends and family, we crossed the Pacific Ocean over six days and five nights, exposed to the elements and short of food and water. We arrived at Palawan Refugee Camp before Australia welcomed us. I arrived in Australia with just the clothes on my back and thongs.

In searching for freedom, I knew I had to keep a sense of appreciation for everything Australia has done for me.

I was involved in a Buddhist youth group at Quang Duc temple in Fawkner when I met Rob Wood from Initiatives of Change (IofC). He’d been invited to a celebration at the temple by the Abbott. Rob has always been about connecting young people, and he invited me to take part in a Life Matters workshop at Armagh. It was about how values shape everything…your talk, your path in life.

One of the things I learned was how to say sorry to Mum with flowers, to appreciate the little things she did for me, like laundry, cooking, and wake-up calls. Mum became more like a friend to me; for a traditional Asian family, this is quite special.

It’s scary to walk alone in life, therefore many people stay ‘inside the box’. What I learned in Life Matters helped me to get out of the box. It gave me the comfort to do things in business; to feel the force behind my actions. With the practice of meditation and values from Initiatives of Change (IofC), I'm able to run my business with utmost integrity and bring values into everyday life and at-work practices.

https://au.iofc.org/sites/au.iofc.org/files/styles/medium/public/media/i..." title="Jimmy Nguyen
Photo credit: John Ng ">I have two businesses – LCN Fashion which produces Australian-made, high-end female fashion garments and Essence Dry Cleaners with alterations in Yarraville. LCN Fashion was recently accredited by Ethical Clothing Australia and I hope to do the same for Essence.

I feel connected to the Yarraville community vibe; my life choices have led me here and I live my life by taking less, and giving more.

One day I was serving a lady at Essence; in our open-hearted exchange, it turned out she used to volunteer in Palawan Refugee Camp teaching English back in 1982. She didn’t teach me as I arrived in 1987 but she could have taught my uncle who was there then. I didn’t charge her for the dry cleaning service as it was my way of saying ‘thank you’ on behalf of Vietnamese refugees in Palawan. Better yet, she actually lives in Yarraville!

I now call Yarraville and Australia home. This is where I received a second chance – to live, to grow and learn that freedom must never be taken for granted.

* An earlier version of this story appeared on the Humans of Seddon, Kingsville and Yarraville blog on 13 February 2017.