Mrs. Mai Cong was born in 1937, Hanoi, the third child of Mr. Cong Xuan Bach. He was a local official in Hanoi under the Nguyen dynasty. In 1954, after the Geneva Accords divided Vietnam into two zones, her family fled Communist rule in North Vietnam and settled in South Vietnam. In 1975, after the North Vietnam Communists took over South Vietnam, Mrs. Mai Cong and her family were evacuated and resettled in the United States. She obtained a bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Counselor. She worked full time for Out-Patient Mental Health Services for Indochinese in Orange County to help Laotians, Cambodians and Vietnamese immigrants, and ran a nonprofit Community Association.
The Vietnamese Community Association in Orange County, California (VNCOC) is well-known by Vietnamese expatriates in Orange County. Mrs. Mai Cong and Mr. Luyen Quang Dang were the first two of the members who created this association in 1978. After one year of operation, the association was granted license in 1979 as a refugee resettlement support agency, with a primary goal of helping Vietnamese refugees in their early years in America. During her 30 years of participation, Mrs. Mai Cong and the Board of Directors had tirelessly worked and expanded the Association. After a period of consolidation, the non-profit agency has continued to expand steadily into several areas, from social to cultural, community economic development, and health care services.
In addition to its headquarters on West First Street in Santa Ana, the agency operates from other sites: an Asian Community Health Center for preventative and general health services, at a sliding-scale fee, to under-served people in the community; a branch in Little Saigon, Westminster to provide employment, community economic development and other services; and the Phu Dong Early Childhood Development Center – one of the best child care and education centers in Garden Grove.
“A hero is someone who unselfishly works for the common good. And in that sense, Mai Cong is true hero of the community.” Said California senator Joe Dunn in his key note speech at the grand opening of the VNCOC’s a “Phu Dong” Early Childhood Development Center.
During her 30 years of non-stop contribution to the community, Mrs. Mai Cong received hundreds of awards and certificates. In 1998, she was the first Asian woman among 10 women to receive the Hero Care Award of Orange County; and her picture was hung in The Block at Orange.
In addition, in 1996, she and her husband Mr. Le Kim Dinh (a former reporter of the New York Times) joined Vietnamese residents in Orange County to protest against the construction of a Chinese architectural bridge across Bolsa Blvd. connecting Phuoc Loc Tho and 99 Super Market. After several days of protest by the community, this unnecessary bridge project was rejected by the City of Westminster.
Her writing included a contribution to “Letter to Our Children” published by Random House in 1996 and several Op-ed pieces and essays in the Los Angeles Times which, in a front-page articles, credited her with having been instrumental in radically changing the political make-up of the Vietnamese American community in Orange County through increased participation in mainstream politics as responsible citizens in their new homeland.
In 1998, she resigned from the board of directors of VNCOC and enjoyed traveling with her husband. Some years later, she had a terminal illness but continued to bravely enjoy life, and found joy in the love and support from her family and friends.
In 2016, VHM members had several meetings with her to discuss the VHM mission and vision. She also shared experiences and past struggles during the establishment of community facilities. She happily accepted the role of advisor to VHM.
Mrs. Mai Cong passed away peacefully on Monday, March 5, 2018, at the age of 80.
Not long after her passing, we received notice from her lawyer that VHM was on the list of her beneficiaries. Two years later, VHM received a substantial donation from her. We acknowledge and appreciate Mrs. Mai Cong for her generous contribution and support to build the future of VHM.
