RECOVERING RESIDENT
A Caring Village

In the heart of the Viet Village at Village de L’est, Mary Tran and The Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Development Corporation (MQVCDC) are helping to make New Orleans and the Viet Village a better place.

The development corporation and the Viet Village community returned to New Orleans quickly after Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, Tran assumed the role of executive director of the organization, which is in many ways the community's life blood.

Tran's ultimate goal was to help with the rebuilding and to create a better New Orleans East community. On an average day, Mary Tran is writing grants to help finance the goals of MQVCDC and the Viet Village, one of New Orleans’s target areas for recovery and an official Louisiana cultural district.

“I grew up in New Orleans and this community," Tran said. "I am doing this for the people I care about”.

Tran is hopeful about the recovery and plans to stay in New Orleans.

“A lot of people have moved on, but I think New Orleans will be better than before”.