While Binh has led Survival Skills Vietnam (SSVN) as a director since 2018, his story begins as a participant in their First Aid course for schools. Having found a cause that aligns with his passion, Binh volunteered to develop an application helping people to quickly access life-saving instructions in emergencies. Soon after, Binh joined the founding team to transform SSVN from a self-funded non-profit into a sustainable social enterprise, bringing first aid education to over 120,000 Vietnamese.

In his childhood, Binh’s mother – a nurse herself – saved him from multiple near-death situations. It was only when he attended a first aid class and heard personal stories of avoidable deaths that he vividly realised the stark difference having at least one trained person in each family could make. Binh has also successfully commercialised an award-winning anti-mosquito stormwater catch basin invention with his father, contributing to mosquito-borne disease reduction in multiple cities.

The real challenges of scaling up SSVN’s impact and bridging the collaboration gap between medically-trained practitioners and other stakeholders continue to drive Binh’s participation in the EI fellowship and he hopes to mobilise resources and spark greater collaboration to bring public first aid education to all in the region.