In 2012, Mrs. Huong Nguyen received the Humphrey Fellowship from the United States Government, granting her the opportunity to spend a year of non-degree graduate-level study, leadership development, and professional collaboration with U.S counterparts at the University of Minnesota. During her trip to Seattle, organized by the Humphrey Program at the University of Washington, she met Kirk Adams, President of Lighthouse for the Blind, at a dinner in March 2013. This was the first time she had heard about the model of social entrepreneurship, a model designed to adopt a business mindset to address social issues. She was surprised to learn that Lighthouse for the Blind, through its Seattle operations, could produce manufacturing products of such high quality that they could be suppliers of aerospace manufacturers like Boeing, even though it is an organization established for the primary purpose of having a positive social impact. Returning to the hotel with Kirk’s words “Maybe one day you can do something to help the blind people in Vietnam”, Huong started immediately searching for information about the blind in Vietnam and their situation.
While relatively little research has been done to document the plight of the bind in Vietnam, what few figures we have available reflect the difficulties they face in society today. Only 8% of the Vietnamese visually impaired go to school, 15% attend training courses, and 20% have jobs. Most of the Vietnamese blind live dependent on their families, and rarely communicate with others in their communities. They often do not believe in themselves and feel they have little hope for the future.
Historically, massage therapy has been one of the few and best jobs for the blind here in Vietnam. Unfortunately, there has been very little professional training available to them, from either governmental or private sources, for the improvement of their massage techniques, knowledge of anatomy and its relationship to massage, nor of the skills necessary to manage and create a professional and appealing spa environment.
Ms. Huong Nguyen, who also a Rajawali fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, made a decision to leave a promising political career in the Vietnamese government in order to find a way to make a difference. With families and friends supported, she founded BlindLink in May 2013.
what we do
Omamori Spa
More than just a spa, Omamori is the critical link between our training and real-world application, allowing us to measure the true effectiveness of our programs. It offers vital employment and a pathway for continuous, in-depth professional growth for our blind graduates. This is a unique environment where they can finally apply their learned skills to meet international standards, a level of practical experience previously unattainable. Here, imagination transforms into tangible action – they touch, feel, and apply their expertise daily. Crucially, Omamori Spa acts as a conduit for client feedback, enabling our training division to continuously refine and enhance our curriculums. This ensures that every blind graduate emerges fully prepared and productive. Committed to a fairer system, Omamori Spa has adopted a No Tip policy since its foundation, striving to revolutionize the prevailing payment model for blind therapists in Vietnam’s massage sector.
Empower Vietnamese blind youth
Our Programs
We focus on two goals: First, to provide training and employment for a growing number of blind people throughout the country. Second, to transform the image of blind therapists and their work, through word-of-mouth and the media, and by example.
We offers a host of programs that we make available to the blind community at large, partially thanks to our collaboration with the Vietnamese Blind Association. Our programs are designed to provide students with the opportunity to obtain skills need to achieve success in independent life, interact with peers and sighted people in a variety of social situations, to gain knowledge of the working world and to build self-confidence and self-esteem. Core programs include Massage, English, Entrepreneurship, Sexual Assault Prevention, Personal Finance Management, Yoga, Music; Safe Mobility and Free White Cane.
Huong Nguyen
Co-FounderAlumni Studios
The success of our alumni speaks volumes: There are dozens of massage studios and spa running by blind graduates such as: Duong Bui’s Tara Spa (2 Cổng Đục Str., Hanoi), Chinh’s Himawari Spa (102 B1 Alley 5 Huỳnh Thúc Kháng, Hanoi); Anh Tú Spa (Lane 196/1 Nguyễn Sơn str., Hanoi), Linh Spa (139 An Dương Vương, HCM City).
In 2016, we provided crucial support in setting up and training the staff at Dao Care Hanoi. Additionally, the expertise of our trained therapists is now recognized and valued, with many serving as massage instructors at reputable establishments like Midori and Fuji Spa Hanoi.
From our blog
