Since 1992 Japa Vietnam continues to support various programs for health education and badly needed medical appliances at the provincial hospital of Cao Bang. The province of Cao Bang with a population of about 600,000 people is 95% composed of ethnic minorities, like Tai, Nung, Yao and Muong groups. Most members of the Peoples' Committee of the province belong to the Tai ethnic group. It is common to see in the market place and along the streets women dressed in their colorful ethnic custom. Although their economic situation is not much comfortable one feels attracted by their peculiar life style and culture. Since they live far from the urban centers, in the mountain side, their economic situation does not improve much and this makes their political leaders impatient.

In the southern part of the country, near the Cambodian border, there are also minority mountain groups (mainly the Xtieng and Mnong) living in Long Dien (Binh Phuoc province). Since 1995 a group of catholic Sisters opened near some ethnic villages an institution to take the children of nearby mountain people and send them to public schools to receive education. The Japa Vietnam group has been for years supporting some of their programs. No matter difficulties they might encounter with the police because of their involvement with the minorities, the Sisters continue steadily visiting the villages. We clearly feel that the situations of Cao Bang and Long Dien differ, no matter being both homes to ethnic populations.

There are also ethnic groups in rural areas of Binh Thuan province where we collaborate financially in projects like "cow banks" for the self support of ethnic people and further down south in the Mekong Delta region of Soc Trang with housing for Khmer newcomers, since 2005. These activities help us to get some knowledge of Vietnamese minority groups.

Vietnam's population has already surpassed 76 million persons. About 90% belong to the Kinh ethnic group and the rest 10% consist of 53 different minority groups with over 10 million people and 3 major ethnic languages and a variety of dialects.

Vietnam is a multi-ethnic nation that has adopted a policy of integration, especially since 1976 with pluralistic development projects fit to the various different ethnic groups. Sometimes, like at the beginning of 2001 and 2002, Newspapers disclose social unrest of mountain people that closed roads or became refugees in Cambodia. In order to understand those situations it is important to know the political historical background, during the American Vietnamese war and the resistance of those minorities to the present socialist regime.

On the other hand, due to the "doi moi" policy at the beginning of the 90s, crops like coffee production that easily create cash earnings were favored by the government and as a result about 500,000 people moved from other regions into coffee-producing Dac Loc province that is home to Gia rai, E de and Mnong minority groups. That has created much social unrest due to land expropriation.

Past history of war and rivalries and a situation of a poverty gap augmented by the economic industrial growth have originated many contradictions. TV documentaries tell about the recent cultural changes in the traditional value system of minority groups, in favor of monetary economic profits favored by tourism. Vietnam is a multi-ethnic society that needs to make strenuous efforts to raise up the life levels of its minorities. It is also important for us to continue collaborating with the Sisters of Long Dien and the medical doctors of Cao Bang provincial hospital.