Le Ly Hayslip talks with UNF student Juan Henao after her talk to an English language class.

It's hard not to be inspired when you listen to Vietnamese author Le Ly Hayslip describe the obstacles she has overcome on her road to establishing a foundation today that is helping thousands of people in her native land.

During a recent UNF visit, Hayslip, now a U.S. citizen, outlined an incredible story of perseverance that has taken her from a widowed mother of two who cleaned houses for $2.50 per hour to a successful author who has had a movie made about her life.

Despite all of her success, her message is still a simple one - everyone can make a difference in the lives of others. Talking to about 30 students in Continuing Education's English Language Program, she admitted that she still struggles with English but it has not prevented her from achieving her goals.

The students she addressed came from Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Saudia Arabia and other countries. However, she emphasized the importance of never forgetting their roots and culture as they become assimilated in the United States. "You are all much luckier than I was. You can open yourself to many opportunities and that's why your future is much brighter," she said. She encouraged the students to grow spiritually and mentally as well as financially.

Hayslip came to the United States in 1970 from a Vietnamese family that lived in a village victimized by both the Viet cong and the South Vietnamese government. She admits she was initially hostile to the American forces in her country. Two of her brothers volunteered to fight with the Viet cong "We fought against the French, the Japanese and the Americans. We were fighting for our independence," she says. However, she eventually married a U.S. soldier and came to America with her new husband. The transition was a difficult one and when her husband committed suicide several years later, she was left to support herself and her children with only a fourth- grade education. She cleaned houses, remarried in 1975 and opened a small restaurant. She also made some real estate investments in California. By 1986 she was a millionaire. Those investments not only lifted her out of poverty but also allowed her to begin helping Vietnamese children. She has brought 17 foster children to the United States from Vietnam.

However, even with the material wealth, she said she discovered that something was missing in her life. "I felt very empty inside. I was not happy with all of my material things," she said.

She decided to return to Vietnam in 1986 to visit her family even though a Communist government had taken over and relations with the United States were strained. "I wasn't sure if they were going to let me to come back to the United States," she confessed. When she arrived, she was stunned by the devastation, poverty and illiteracy in her country and decided when she returned to the Untied States she would work to help Vietnam.

In 1987, she established When East Meets West, a private non-profit foundation dedicated to providing humanitarian relief and development to rebuild Vietnam. With the assistance of a co-author, Hayslip also wrote two books "When Heaven and Earth Changed Places" and "Child of War, Woman of Peace." In 1994, the books were adapted for a movie "Heaven and Earth" by award-winning director Oliver Stone. Income from those projects has generated revenue for her "East Meets West" Foundation which now has an annual budget of $20 million.

She has made 56 trips back to Vietnam as executive director and CEO of the foundation, which has constructed hospitals, schools, health clinics, water systems, roads and bridges. She has established a second foundation, the "Global Village Foundation," which trains impoverished villagers in Vietnam to reproduce traditional arts and handcrafts, thereby creating jobs and preserving cultural heritage. Hayslip imports these items for sale in the United States.

The experience has changed Hayslip's life and taught her what she says is the most valuable lesson in life. "What can make you happy is how you help other human beings. Their happiness will bring you happiness," she says.