Channel 1, with 2 millions viewers proclaimed Vincentian Father Tri Minh Duong, CM New Yorker of the Week on 16 May 2008,.

New York One is a 24-hour TV news channe that reaches more than two million cable TV users in the five boroughs of New York City. In addition to news and weather information, it promotes human-interest programs, such as “New Yorker of the Week.

VIdeo link

“A Vietnamese immigrant, he gets college students to give back, encouraging volunteers among those at the University to help others.”

Father Tri Minh Duong came to the United States with his family in the early 1990s at age 20, in search of a better life. Life in Vietnam had been a daily struggle for Duong and his family. His mother cared for him and his nine siblings while his father was imprisoned for serving in the South Vietnamese Army. Upon arriving in the U.S., he entered the seminary and pledged his life to helping others. Now a priest, he works at St. John’s University, motivating his colleagues and students to help others. For the past three years he has organized volunteer projects for more than 1500 students. “He’s got this incredible gift of being able to motivate people to volunteer,” said Bread & Life Executive Director Tony Butler. “Every time he comes, he comes with a crew of students from the university, which we couldn’t survive without.”

When Duong arrived in the United States, he was surprised to find so many needy in New York. “In Vietnam, the only thing we know about the United States was through the movie. So, the idea you have about the United States, is this rich country, where everybody has money and whatever you want is right there for you. But when I came here, the reality is different.” “People in New York City and all over, they could see you bleed and they don’t approach you.

Each week Duong organizes free transportation for the volunteers, and spends time at more than ten organizations.

“He embodies what New Yorkers do,” said Butler. “Frequently most of us come from some place else, if another place in the country or another country, come without a lot of things and don’t just take from the city but transform the city and make it different and make it better.” And so for bringing the St. John’s community to people in need and helping to transform their lives, Father Duong is our New Yorker of the Week.