AVI founder and director Indigo was married to Christoph Willing on 6 March 2004 (photo above), joining him and his two children Amy and Ben.  She now is legally known by the name Indigo Willing and is living in Brisbane, QLD to study at The University of Queensland (UQ), but will regularly travel to Sydney, NSW Australia.

February 22, 2006 marks the date of the birth of their son, Samvu J. Willing

 indigo@adoptedvietnamese.org

Queen's Birthday Honours List 2006  recognises Adopted Vietnamese community! 

On the Queen's birthday Indigo Williams Willing became the  recipient of a Medal of the Order of Australia in the General  
Division: 'For service to the community through the establishment  and administration of Adopted Vietnamese International', Awarded by  
the Council for the Order of Australia and Approved by His  
Excellency Major General Michael Jeffery, Governor-General of the  
Commonwealth of Australia AC CVO MC (Ret'd), June 2006.  Nominators  
are kept confidential and the process takes up to two years for the  
council to research nominees before a decision is made.

Adopted Vietnamese International (AVI) was officially launched in  
Australia on April 2000 on the 25th Anniversary of the end of the  
Viet Nam War.  AVI grew in heart and nature from the input and  
inspiration of groups such as ICASN in Australia, and both Mam Non  
and The Vietnamese Adoptee Network in the USA. AVI's mission is to  
learn from and offer support to adopted Vietnamese as they explore  
their sense of identity/ies, heritage and diversity.  AVI also  
encourages the adopted Vietnamese community to share their  
experiences and nurture stronger relationships with their families,  
the wider trans-racial adoption community, the Vietnamese Diaspora  
and other cultural communities through community projects, research  
and online activities.  Projects included a group return trip to  
Vietnam in 2001, a growing e-resource library on all things related  
to adoption from Vietnam, an e-group, a national list for  
Vietnamese war adoptees to register on, and a searching for birth  
parents guide and register.

Indigo writes: I am greatly hesitant to see this acknowledgment as  
a specific achievement belonging to myself or even just the  
Vietnamese adoptees. There are so many people out there in the  
wider adoption community combined who well and truly deserve this  
type of recognition. This real honour is a reflection of the hard  
work the whole adoption community has done to come together, to  
create positive bridges between the old and the new lives and  
communities they have, and to making new ways for future  
transnationally adoptive families to thrive in their diversity.

Within the Australian adopted Vietnamese community there are, of  
course, some very amazing people who really set out to make a  
difference and who I would not hesitate to put forward as  
outstanding members of society. For example, a key person would be  
Lynelle Beveridge, who began ICASN. There is also Analee Matthews  
who acts as AVI's national communications manager, represents  
adoptees for ICASN as COAP and produces a fantastic monthly  
newsletter.  Also, state representatives like Tran Van Heeswyk and  
Saran Portolesi from South Australia and Sue-Yen Luiten from  
Western Australia, who do the wonderful work of helping us keep us  
all in touch with there local activities.  There is also the  
exciting art, screen writing, acting and directing of Dominic  
Golding who did the well reviewed play "Shrimp" recently and who is  
now travelling in Vietnam. Such people and their tireless work are  
inspirational to adoptees and general public alike.

Then, we are all so lucky to learn from so many brave individuals  
who, in emails, writing or through media interviews, have shared  
how adoption from Vietnam has shapes their lives. Some of these  
people include Cath Turner, Veronica Stanley, Hoa Stone, Kim Paige, Jamie Fry,  
Faith Elzon, Jen Fitzpatrick, Jen Szeto, Shane Bolt, Suanne Prager,  
Martine Bach, Kiersten Wunderle, Kim Edgar, Emma Pham, Emma  
Brockett, Zion Mitchell and Christina Tinker-Casson.  Plus there  
are those like Kym Blackwell, Glen Kelly, Jaye Bradley, Kim  
Catford, Carmen Armstrong, Simon Keogh, as well as many others on  
the AVI national listing of adopted Vietnamese war orphans in  
Australia who have also come into contact with the community to  
offer things like advice, friendship and support.  Many of these  
people also regularly provide their time for mentor programs or for  
groups like PARC in NSW and the IAFQ in QLD to help educate new and  
prospective adoptive parents whose children come from many other  
parts of the world.  They are really giving back to these new  
Australian families and I am so very lucky to know them.

In addition, there are the people who are not adoptees but do much  
by contributing to the community's ongoing pursuit of well being,  
freedom of identity and self-discovery - from former volunteers of  
the Babylift and adoptive parents to people like Peter Hill who  
organised the Sancta Maria Orphanage reunion.  It is important to  
acknowledge how we as adopted Vietnamese are part of this great  
community of people who help, care and truly value one another.  
It's an honour to be a part, however large or small, of these  
special peoples lives.