Lilian Thybell

Lilian Thybell

Lilian Thybell is a nurse and midwife. For 25 years, she has worked and lived in various Asian countries, including Vietnam. In the years 1996 – 2002, she worked for a SIDA-funded project aimed at reaching vulnerable groups in remote villages in northern Vietnam. Lilian specialized in teaching illiterate ethnic women. It was like breaking ground, no one believed that non-literates could learn anything and the perception was that they were less intelligent. The program was a success, Vietnam's Ministry of Health adopted the curriculum and continued to develop it further to reach more women among the minority groups. Lilian has been a valued tour guide for both study trips and holiday trips in, among other places, the Philippines, Thailand, India and Israel. During her six years in Vietnam, she built up a network of contacts which she maintained.