Plenty of people are inspired by this 28-year-old Russian French woman, better known as Micka Chu than by her real name Maria Kalinina.

When COVID-19 brought the world to its knees many tourists here in Việt Nam made a desperate scramble to catch that last flight home before the borders closed. But one European couple decided to stay and their decision has proved to be a blessing in disguise.

Marriage and children have been hot topics in Việt Nam of late, thanks to the Government’s announcement that it wants people to marry before 30 and have two kids before 35, with tax breaks and other policies on offer to encourage procreation.

Mai came to Việt Nam in October 2018 under a two-year volunteer programme carried out by the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) since 1995.