For the government charity worker and high-ranking army officer, the arrival of communists in Saigon meant they would be forced into the war-torn country's brutal "re-education" program.

Mr Tran was sent to a prison camp for two and a half years, where he became so malnourished and overworked that some of his teeth fell out and he needed a walking stick to get around.

So, when he was finally released, the couple – now of Woonona – did everything they could to get themselves and their two young children out of Vietnam.

They arrived in June 1978, moving into the Nissen huts at Fairy Meadow migrant hostel with scores of other Vietnamese refugees.

“I remember it was so cold in winter compared to Vietnam, and most people did not have the language, so it was very hard,” Mrs Tran said.

“But we had English classes and all the charity organisations came to help so we started building our lives from there.”

Mr Tran went to work at the steelworks and, keen to help even in her own dark times, Mrs Tran started work as an aide for the dozens of Vietnamese children who had arrived in Wollongong without their parents.

In the decades since, she has been heavily involved in charity work, helping to raise thousands for people affected in the Blue Mountains bush fires, Nepal earthquake and other disasters around the world.

She’s also been a constant mentor for young Vietnamese people, and has helped many to understand their parents’ sacrifices and achieve success in their own lives.

“All those children from the hostel grew up good: they became professionals, some work for the government, or as doctors and dentists, social workers or managers,” she said.

“If we stayed in our country, we don’t know what would have happened to the children.”

To mark the 40^th anniversary of Wollongong’s first Vietnamese refugees, Mr and Mrs Tran will join a celebration at Dapto Ribbonwood Centre on Saturday.

Event organiser and Vietnamese Association of Wollongong president Teresa Tran – herself a refugee who arrived in 1991 – says it is important to recognise the contribution Vietnamese migrants have made, as well as the opportunities they have had in Wollongong.

“We try to give back whenever we can,” she said.

“We were given the second chance to survive, and we have made the most out of it.”

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Teresa Tran also said she was keen to continue the work of people like Quan and Manh Tran into the future, by celebrating their contributions with younger generations at Saturday’s event.

“We’re very grateful to them and their sacrifices,” she said.

“Most of the first generation of refugees had a full profession in Vietnam, they were doctors or teachers, but when they escaped the communists they had to start everything again.”

A successful accountant who runs her own business, Ms Tran drew on her own similar hardships in Vietnam when studying at university.

“I remember the first day of university, and I didn’t understand a word the lecturer was saying but I went home and said to myself ‘It’s too easy to give up’.”

“I thought I could have been killed by pirates, or died at sea, but I survived this journey and atrocities of the communists and I had to make the most of it.”

This same hardy attitude has been channeled into helping other people in her adopted home. For instance, this year, the Vietnamese Association raised $17,000 for victims of the Nepal Earthquake, and previously raised more than $21,000 for the victims of NSW bushfires.

“We take every opportunity to give back to the Illawarra and other people around the world,” she said.

It’s these efforts – as well as the continuing success of many of the first Vietnamese refugees and their children – that Ms Tran hopes have helped convince Australians of the value of helping people from around the world seeking asylum.

“There is a misconception that refugees only come here to jump queues or take other people’s jobs, but that’s a misconception,” she said.

“By sharing our personal journeys and giving back to the community like this we can help people to change their mind.”