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3 Organizations Fighting Child Poverty in Vietnam

Child Poverty in Vietnam
Although poverty has reduced in Vietnam, child poverty in Vietnam is still a key issue. Due to political reforms, Vietnam has enjoyed steady economic growth and poverty reduction over the past few decades. In fact, per the World Bank, Vietnam’s poverty rate has decreased from 50% in the 1950s to 2% as of 2019. Despite these recent gains, around 4 million Vietnamese children still live under the poverty line. In fact, 24% of Vietnamese children suffer from stunting due to malnutrition, while 10% are out of school. Ethnic minorities, especially those living in rural areas, are particularly high-risk for child poverty.

Today, many organizations are fighting child poverty in Vietnam decreases and children receive a happy, healthy start. Here are three nonprofits fighting child poverty in Vietnam.

Children of Vietnam

Founded in 1998, Children of Vietnam aims to utilize effective, personal strategies to lift children out of poverty. The organization focuses on serving particularly vulnerable youth. This includes those with disabilities, ethnic minorities and students at risk of dropping out of school.

The organization has several initiatives helping various groups impacted by child poverty in Vietnam, such as the Empowering Single Mothers Initiative. This initiative works to meet the immediate needs of single mothers and their children while simultaneously helping them develop important business and educational skills. The program involves microloans, training on micro-business and school scholarships for single mothers’ children. Another initiative is the Delivering Clean Water and Sanitation Initiative which operates by bringing large water filtration systems to schools and communities in rural areas. In 2021 alone, the nonprofit has provided 1 million meals to hungry children, 480 interventions to children with disabilities and 795 scholarships.

Save the Children

Save the Children began working in Vietnam in 1990. Since then, it has received the reputation of being one of the leading charities aiding those suffering from child poverty in Vietnam. Its main focus is on health and nutrition, in addition to providing assistance in the areas of education and livelihoods, child protection, disaster risk reduction and emergency response. The organization primarily operates by working in tandem with governmental agencies, schools and local networks to provide aid. In 2020, Save the Children was able to positively impact the lives of over 7 million children in Vietnam.

ChildFund

ChildFund partners with local organizations to support the education, health and long-term opportunities for ethnic minority children in Vietnam. When working with children aged 0-5, the program focuses on ensuring health, security and child-friendly learning corners in the home. The 6-14 age range centers on education and confidence building, with experiential learning training playing a key role. Programs for ages 15-24 are based on the principles of skillfulness and involvement and include participation in vocational training and securing employment. Through its sponsorship model, the program has benefited over 33,000 children and their families over the past 25 years.

Despite ongoing issues of childhood poverty, organizations such as Children of Vietnam, Save the Children and ChildFund are working to provide sustainable, community-based resources for those suffering from child poverty in Vietnam. As these initiatives continue to grow, the outlooks of impoverished children and families in Vietnam will grow alongside them.

– Nina Lehr
Photo: Flickr

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3 Standout Children’s Programs in Vietnam

Children's Programs in VietnamChildren’s programs in Vietnam are vital to the country’s development. The country is home to 26.2 million children, 21.1% of whom currently live in multidimensional poverty, according to UNICEF. Vietnam has made progress on child welfare since 1990 when it was the first Asian country and the second global country to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The majority of children in Vietnam attend primary and secondary school, have access to adequate healthcare and have a longer life expectancy than their parents had. But, a significant population of Vietnam’s children still live in impoverished conditions and are deprived of basic needs. Fortunately, there are several standout children’s programs in Vietnam addressing this issue.

Children of Vietnam

Children of Vietnam was founded in 1998 by two friends bringing essential items to children and families by scooter. These two individuals, Ben Wilson and Luong Thi Huong, rode all the way to the Vietnam countryside. They brought food, medicine and clothing to ensure a brighter future for children growing up in poverty.

Today, Children of Vietnam has grown into an NGO that aims to “assist children, families and communities in breaking the cycle of poverty, ill health and homelessness.” It has several initiatives offering aid to children in Vietnam including education, healthcare, housing and nutrition. It also offers support systems for struggling single mothers and children with disabilities.

In 2019, Children of Vietnam successfully completed its Cycling Out Child Poverty tour. The organization was able to raise $146,974 to help Vietnamese children living in poverty.

Room to Read

Room to Read is an organization that aims to empower millions of children in low-income communities by improving literacy and gender equality in education. It operates in developing countries like Tanzania, South Africa, Bangladesh and Cambodia. Almost 90% of the staff are from the countries the organization works in. The organization particularly prioritizes the education of girls, ensuring girls receive equal opportunities for education, no matter their financial background. Room to Read supports young girls so that they can finish secondary school and learn essential life skills that can help them progress and advance.

The organization launched in Vietnam in 2001. Since then, 1.1 million children in Vietnam have benefited from the program. Almost 1,000 schools in Vietnam partnered with the Room to Read Literacy Program and 98% of students passed the program’s “gatekeeping exam” and advanced to the next level in their schooling.

Save the Children

Another organization that works to help children in multiple countries is Save the Children. Founded in 1919, the mission of Save the Children is to ensure a future for children where they grow up healthy, safe and educated. Working in more than 100 different countries, Save the Children has helped more than 144 million children around the world in 2019 alone.

Working in Vietnam since 1990, Save the Children has launched several initiatives to give Vietnamese children the opportunity for quality education, a healthier life and protection from harm. Save the Children has positively affected more than seven million Vietnamese children in 2020. In specific, Save the Children ensured:

  • Roughly 7,110,000 children were healthy and nourished
  • About 179,000 children were educated and empowered
  • Approximately 64,000 children were protected from harm

These standout children’s programs in Vietnam have made significant strides in improving the lives of Vietnamese children over the years. From health to education and safety, organizations have committed to protecting vulnerable children.

– Celia Brocker
Photo: Flickr

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Four Organizations Helping Homeless Children in Vietnam


Vietnam’s homeless children were coined “children of the dust” or “street children” and frequently live in large, bustling cities, like Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi. However, organizations have initiated direct community engagement and support for street children by building children’s shelters.

According to the Human Rights Watch, there were approximately 23,000 homeless children in Vietnam in 2006. As impoverished families become unable to support their children, many turn to the streets in search of work.

A majority of street children are boys who find cheap labor in cities, such as Hanoi. Common jobs include shoe-shining and street vending in public spaces. Due to the difficulty of maintaining a stable income on the streets, the Human Rights Watch reported that homeless children in Vietnam often earn an estimated 20,000 dong, about $1.25 each day.

To address these growing concerns, four organizations have made progress in aiding Vietnam’s street children.

Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation

Since 2004, the foundation has reached more than 2,000 children and currently has 400 children using their programs. The Step Ahead program focuses on caring for both street and disabled children, using “social workers, lawyers, psychologists, teachers and residential care staff” to provide children’s shelters, tutoring services and legal assistance.

Additionally, the Step Ahead program promotes an outreach team to directly provide healthcare and shelters for homeless children in Vietnam. A drop-in center is also available for children to socialize and meet with social workers.

Family 4

Family 4 currently operates several children’s shelters, which serve as home to 30 children, aged 6 to 18 years. According to Family 4, the children are “orphans, or children from extremely impoverished families whose parents could no longer provide for them.”

Four social workers, called “mothers,” are responsible for establishing a familial environment to create healthy relationships with the children, paying close attention to their health and developmental needs. Education is also encouraged by the shelter, spanning from kindergarten to college.

For example, Dat, a former child at Family 4, received his university degree in Agricultural Engineering and currently works as an organic strawberry farmer. Dat became a member of Family 4 in 2004, after his single mother struggled to afford care for him and his siblings.

Children of Vietnam

The organization focuses on reaching children through education, healthcare, housing, nutrition and disaster relief. For instance, scholarships are distributed for both education supplies and hospital bills.

In 2005, a tutoring program was implemented within the Da Nang Street Children program to increase high school graduation rates. For example, in 2013 alone, the program reached 154 children. Moreover, the Bright Scholars Club formed in 2012 to aid women toward financial stability, allowing greater privileges for their children.

More recently, in 2013, the program built six “new compassion houses,” ten toilets and made housing repairs for four families. Roof repair was also completed at the Hoa Mai orphanage. Children of Vietnam also provided 248 families with disaster relief for floods.

Friends of Hue Foundation

The children’s shelter is just one of several projects supported by this foundation. Founded in 2000, after a serious flooding in Hue, the foundation originally centered its mission on disaster relief, but has since expanded to programs, such as the children’s shelter.

The shelter implements “extracurricular activities and classes such as traditional Vietnamese music, piano, dance and art classes” in addition to career counseling and an English-language program. Since its initiation, the Friends of Hue Foundation has enabled 20 children to leave the shelter and pursue “formal education” and various careers.

“Children of the dust” now have greater access to shelters offering healthcare, education and safety from the streets. As organizations recognize and employ programming for street children, their futures look more hopeful than ever.

– Christine Leung

Photo: Flickr