Early exit
Phuong held her newborn son in her arms. All around her, doctors and nurses were attending to other mothers and babies – but not her.
She had borrowed all the money she could just to give birth inside a hospital, and couldn’t afford any further care that she or her son might need.
So as all the other mothers and newborn children underwent routine tests to make sure they were healthy, Phuong got out of bed, wrapped her son in a blanket and left for her home: the streets of Ho Chi Minh City.
Phuong had no choice but to take her newborn baby to live on the streets.
The only life she’s ever known
Phuong was born and raised on the streets. Everything she has learnt about the world has come from fighting to survive; not from school and not from her parents, who never went to school either.
Her father passed away when she was too young to realise what had happened. Her mother abandoned her shortly after, and she only survived because an auntie took her in for a while.
Phuong began selling lottery tickets on the streets when she was a child and that remains her main source of income today. Together with a group of other homeless people, she collects scrap to sell at recycling centres. It’s the only life she’s ever known and the only one she has ever expected to lead.
When Phuong gave birth to her son and slipped out of the hospital before he could receive a birth certificate – a necessary document for enrolment in the Vietnam education system – it seemed that he would be destined to follow in her footsteps.
Like many homeless people in Ho Chi Minh City, Phuong’s family collect scrap and sell lottery tickets for a living.
Boy in a box
Last year, Blue Dragon social worker Quyet found Phuong selling lottery tickets on a busy corner. When he approached to see if she needed support, he saw something that took him aback.
Inside the steel cart that Phuong uses to store her scrap, among the bright lights and the roaring traffic, a six-year-old boy was lying soundly asleep on a pile of old clothes.
Phuong and her partner told Quyet their story – how they had no safe place to sleep and no money for food; and how she’d had to leave the hospital right after giving birth to Quang, the boy who was sleeping in the cart beside them.
Quang often sleeps in his mother’s steel cart.
Secret treasures and whispered wishes
As Blue Dragon began providing Phuong’s family with safe accommodation, food and daily necessities, Quang showed more of his kind and mischievous personality.
“More than once when I brought food and drinks to him, he shared it with his younger sisters and even gave them his own portion,” shares Quyet. “With toys, he always prioritises his sisters.”
Quang gets so excited when he sees Quyet approaching that he often jumps up and hugs him or breaks into dance. He loves playing and showing Quyet things that his family has found on the streets. Even though he shares so much with his sisters, there are some treasures that he keeps for himself.
“He smiles and shows me small things he has found,” shares Quyet. “Sometimes a new hat, other times an old, torn superhero mask. Then he whispers to me his wishes: he tells me he wants to be like other kids, to be taken out, to wear new clothes and to go to school.”
Quang loves finding clothes.
Let’s dance!
Quang wants to have the same chances as every other child.
Paper talk
Quyet knew that the best way to change Quang’s life – and the lives of everyone in his family – was to enroll him in school. So alongside all of the day-to-day support, he began the process of getting Quang a birth certificate.
“If you can get identity papers for my family, I would be so grateful,” shared Quang’s father at the time. “I simply don’t have the money to do it.”
The process of obtaining the documents turned out to be extremely complicated. Because Phuong had left the hospital early when she gave birth, there was very little paperwork to confirm that she was Quang’s legal guardian.
This meant that she and Quyet needed to track down her old neighbours and relatives to give testimonies backing up her story. Finally, after months of back and forth and further complications, the documents came through.
Phuong applying for documents.
Blue Dragon continues to support their family with daily necessities.
Generational change
This November, Quang became the first person in his family to ever go to school. All the wishes that he used to whisper to Quyet beside the road have already come true: he has a brand new school uniform and he gets to go to class every day, just like other kids.
Quang has already made lots of new friends, and comes home each night excited to tell his mother everything he’s learnt. As Phuong listens to him, she can finally begin to dream of a different life for her family – one where her children can grow up safe, healthy and free to follow their dreams; and where future generations will never have to know what it feels like to fight for survival on the streets.
“Thank you and everyone from your organisation for helping me and my children,” shares Phuong. “Without you, I wouldn’t know what to do.”
Quang will change his family for generations to come.
