Viet Anh: helping children to stand tall beside him

The stranger

Viet Anh was playing beside a lake with other homeless kids when a stranger approached them. Some of his friends spoke with the stranger, played games with him and accepted his offer of food, but Viet Anh hid behind a tree and watched.

The stranger said his name was Vi, that he was a social worker who used to be a street kid too, and that now he worked for an organisation called Blue Dragon who could help Viet Anh and his friends.

Viet Anh was unconvinced. Years of street life had taught him that no one offered help without demanding something in return. He’d been tricked before. He’d heard stories of kids being lured away with food only to be exploited and abused, and he’d hardened himself from any hope that his life would ever change.

So every time Vi turned up, Viet Anh kept his distance; watchful, wary, and certain that this stranger’s true motives would appear soon.

“No one to wake me up”

Viet Anh started working at five years old. His parents were unable to care for him, so he walked the streets selling chewing gum, hour upon hour, in the beating sun and the pouring rain until he had enough money to buy food.

If he couldn’t get enough money from selling gum, Viet Anh went to the early morning fish market. There, with a group of other homeless children including PK and Tai, he hunted for loose shrimp.

After a few hours at the market, it was time for school. Viet Anh did his best to go to class every day, but he was often so exhausted that he couldn’t concentrate. And if he fell asleep before the school day began, there was little chance of him making it.

“There was no one to wake me up.”

The friend

Then came a bitterly cold winter’s day in Hanoi. Freezing rain drenched the streets, and no one left their home to buy chewing gum. Without any customers, Viet Anh had no money to buy food.

Then he remembered Vi giving food to his friends by the lake. He still didn’t know if he could trust him, but he would do anything to stop the agonising hunger in his stomach.

The next day, Viet Anh made his way to Blue Dragon. Still wary, he stood outside until he saw some children he recognised from the streets. Seeing them laughing, playing and chatting with other kids and staff members, he plucked up the courage to step inside and join them.

For Vi, seeing Viet Anh take that first step inside the centre was a very moving experience. He had seen something in Viet Anh right from the start, and sensed that he could go on to achieve great things. More than a decade later, he still remembers watching Viet Anh’s first steps towards transforming his life.

Up and up

With Blue Dragon’s support, Viet Anh no longer had to walk the streets desperately trying to find food. Instead, he could wake up fresh for school every morning, eat healthy lunches at our centre and have fun with other kids in the evenings.

“I joined so many activities. Life skills classes, leadership classes, sexual health classes, football, hip hop – everything!”

No longer shy and cautious, Viet Anh made friends with kids and staff alike, and one social worker named Khoa became the role model he’d wanted for so long.

We helped Viet Anh to get work experience in cafes and restaurants, and after he graduated from school he began a vocational training course with Blue Dragon friend REACH. There, he developed a passion for crafting perfect cocktails before becoming a bartender with a sympathetic ear and a knack for mixing drinks to suit the occasion.

“I see every guest as a book who can share a new world with me. When I listen to them, I like to tailor the taste of the cocktail to the emotions in their stories.”

Just like him

In 2020, Viet Anh was accepted for an English language scholarship with Blue Dragon friend Langports College in Australia, giving him an eye-opening experience where he learnt so much more than language skills.

When Viet Anh returned to Vietnam, he received a call that would send his life in yet another new direction.

Going back to the Blue Dragon centre was a deeply moving experience. Playing with the children, listening to their stories and helping them to learn life skills, he was transported back to the rush of warmth and excitement he felt as he took that fateful first step inside the door all those years ago.

That feeling inspired Viet Anh to become a social worker, reaching out to vulnerable children just as Vi had done for him when he was lost, alone and hungry on the streets of Hanoi.

Ho Chi Minh City calling

After a year of volunteering at the Blue Dragon centre, Viet Anh became an official member of the team. Several times a week, he goes out on the streets searching for homeless children in need of the same life-changing support that he received after finally accepting our support.

And this February, Viet Anh will start another adventure as he begins a new role at our recently opened centre in Ho Chi Minh City. He and Vi recently travelled there to help Viet Anh prepare for life down south.

Thanks to his determination to succeed, his kindness and his bravery, Viet Anh has led a life he could never even dream of as a child. His dream now is to make sure other kids do the same.