A safer future for thirteen-year-old Hoa: Prioritising child protection in Vietnam

Thirteen-year-old Hoa* lives with her parents and in brother in the Hoa Binh Province in Vietnam. Her home is built on a hillside, isolated from the rest of the village. The family home is poorly built with no doors and no bathroom and provides little safety and comfort for the family.

Hoa’s family relies on selling vegetables, snails and crabs at the local market and her father is a farmer. Making ends meet is difficult and both her parents live with mental health illnesses.

Life at home wasn’t always safe for her and her brother. While she spent most of her time alone, the times her father was present he would often threaten and scold the children. This made her feel scared and lonely.

On the way home from school one day, Hoa was struck by a motorbike driver and her leg was severely injured. Unfortunately, her parents couldn’t afford medical treatment. But their community rallied around the family and paid for her hospital fees.

One year later, she had to go back to have pins in her leg removed but because her parents couldn’t afford it. Now when the weather cools, her leg aches and she can’t walk to school. With no other transport options, she was forced to leave school.

ChildFund Vietnam’s project ‘Improving Child Protection System Effectiveness’ worked with local authorities and communities to intervene and provide urgent support to Hoa and her family. Child protection workers visited the home to talk to her and her parents about child safety and how to manage conflict.

The project also provided funding for Hoa to have the pins in her leg removed so that she could regain full mobility and walk to and from school without any pain. Finally, working in partnership with a Water and Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) project and help from the Youth Union, they built a private bathroom and built doors in the home. 

Now, Hoa is back in school and child protection workers often visit the home to make sure that she and her family are safe and healthy.

Hoa says she feels safer after the visits from the child protection workers. She now has the skills to respond to conflict in the home and knows where to find help if she is in an unsafe situation. The newly built toilet and walls give her a sense of safety and privacy.

“I am very happy to be free of pain in my legs and that I can go back to school. Now I feel like I have brighter opportunities in my future,” said Hoa.

You can help children like Hoa to receive the support that they need by donating monthly to ChildFund Australia. You’ll help to give 1,000 children a better life through your donation, providing them with the essentials in health, education and safety.

Learn more about ChildFund Vietnam.

*Names have been changed to protect privacy.