In a small, crowded home in Vietnam, a young girl named Dao learned a difficult lesson early on: some dreams are too expensive. Her parents, aging and in poor health, struggled to provide for their large family. For Dao, this meant constant uncertainty. Every new school year brought a familiar, sinking worry—would there be enough money for tuition, for books, for the simple necessities that other children took for granted?
She was quiet, uncertain, and afraid to dream too big. The future was not a canvas of possibilities, but a narrow path of responsibility and sacrifice.
This is the reality for countless children in Vietnam, where family finances dictate the limits of a child’s potential. This is especially true in the country’s remote, mountainous regions, where poverty is most severe and opportunities are scarcest. According to data from UNICEF and the World Bank, the challenges are systemic:
- Poverty is concentrated geographically and ethnically: While Vietnam’s national poverty rate has decreased, over 70% of the country’s poor are from ethnic minority groups, who predominantly live in the Northern Midlands and Central Highlands.
- Educational disparities are stark: In these mountainous areas, the lower secondary school completion rate is significantly lower than the national average. In some provinces, the dropout rate is four times higher for ethnic minority children compared to their Kinh majority peers.
- Multidimensional poverty: Beyond income, children in these regions face overlapping deprivations in access to healthcare, clean water, sanitation, and adequate housing, creating a cycle that is incredibly difficult to break.
For a child like Dao, these aren’t just statistics—they are the walls threatening to enclose her future.
But for Dao, a single opportunity changed everything. In sixth grade, she was selected for Children of Vietnam’s Study Steps program.
“Mr. Dan Quinn, Rotary Club members, and COV supported us so much,” Dao shares. “Not just with school fees and living expenses, but also through workshops that helped us grow in confidence and life skills. I became braver and more willing to try new things.”
This consistent support was a lifeline. The shy girl began to raise her hand. She persevered through university, discovering a passion for interior design. Today, she stands confidently in a furniture showroom in Da Nang, earning a steady income that allows her to support her parents and her younger brother’s education.
Her transformation came full circle during a volunteer trip to a remote mountain area with COV. “It was so cold that day,” she recalls, “yet many of the children wore only thin clothes… I realized there are still so many children living in much harder conditions than I ever faced. That thought has stayed with me and reminds me that I need to give back.”
Knowing what that helping hand meant, she now sponsors a child in the mountainous region, giving $30 of her salary each month.
Today, in the very regions where Dao grew up, the cycle she broke still holds countless children captive. In the mountainous communes west of Da Nang and Hue, children still miss school to help their families earn a daily wage. They still study by dim light without the books or tutors they need to keep pace, and their families still face the agonizing choice between a child’s education and a family’s survival.
Your support can change this equation. The cost of a school uniform and supplies, the funding for a tutoring session, the stability of a scholarship—these are not just line items in a budget. They are the precise tools that break the locks on a child’s potential. You can be the reason a child like Dao is given not just aid, but a true opportunity to thrive.