Street Kids in Vietnam

Couple of weeks ago, the Betelbox hosted a group from Blue Dragon Children's Foundation, an Australian NGO working with street kids in Vietnam.

Michael, the director and 3 Vietnamese boys came over to Singapore to participate in the Singapore Fringe. Almost all of the kids in the Blue Dragon Centre are either runaways, shoeshine kids, or are found sleeping under bridges and living in appalling conditions on the street. They are frequentlty easy targets for gangs who beat them up and abuse them. They are exploited by drug dealers and pimps. To get by, these kids salvage scraps from the streets or beg for money.

The Blue Dragon Centre takes these kids in and educates them. They learn English and art. They are also encouraged to discover what interests them so that they may positively contribute to society. Many eventually go on to learn a vocation such as motorcycle repair, or being a waiter or cook.

One day I would dearly love to volunteer at the Blue Dragon Centre. It's something that greatly interests me and stirs my passions... I hope it will be sooner rather than later.



Click on the Blue Dragon in my sidebar for more info. If anyone is also interested by this idea, drop me an email. We could make a short trip to Vietnam to visit Michael and the kids.