A lot has changed in the month since my last post. I got to go on even more work trips, meet youth just as inspiring as the ones in Ho Chi Minh City, and found out that my trip is being cut short by six months. Gotta take the good with the bad I guess!
After returning from HCMC, I spent a few days in Hanoi before traveling up to Quang Ninh province for an event with street youth in Halong City, located close to Halong Bay (a popular tourist attraction). We left at 4 a.m. Friday morning, and made the three-hour trip in two thanks to my skillful driver. Unfortunately, I couldn't conduct any interviews during the day because of problems with the Quang Ninh police (oh, Vietnam). The trip was well worth it, though, and I got to meet and interview several street youth before, during, and after the two-hour event. Below is an excerpt from the Success Story I wrote, about Project NAM's self-help groups in Quang Ninh.
Project NAM, the initiative run by Save the Children Vietnam that I was tasked with evaluating, has created a network of self-help groups to provide support for these youth throughout Quang Ninh. Project staff train Peer Educators (PEs) on topics ranging from HIV/AIDS prevention and where youth can go for counseling and testing services to how to engage in sex and drug use safely. These PEs – many of whom live on the street themselves – then organize self-help groups in locations that are convenient for the clients, such as parks and rental homes. There are four self-help groups in Quang Ninh, and each group has 25-30 members and meets for 2 hours per week. During meetings, clients not only learn how to avoid contracting HIV/AIDS through games and discussions, but are also provided with an emotionally supportive environment to share their stories and ask for help.
12.9.11
Wrap-up of trip to HCMC
Well, my whirlwind of a week came to an end yesterday night when I took a plane back to Hanoi. I was sad to go, but it felt nice to be sleeping in my own bed again. The week ended on a high note even though my trip to An Giang Province didn't happen. A former president of Vietnam died, so the government cancelled all big events nationwide. As we were supposed to be attending an outdoor event for street youth at An Giang University, that meant the event had to be postponed until next weekend. We kept very busy in HCMC, though.
Saturday night, we delivered mooncakes in yet another part of HCMC, to celebrate Monday's mid-autumn festival (a festival specifically for children). The area where we delivered the mooncakes was even poorer than any of the other places I'd seen (you could rent a room for less than $1/day), but the people were so lovely and the mooncakes really seemed to make their day! Assisting with mooncake delivery was a former street youth, Sang, who is now living in an apartment with his wife and child. We all went out to eat afterwards, and I got to meet his family, which was such an honor.
Saturday night, we delivered mooncakes in yet another part of HCMC, to celebrate Monday's mid-autumn festival (a festival specifically for children). The area where we delivered the mooncakes was even poorer than any of the other places I'd seen (you could rent a room for less than $1/day), but the people were so lovely and the mooncakes really seemed to make their day! Assisting with mooncake delivery was a former street youth, Sang, who is now living in an apartment with his wife and child. We all went out to eat afterwards, and I got to meet his family, which was such an honor.
9.9.11
Project N.A.M.
Yesterday and today, I had the chance to meet, work with, and learn from several street youth here in Ho Chi Minh City, most of whom are active in Project N.A.M., Save the Children's street youth-focused project. Below, I relay what was said to me during the interviews (although I won't even begin to do justice to the youth's stories in this post) and what I got to take part in during several group meetings. Working with these youth was a truly amazing experience, and Project N.A.M.'s peer educators (who are current or former street youth themselves) are some of the most inspiring people I've ever met.
First off, a little background on what it means to be a street youth in HCMC. There are four categories of youth: Category A, meaning the street youth are living and working on the streets and are disconnected from their families; Category B, where the street youth are still living and working on the streets but with their families; Category C, which contains youth that work in the streets but sometimes return to their home; and finally, Category D, who are immigrants who work in the streets but rent a room or house to live in with other relatives or friends. Most of the children that Save the Children works with in its projects fall under categories A and B, and my mission over the course of my time working with them was to do interviews and document "success stories" for Project NAM, one of the first projects in the NGO community to target its efforts specifically to street youth. The children that I met with ranged in age, amount of time spent on the street, and methods of earning income, but it's clear that the ones who had taken part the most in Project NAM (especially as peer educators) were best equipped with healthy life skills.
First off, a little background on what it means to be a street youth in HCMC. There are four categories of youth: Category A, meaning the street youth are living and working on the streets and are disconnected from their families; Category B, where the street youth are still living and working on the streets but with their families; Category C, which contains youth that work in the streets but sometimes return to their home; and finally, Category D, who are immigrants who work in the streets but rent a room or house to live in with other relatives or friends. Most of the children that Save the Children works with in its projects fall under categories A and B, and my mission over the course of my time working with them was to do interviews and document "success stories" for Project NAM, one of the first projects in the NGO community to target its efforts specifically to street youth. The children that I met with ranged in age, amount of time spent on the street, and methods of earning income, but it's clear that the ones who had taken part the most in Project NAM (especially as peer educators) were best equipped with healthy life skills.
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