Down south for the week

I've just arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, where I'll be spending a week doing things around Saigon as well as in An Giang province. This evening, my colleagues and I will be traveling to an informal night school where migrant children are able to learn (they cannot attend regular school primarily because they have to work during the day to earn money for their families). Tuesday and Wednesday, I'll be conducting interviews with peer educators (trained by save the children) who were able to participate in the camp that we held in August; my colleagues and I will also be doing some work at the Linh Xuan center for Child Upbringing and Sponsoring, which houses children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. Officials at Linh Xuan center, because of close collaboration with local authorities in HCMC, have had success in integrating children from the center into public schools. In fact, two of Save the Children's Peer Educators are HIV-infected children from Linh Xuan, and throughout the camp the leadership qualities they have been able to develop both in school and with Save the Children's help really showed (read more about Linh Xuan center, and integration efforts in Ba Vi, here: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/Social-Isssues/214932/Schools-bar-students-with-HIV.html). 

On Thursday and Friday, I'll be switching gears to work with the street youth here in HCMC, interviewing them to do a review for one of Save the Children's big projects called Project Nam. Thursday night I will join their evening club meeting. These street youth (many of whom I have gotten to meet before) are quite impressive, and I can't wait to meet with them. 

Finally, on Saturday and Sunday, my colleagues and I will travel to An Giang province to attend a street youth-focused event at An Giang University on Saturday afternoon. 

I'll update more about what happens as the week goes on!