Võ Ngọc Hân

Vo Ngoc Han comes from a struggling family of six living in Đa Trang village, Phuoc Huu commune. She lives with her parents and three siblings. Her eldest sister had to leave school after Grade 5 because the family could no longer afford her education. She now works as a babysitter for a relative to support herself. Han and her two younger siblings are still in school, Han will be in Grade 2 while the second sibling starting Grade 1 and the youngest attending preschool.

The family owns no farmland and rents about 2,000 square meters of land to grow rice. However, rising costs of fertilizer and other farming inputs have left them with very little profit. Han’s father is the main breadwinner, working as a construction laborer for about 11€ per day when work is available. Jobs are irregular, and he sometimes has to travel far from home to find work. Her mother stays home to care for the children and helps at her mother’s small breakfast stall, earning only around 1.5 – 2€ per morning.

The family has no proper house of their own. They live in a temporary shelter made from old metal sheets and wooden boards on a small piece of land given by their parents. Their average income is only around 25€ per person per month. With three young children still in school, education costs are a constant worry. Having already seen their eldest daughter leave school because of poverty, Han’s parents deeply hope that their younger children will not have to follow the same path.

Support of 30 EUR per month would help Han stay in school by covering school supplies, educational materials, and extra classes to strengthen her learning. Part of the support could also help the family purchase fertilizer for their rented rice field, reducing farming costs and improving their small source of income. By combining education and livelihood support, this assistance would not only help Han continue learning today, but also strengthen her family’s ability to keep all their children in school.