Twenty years ago, Tai and his siblings followed their parents, leaving Quang Ninh for Hanoi with hope that they would find jobs and live a new life.

They lived in a rented low-roofed room, 30 sq m, at the foot of Long Bien Bridge. Every dat, Tai’s mother opened her small tea shop, while his father worked as a motorbike taxi driver to earn their living and raise four children.

After three years in Hanoi, his father was arrested by the police as he worked as a hired protection money collector and received a four-year prison sentence.

Their life then became even worse as his mother alone had to struggle to feed four children. 

When Tai turned 10 years old, his mother was sent to prison because of drug trafficking.

The four uncared-for children were taken to the 19/5 Home on Nghia Dung Street in Ba Dinh District in Hanoi, a place that became a part of their tumultuous childhood.

Only Tai and two other siblings lived there, because his eldest brother left and became a street child. Sometimes he returned to the shelter and gave some money to Tai and his siblings so they could buy some snacks.

The life at the charity home was not too bad. Tai, however, felt sad that they could not reunite with parents on weekends like other children. They sometimes were bored as they were not allowed to go out. They could only leave the home for school.

After Tai finished primary school, he could not continue to study because the continuing education school, which was free of charge, was five kilometers from the charity home and Tai was too small to go to the school by himself. 

Meanwhile, he didn’t know when his parents would come back.

Tai then heard about Rong Xanh (Blue Dragon), an organization which helps people in need, and orphaned and street children, as his elder brother lived there. Later, he enrolled in a public school nearby and the tuition was paid by a benefactor. 

Though his father git out of prison, he could not earn enough money to raise four children. He decided to return to his hometown and has lived there since.'

Floating house

Tai’s mother also got out of prison. She borrowed money, bought a boat and set up a ‘floating house’ on the boat, where she and her children lived.

“My mother traded shrimp and fish at Long Bien Market to get money,” Tai recalled.

He then found a new job.

“When merchants pour shrimp and fish into a large basket, some shrimp may jump out of the basket. We would pick up the shrimp for sale. Both children and adults did this,” Tai recalled.

Every night, Tai could pick up enough shrimp to sell for tens of thousand of dong or VND100,000. His working shift began from 11pm to 4-5am. After working hours, he returned home, had a bath and breakfast before going to school. After returning home from school, he would sleep until 4pm and left home to pick up shrimp.

As Tai and his siblings came to Rong Xanh more frequently, Tai could learn dancing, playing piano and getting familiar with information technology. 

As the financial capability of the family got better, Tai did not have to glean for shrimp regularly. He got a job at a pub which regularly received foreign guests and he earned money. However, his mother was arrested once again because she took stolen goods.

Becoming independent 

The eldest brother then grew up and had a job, which allowed him to feed his three siblings. The life in the floating house stopped. They helped one another, and vowed to study hard and live independently when parents were away.

Tai said he was very grateful to Rong Xanh and its social work officers who inspired him with their stories and optimism. At the pub, Tai had the chance to practice his English. At RongXanh, he participated in many activities to keep himself away from evils.

Before Covid-19 broke out, Tai got a scholarship to study English in Australia for one year. Returning to Vietnam, he followed a 7-month online training to become a developer. He became an intern, and then an official worker at a company. He is now the manager of a project team.

Nguyen Thao