2 runaways

The past few days at Blue Dragon have been dominated by our work with two runaway boys.

Each has come to us separately; they're very different people and have come to us for very different reasons. But they're both in quite difficult situations and need some help.

First is a 14 year old named Binh, who has a notable intellectual impairment. He's a tiny little guy, looking more like an 11 year old than a 14 year old; and when one of our staff spotted him on Long Bien bridge he was filthy and hungry.

Because of his impairment, it's been hard going to find out any information from him about where he's from and why he's ended up in Hanoi. The staff team here has been great, though, and finally we've been able to piece together enough clues to track down his family in the countryside. They've been hugely worried about him - of course! - and are on their way in to Hanoi today to meet up with Binh. Fingers crossed for a happy reunion.

The second runaway boy is a 16 year old named Tiep. He was brought to us by another one of our kids, who used to live on the streets in a gang but now lives at our residence and has a regular job. He saw Tiep shoeless and filthy on a bus, and realised that something was wrong!

Tiep has been living at home with his mother, and for the past 2 years has been working in a factory. But things at home aren't going well; Tiep and his mother aren't getting on and Tiep believes he's better off now to venture out on his own. There are bound to be many emotions tied up with this case, but we've already been able to make contact with his mother and we're hoping to have some kind of resolution this week.

Runaway cases are always difficult; they require intense attention and need to be handled carefully. There's a lot at stake! Hopefully I'll have some good news about Binh and Tiep in coming days.

.