Update on runaways

As we hoped, the runaway boy named Binh who I mentioned in my last blog entry is now back with his family.

His mother and some extended family came to the Blue Dragon centre yesterday afternoon. Binh was very worried at first, and tried running away from them again, but eventually they all set off together back to their home in the countryside.

It was really interesting to see that the family were concerned about who we were: they feared that we might be child traffickers, and so they brought some burly neighbours with them in case their child was in any danger. Once they saw us with Binh, though, their fears were calmed, and they were incredibly thankful for our assistance. It was touching to hear the grandfather offer to pay us for any costs we had incurred while Binh was with us. (Of course, we declined!)

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This article on street children appeared in a local newspaper this week. I can't say that I agree with the headline, or with the forced repatriation of street children that's discussed at the end (news flash: it rarely, if ever, works! And we'd never force kids in western countries to go home, so western NGOs in Vietnam shouldn't be trying to get away with it here!) the article does explore some important issues that street kids face.

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