Protecting child victims of commercial sexual exploitation

Children are entering prostitution at a younger age than five years ago
This photo is for illustration purpose only!
© UN Viet Nam\shutterstock48041263\Jose AS Reyes

Linh* was born into a poor family in Chau Doc, a small town in the Mekong Delta region of Viet Nam. She did not enjoy school and dropped out without completing lower secondary level. Despite her parents’ concerns, Linh followed the path of many young people from her region and headed to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) to look for a job. She was only 16 years old and knew very little about Viet Nam’s biggest city.

Sea change: The "Making of" video

An instructional video capturing the process of making the participatory short film entitled "Sea Change" by a group of Vietnamese young reporters in May 2012.

"Sea Change" is part of a 3 country project with UNICEF Vietnam, the Democracy Center in Bolivia and UNICEF UK that combines young people's expressions and viewpoints on climate change in their own countries into one unified voice. The Viet Nam film workshop is funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy to Viet Nam and managed by UNICEF Viet Nam.

Julia’s field diary: children with disabilities in Da Nang

UNICEF intern Julia Hartelius at a day-care centre for children with disabilities
© UNICEF Viet Nam/2012/Hartelius

Julia Hartelius is a Swedish student who has been interning at UNICEF Viet Nam’s Child Protection section in Ha Noi since 6 August 2012. In this field diary, she shares her impressions and reflections during a trip to visit UNICEF’s work in support of children with disabilities in Viet Nam’s coastal city: Da Nang. Da Nang is one of the three hot spots of Agent Orange in Viet Nam; the dioxin contamination of its airport is one of the vestiges of the toxic chemicals stored and sprayed by the US military during the war in Viet Nam.

Lifting up voices from the ground to improve services for children

Giang Thi Cau’s family shared their feedback on a cash transfer scheme
© UNICEF Viet Nam/2012/Sandra Bisin

Eight year-old Giang Thi Cau is proud to perform a traditional dance for her peers at the end of the school day. She belongs to the Mong group, one of the main ethnic groups in Dien Bien province, in northern Viet Nam, which comprises a total of 19 ethnic groups, each with its own distinct language, culture and customs. Cau’s school is located in a scenic but remote valley of Dien Bien, surrounded by spectacular mountain peaks.

Field diaries: Hong Kong young envoys visit Viet Nam

A team of 10 Young Envoys visited the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum
UNICEF/Viet Nam/2012/Ly Phat Linh

A team of 25 Young Envoys from UNICEF Hong Kong visited Ha Noi and Dien Bien and Kon Tum provinces in Viet Nam from July 22-27 to better understand the challenges to children's well-being, and UNICEF’s response to these. The two provinces are among Viet Nam’s poorest, with a poverty rate of nearly 40 per cent in Dien Bien and 27 per cent in Kon Tum. A majority of Dien Bien’s 490,000 residents are ethnic minority people, as are more than half of Kon Tum’s 430,000 population. The UNICEF Hong Kong Young Envoy programme, launched in 1996, is a leadership training programme especially designed for secondary school students to become future pillars of society and advocates for child rights. Below are 17-year-old Julia Zschiesche and 14-year-old Felix Tam Chun-Yan’s “field diaries” from their time in Kon Tum Province.