Disparities Amongst Vietnamese Children

“Mom, don’t worry.  I’m not in pain.  I won’t cry,” softly uttered a little boy named Thien Nhan (Good Person) as he laid on an operating table in Italy.  The doctors and operating room staff were preparing to reconstruct Thien Nhan’s testicles and penis, which had been devoured (along with his right leg) by wild animals within the first three days of his birth.

How did this ill-fated boy end up in such a heartrending state?  Sadly, he was abandoned by his biological mother shortly after she delivered him because his mother and maternal grandparents lived in abject poverty.  Inexplicably, the local authorities had returned the boy to his biological family (a family who could not afford to feed the newborn let alone provide adequate medical care or finance his rehabilitation due to the abandonment tragedy) only to find the poor child months later – dirty, anemic, suffering from diarrhea, and critically neglected….

According to UNICEF, there are approximately 26 million Vietnamese under the age of sixteen today of which about 7 million can be considered poor in terms of basic needs.  30% of children under the age of 5 are stunted in growth due to malnutrition, and 50% of all children lack access to a hygienic sanitation facility within their homes.  Of course, based on these numbers, the majority of the children are living in much better conditions than when their parents were children.  From increases in education attainment to healthcare access to overall longevity, it seems as though the children of Vietnam are benefiting from the country’s economic growth of the past decade.  Unfortunately, not all of the children are benefiting equally.  As a matter of fact, the majority of the 7 million underprivileged children comes from a monetary poor background, is part of the disabled community, or is a member of the ethnic minority population (~13% of the total population of which nearly 50% live in poverty).

Is there anything being done on behalf of these side-lined children?  Who is developing and implementing plans to address their basic physiological needs, such as proper nourishment, hygienic sanitation, shelter, and overall health?  And beyond that, what about other needs, such as education, friendship, love, social inclusion, sexual intimacy, self-esteem, or the Maslow’s need of self-actualization?

The Vietnamese government could possibly establish laws and enforce regulations against abuse, exploitation, neglect, and violence of all children.  However, it seems that the governing administration alone is not effectively addressing the issue considering that the local authorities in the story of Thien Nhan only chose to return the pitiful boy back to where his suffering originated.

Fortunately, there are individuals and organizations exerting efforts toward the cause of these neglected children.  One recent example is that of the unique collaboration between UNICEF and Vietnam’s Next Top Model.

UNICEF & VN Next Top Model

It is encouraging to know that organizations, such as UNICEF and Kids Without Borders, are devoting their time and resources.  Afterall, children do make up approximately one-third of the Vietnamese population, and these children will naturally compose the face of future Vietnam.  Or, as United Nations Resident Coordinator John Hendra put it: “We in the UN believe very strongly in the importance of children to Viet Nam’s development.  Investing in children is not only about realizing their rights, but also about laying a solid foundation for the socio-economic development of the country.”

Present inequalities, no doubt, will threaten the children’s ability to grow into healthy and productive members of Vietnamese society.  It is important for Vietnamese and those interested in the well-being of Vietnamese culture to care for the neglected children.

In the case of Thien Nhan, a kind woman (the person he now calls “mom”) adopted him and ameliorated his life.  Following nine hours of surgery, the Vietnamese miracle boy can now boast to be an aesthetically real boy.  Nonetheless, who knows how many other “Thien Nhan” there are in Vietnam at this moment?