New name, new life

“Dựa oi!”

Following the grandmother’s call was the appearance of a skinny boy with a playful smile on his face. Holding the birth certificate paper in his hands, the boy who has lived by the name ‘Hà Văn Quang’ for the past 13 years proudly said: “Now my name is Hà Văn Dựa.”

Dire poverty caused Dựa’s parents to divorce when he was only one year old and leave him under the care of his aged grandma who was living on her own in Luận Khê commune of Thường Xuân district in Thanh Hóa province.

“I wanted to send him to school, yet it was impossible because he did not have a birth certificate. I did not know where or who to ask for help,” recalled Dựa’s grandmother.

Dựa had lived a life unrecognized as a legitimate citizen for 13 years long until World Vision Vietnam started to persistently advocate for Dựa and other disadvantaged children in the district to have a lawful birth certificate.

Dựa, meaning ‘reliable’, is determined to be a trustworthy person for his grand-mother and his future family to lean on. “I want to go to school, to learn how to read and write, and to make new friends,” he shared, unable to hide his excitement towards his coming days.

Nguyen Dinh Cuong, Thưong Xuan ADP’s Development Facilitator