Nhan was born into a family with two children, herself and an older brother. When she was 10, her family’s rented house in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City was taken away, so she moved with her parents back to their hometown in Long An province. That was also when she had to drop out of school because of the complication in paperwork associated with the move. After that, Nhan did go back to HCMC and stayed with her brother’s family, but it did not work out.
In 2021, Ms. Nguyet, a social worker at saigonchildren, met Nhan. When asked what kind of vocational training Nhan would like to pursue, she said she’d love to learn about bartending. Even though to many people, learning to be a barista would be more “suitable” to girls, Nhan insisted on being a good bartender. With the help of saigonchildren, Nhan also went back to grade school and started again at Grade 6.
Nhan said, she grew up without much direction and career guidance from her parents. She doesn’t know what her mum’s and dad’s expectations and dreams for her are. That’s why when we asked about Nhan’s dreams, she said that she was not sure what she could expect in the future. The only thing Nhan knows now is to work as hard as she can, putting in the hours, and hope that she can provide a better future for herself.
At the moment, in addition to working as a bartender, Nhan is still going to grade school despite being much older than many of her classmates. In the eyes of saigonchildren’s social workers, Nhan is a hardworking girl who constantly works to better herself. We hope for Nhan and many other young girls out there to know that they have the right to become the master of their lives. Their roads may not be filled with flowers, their loved ones may not always make the best decisions for them, but they don’t need anyone’s permission to be the better versions of themselves and be happy.