New Life Page for "Invisible" Children - Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City, 23 August 2020 - Management and Sustainable Development Institute (MSD)cooporated with the Hoc Mon Social Protection Centre (Ceporer Hoc Mon) to organize the Communication Event named “A new life page - A passport to the future”. The event is within the framework of the "A new life page" - A project aims to promote children's right to birth registration in disadvantaged households in Ho Chi Minh City.

In Vietnam, several children was born without a legal proof of identity. “Shadow” is probably a perfect illustration for the invisible existence of these children, they are shadows that can walk, talk, cry and laugh, but don’t officially exist.

From the very young age, childrenbegin to draw their own dream jobs. They may aspire to be doctors, engineers or teachers, but their dreams might not be fulfilled as they do not possess a birth certificate. Without it, children are excluded from accessing education, health care and protection. They are unable to attend school and benefit from health insurance and other welfare policies they deserve. There are a wide range of reasons why children don’t get registered. Parents do not know how to register their child’s birth, as they are poor and illiterate, or they do not have their own identification documents. Some children don’t have proof for their backgrounds, as they are orphaned, disabled or abandoned. Children cannot register by themselves; their parents and relatives are not informed of the birth registration process, or they are unable to register their childrenas they do not have necessary documents filed to authorities. 

Against this backdrop, since 2014, Management and Sustainable Development Institute (MSD) has worked withthe State Legal Aid Center in Ho Chi Minh City, 10 other CSOs, shelters and community-based organizations in Ho Chi Minh City to implement "A newlife page" project. The project aims to support children to get birth certificates, lead them to take the first step of their new life, provide legal recognition of children’s identity and access to their rights.

From June to October2020, the "A newlife page" project has received financial support from the Justice Initiatives Facilitation Fund (JIFF),a component of “The EU Justice and Legal Empowerment Programme in Viet Nam (EU JULE)” funded by Oxfam and the European Union. The goal of the project is to issue birth certificates to more than 100 disadvantaged childrenin Ho Chi Minh City. To date, despite tremendous impactsof the COVID -19, the "A newlife page" project has given birth certificates to 74 children and processed more than 30 cases. As the 2020-2021 Academic Yearis upon us, we are speeding up the project to facilitatechildren to get their birth certificates and attend school.

On August 23,the communication event for the "A newlife page" project was officially held at the Hoc Mon Social Protection Centre (Ceporer Hoc Mon). The event is jointly organized by MSD and other partners to raise parents’awareness on the importance of birth certificate in a child's life, issue birth certificates, arrange a playground and deliver gifts to unregistered children. Especially, the event became more engaging for attendees with the involvement of Rapper Wowy Nguyen, who is committed to join the "A newlife page" to provide further support for marginalised children to access the "passport to life".

At the Ceporer Hoc Mon office, Rapper Wowy Nguyen,along with members of MSD and Ceporer Hoc Mon,disseminated the importance of birth certificates for children and parents, urged parents to register their children and played games with children. Together, they shared about their dreams for the future, and wrote letters to themselves for 10 years later on paper airplanes. With the birth certificate from the "A newlife page", they have the right to believe that these planes will takethem to a brighter future.

Rapper Wowy Nguyen shared: “Wowy grew up in a slum of Saigon with a childhood filled with ups and downs. Ibelieve that all children, especially disadvantaged children,should benurtured in caring environment and parent’s future orientation. Together with MSD, I want to contribute to raise my voice and make a difference for the life of disadvantaged children, helping them access to their rights, that's what they deserve.”

Ms. Truong Nguyen Bao Tran, Southern Regional Manager of MSD shared at the event: “The right to birth registration is one of the fundamental rights of every human being. Each birth certificate creates opportunities for a child's development. Through the "A new life page"project, we want to offer various measures for children to lead their new life, access to essential services like health care, education and social security, and even realize their dreams. We would like to thank the Justice Initiatives Facilitation Fund (JIFF) for its support in birth registration procedure. The "A new life page"project is preparing for a communication and fundraising campaign in September to mobilize resources to support disadvantaged children and households. We hope that the collaboration of organizations, donors and communities will allow the project to come closer to children in need, helping them step out of the shadow.”  

Ms. Hong To Hue Lan, Director of Ceporer Hoc Mon, said: "With the meaningful goal and message, we are pleased to work with MSD and donors to implement the "A new life page" project. As involving in child rearing, we understand specific challenges facing children when they lack birth certificates. We want to make greater efforts to help them get birth certificates, attend school and be happy like their peers. I hope that all stakeholders, and donors will join us to achieve this goals.”

In Ho Chi Minh City, a bustling metropolis in Vietnam, thousands of children without birth certificates are living like shadows; several households are struggling to make ends meet, especially in the light of COVID-19. Hopefully, this project will be the first step for MSD and partners to spread the model and support vulnerable groups in the society with no one left behind.

"A new life page" – A project aims to promote children's right to birth registration in disadvantaged households in Ho Chi Minh Cityhas been jointly organised by Management and Sustainable Development Institute (MSD) and the A new life page group since 2014.

The expected results of the "A new life page"project include: (1) Support to issue birth certificates for disadvantaged children in Ho Chi Minh City; (2) Provide communication to raise public awareness and call for support in birth registration for disadvantaged children; (3) Approach and ask for government to improve and strengthen civil registration systems;

From June 1, 2019 to October 31 2020, the project received the grand funding from the Justice Initiatives Facilitation Fund (JIFF), a component of “The EU Justice and Legal Empowerment Programme in Viet Nam (EU JULE)” funded by Oxfam and the European Union. Together with Rapper Wowy Nguyen, MSD and the A new life page group will launch a communication and fundraising campaign to issue birth certificates for children in the 2020 – 2021period.