Article on more than 30 years of partnership between Save the Children and Ho Chi Minh City released on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the city named after President Ho Chi Minh.
Save the Children began its journey alongside children in Viet Nam in 1990. Since those early days, one commitment has remained unchanged: every child deserves a better future. As part of this journey, Ho Chi Minh City has been one of Save the Children’s long-standing programme areas, where child-focused projects have been implemented in close and sustained collaboration with government agencies, local partners and social organizations.
One of Save the Children’s key contributions in Ho Chi Minh City has been its support to strengthening community-based child protection systems. Over the past 16 years, Save the Children has worked with relevant departments and agencies to strengthen child protection systems in 50 communes and wards, while helping to build safe and friendly learning environments in more than 100 primary schools, lower secondary schools and vocational training institutions across the city. These efforts have contributed to the establishment of mechanisms to identify, prevent and respond to risks of violence against and abuse of children. More than 120,000 children and 80,000 adults have directly benefited from child protection programmes, gaining greater awareness and gradually changing the way children are educated, cared for and protected within families and communities.
Photo: School communication session about preventing child labour.
These child protection efforts have also translated into practical support for children in especially difficult circumstances. From 2020 to 2024, the “Work: No Child’s Business” project on preventing and reducing child labour provided direct support to more than 4,000 students and over 1,500 households with children at risk of dropping out of school in 4 districts of Ho Chi Minh City: Go Vap, Cu Chi, District 10 and Nha Be. In 2024, nearly 500 children in special circumstances were supported to obtain personal identification documents, helping ensure their access to education, healthcare and social protection services. Save the Children has also contributed to creating safer and more child-friendly learning environments. Models such as safe schools, school-based counselling rooms and friendly charity classes have enabled many children to continue their learning journey.
Photo: Giving presents to children in special circumstances.
For adolescents and young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds and young people with disabilities, career orientation, soft skills training and employment support have opened new doors and helped them to build confidence, develop their potential and access more sustainable livelihood opportunities. In 2025 alone, vocational skills development programmes in Ho Chi Minh City and several southern provinces reached more than 17,000 students, while also strengthening the capacity of over 2,000 teachers to support learners’ personal development and connection with the labour market.
Photo: Youth with disability confidently sharing at Save the Children’s closing workshop.
Save the Children has always placed strong emphasis on promoting children’s participation, especially among groups of children who often have fewer opportunities to be heard. In Ho Chi Minh City, models such as School Dialogue, student core groups, Girls’ clubs, Children’s Forums and policy consultations have created spaces for children to share their views, propose initiatives and engage in issues that matter to them.
Photo: Student core groups at a secondary school.
Children are no longer only beneficiaries; they are gradually becoming active agents in building safer learning environments and protecting children in the digital space. Many models initiated in Ho Chi Minh City have gone beyond the scope of individual projects to become valuable practices for child-related work. The School Dialogue model has been recognized as an effective approach to promoting children’s participation under the National Action Programme for Children for the 2021–2030 period.
Photo: Dialogue between students, parents and school at a secondary school in HCMC.
These meaningful results have been made possible through close collaboration with local partners, including the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Friendship Organizations (HUFO), the Ho Chi Minh City Association for the Protection of Children’s Rights, as well as many agencies, mass organizations and schools across the city. Among them, HUFO has played an important bridging role, supporting Save the Children in connecting with relevant partners and creating favourable conditions for international experience to be applied in ways that are responsive to the practical needs of children and communities in the city.
Looking ahead, alongside sustaining proven models, Save the Children will continue to promote new, child-centred interventions that respond to emerging challenges in modern life. Save the Children believes that every child has the potential to thrive when given the right support and opportunities. The positive changes in children’s lives are the most meaningful testament to the value of friendship and international cooperation for children.
*The article has been published on Nhip Cau Huu Nghi Special Publication, released on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the city named after President Ho Chi Minh. Bilingual article on pages 55–58: https://online.anyflip.com/cyzec/vrcz/mobile/index.html
