...The children first and foremost

Around 10 million children in Vietnam today – 30% of the population – are devastatingly poor according to international standards. Many children work to help with their family's subsistence; they sell lottery tickets or post cards on the street, or work in the street shops found everywhere in Vietnam. These are labour intensive activities that provide little money and allow no time for education, and the children in these situations often become the easy prey of human traffickers. Child labor concerns notwithstanding, the majority of these children live with family members other than their parents. Often grandmothers take them in when parents are in prison for selling drugs or have died from HIV/AIDS. They have little hope for a future that is anything different than continued economic and social deprivation. Poor children in Vietnam, as in many developing countries, have limited options for breaking this cycle of poverty.

Primary education in many developing countries may be free, but oftentimes, the extra costs of school supplies, uniforms, books, meals, etc. are too much for families, or the student themselves in the case of orphans, to bear. Even though the total cost of education can be as little as $15 -25 USD per month, this might be a full month's salary for an entire family to subsist on and therefore, education is viewed as a luxury.

Survival takes precedence over education for poor children.

This is where Bridges to Learning and the Anh Linh Free School come in.

Anh Linh Love School, as it is referred to by students and faculty, began in 1990 as a means to provide an education for disenfranchised children who may or may not have families. The school serves any child who is too poor to attend public school or may be too old for their class. Anh Linh welcomes all children who are within a reasonable commute to the school and provides some dormitory space for those without family and home. All students attend Anh Linh for free.

Without Anh Linh School, these children would be destitute street kids or worse, with little hope for the future.