This is Huy. Jason, Luke and Tinh met Huy on their trip to Viet Nam last year in Phan Thiet. Huy was run over by a car and because she could not afford medical care, her leg had to be amputated. She lives on the street with her mother and survives by selling government sponsored lottery tickets.

Like many of the kids who do this, she spends most of each day selling tickets - often staying up well past midnight to make around 50 cents, if she's lucky, so she can afford to eat for a day or two. The work is exhausting. When Jason, Luke and Tinh found her, she was sleeping in a little alcove off the street on the ground. Her mom goes around looking for bottles to turn in to raise a bit more money. They do not have a permanent home.

While Huy has a prosthetic for her leg, she doesn't have a wheelchair or even a set of crutches to get around on. Instead, she pushes herself around on a board. Huy says her dream is to go to school and to learn to sew. Of course, purchasing a sewing machine is out of the question for her and her mother. They barely sell enough tickets and collect enough bottles to survive.

Huy, like so many children in Vietnam, have many needs. While the Village School Foundation focuses on providing a stable system of education to kids in the area, there are so many children who have needs that are more basic: eating; clean and safe places to sleep; healthcare. But the dream of going to school is heard over and over again in these children's voices.

Despite her situation, what many of us would call tragic, Huy still has her dream. I have to think that sometimes, a dream and a hope is all these kids have to keep them going as they try to create a better life for themselves and for their families.

I haven't met Huy myself - I hope I'll have that opportunity when I travel to Viet Nam in August. But before that, Tinh is delivering a donated Singer sewing machine to Huy in April.

Thanks to the generous donation of Sandee Enbysk, one of our supporters, Huy will soon have a sewing machine to practice with and we hope to see her sewing beautiful clothes someday soon - supporting herself and her family.

Keep checking this site for updates on ways to donate in-kind equipment, supplies, and services. We need everyone’s help to continue our critical work. Your donation is tax-deductible and it is a simple way to help give hope to these children.

I hope in some small way, this donation of a sewing machine will keep Huy’s dream alive.

Dan Enbysk
Village School Foundation