His Future is Clear

Thanks to his Holt sponsor, and two life-changing Gifts of Hope, 17-year-old Dai can reach his potential — and achieve whatever he puts his mind to.

Dai lives with his elderly grandmother in a small charity home on the property of a church. Inside, it’s dark with no windows. And they don’t have many belongings.

When we visit in early December, his grandmother sits on the edge of her bed in the front room. Her eyes are sad as she shares about the injury that keeps her from working, and being able to provide for her grandson.

A year ago, she was selling lottery tickets on the side of the road — a means of miniscule income akin to panhandling, commonly seen in Vietnam among those who have no other way to earn a living. A motorbike hit her, shattering her leg. It easily could have done more harm to her very fragile frame.

Dai, by contrast, is tall with an athletic build. He has black hair and a wide smile. He’s softspoken as he sits next to his grandmother, sharing about himself, his life and his dreams.

“He speaks very well, very intelligently,” says Huong Nguyen, Holt Vietnam’s country director, who translates for him during our visit.

Dai is 17 years old. He likes playing sports — basketball, soccer and badminton. He loves to read, and he loves studying geography. His grandmother says he’s very responsible, doing most of the housework and cooking since her injury. He comes home as soon as he can after school to take care of her.

“I had difficulties before Holt’s support,” Dai says. “The biggest difficulty is that it’s only me living with my grandmother.”

Dai has two older brothers. One lives nearby and visit somewhat regularly, but he’s not in contact with his other brother. His parents got divorced when he was just 1 year old. When this happened, they both moved away and left him with his grandmother. They don’t send any money home to help his grandmother raise him.

Dai and his grandmother have always struggled to get by. But after the motorbike accident, things took a turn for worse.

“I would have to save my breakfast money and use it for school fees,” Dai says. It was a desperate attempt to cover the cost of school supplies, tutoring, student health insurance and other school fees required to continue his education. But the breakfast money alone wasn’t enough. He was on the edge of having to drop out of school entirely.

He needed help. And then, one day, help came… in the form of a Holt sponsor.

Child Sponsorship in Vietnam

In every province where we have programs, Holt’s team in Vietnam works closely with the local government. The government refers children and families to Holt who they’ve identified as living below the national poverty line. While the government provides as much aid as possible, they can rarely provide all the help a child needs to thrive, or even have their basic needs met.  

This is where Holt comes in.

In Vietnam, as in all Holt programs around the world, our local team or partner staff implements a personalized, case-managed approach for each child and family. This means a Holt social worker meets with the child and every member of their family. They get to know them, assess their biggest needs. They make a plan to help, and then continue meeting with the child and family for years into the future, ensuring their success.

“Sponsorship is focusing on children…”

“We discuss the solutions with them,” Huong says, “and that’s why the program is effective and sustainable.”

This level of help goes beyond what most governments, and even other nonprofit organizations, can offer. It requires a lot more resources. But it’s also the best, most sustainable way to help a child. And it’s only possible due to the compassion and incredible generosity of Holt’s child sponsors.

“Sponsorship is focusing on children,” Huong says. “And it’s a relationship between the donors and the children, a direct relationship.”

Still in School, Because of Sponsorship

When Dai got matched with his sponsor, things immediately got better. His sponsor helped cover his school fees. And not only did Dai not have to drop out of school, but he didn’t have to worry about the money required to attend anymore. He used his breakfast money for the nourishing food he needed, and he didn’t go to school hungry anymore.

“I can pay the school fees right away,” Dai says. “And I can buy books as I want or I need.” 

And Dai loves books. Lately he’s been getting lots of books about geography, his favorite subject. He is one of the top geography students in his entire province, and he will soon take a competitive exam on the topic. 

“I was not very good at geography before,” Dai says about his life before he was enrolled in Holt’s child sponsorship program. But now, without the financial worry, he’s able to follow this passion.

“[Now] I have more books to learn more from and focus on geography and also improve my knowledge of geography,” Dai says.

Thanks to his sponsor, Dai is absolutely excelling in school.

Additionally, sponsorship opens the door for a child to be known, and for their needs to be known. So when new difficulties arise, they can be helped. Already in the past year, this has happened in two big ways for Dai.

The Extra Help He Needed

When Dai first entered Holt’s child sponsorship program, his Holt social worker saw that he needed safe transportation to and from school. He used to walk a half hour to and from school each day. Holt Vietnam communicated this need with Holt’s team in the U.S. Soon, a donor made it possible to give him a Gift of Hope that made his life and getting to school so much easier — a bicycle! Now, he gets to school on his bike in less than ten minutes and uses the time saved to study or go to the library.

He keeps the bicycle safely inside the front room of his house, easily accessible for his ride to school each day.

Not only does being a part of Holt’s child sponsorship program help meet his basic needs, but it goes above and beyond to make his life better.

Another of Dai’s needs was recently met on the spot, the last time his Holt social worker visited him at home — along with our team that visited in December.

Sponsorship Makes All The Difference

“I cannot see in the distance, not even two meters,” Dai says during the visit. “I think I need glasses.”

But the cost of an eye exam and glasses, just $40 USD, is more than he and his grandmother could ever afford — even though it poses a serious safety risk as he rides his bike to school.

But once again, this is where the safety net of child sponsorship makes all the difference.

Immediately, Dai’s social worker pulls his grandmother aside to talk to her. They coordinate a time for Dai to go to the eye doctor — the very next day. His social worker finds a Holt donor who happily covers the cost of his exam and glasses — a Gift of Hope that will drastically change his life.

A day later, Dai is proudly wearing his brand-new black rimmed glasses — looking every bit the scholar that he is.

A Clear Future

Dai starts gathering his school bag, and pulls his bike out of the front room. He has to go back to school soon for an exam.

This young man is smart, driven and passionate about his future. But the reality is that Dai’s motivation and intelligence likely wouldn’t have been enough. Poverty steals potential. But child sponsorship can stand in the gap.

Dai’s sponsor, and gifts from other generous Holt donors, have helped meet some of his biggest needs. Help came at just the right time, and it is helping him to achieve his dreams.

“I want to be an environmental engineer,” Dai says. “I want to learn more about the environment and natural resources management and conservations for Vietnam to improve the living environment for the people. I think environment is very important, especially clean air. It’s difficult to really have a good quality of life [without it], and [we need] sustainable development.”

He’s only 17, but when you hear about Dai’s dreams, it’s easy to believe that this dream is exactly what he’s going to achieve. And now, he can see it too…

Just like his eyesight, Dai’s future used to be a bit blurry. He couldn’t see far ahead. He didn’t know if he would eat breakfast before school the next day. He didn’t even know if he would get to keep going to school.

But now, his future is clear. And thanks to his Holt sponsors, he has the support and resources to achieve whatever he puts his mind to.