Third grader Tran Van Hop has to live with the burdens of an adult. He is living with his 79 year old grandmother (Tran Thi Phon) in Tan Lap Hamlet, Thua Thien Hue Province.

Tran Van Bui, Hop's uncle, shares that Hop's father passed away during a flood in 1999. One year later, when he was just one, his mother abandoned him to live with another man. Since then, he has been living with his grandmother.

She takes him with her while she sells items on the streets. She earns very little money and it isn't enough for both of them which often leaves her begging for food. They had a torn boat to sleep at night.

After a day of hard work, Hop eats rice with vegetables.

His family's boat was destroyed in 2003 during a storm, which left them with no place to stay.

Fortunately, Bui gave them a room to stay. However, Bui's family is also very needy, he has 7 children and 6 of them have left school to go to work.

Bui shared with desperation, “My wife and I make a living from fishing. We borrowed VND40 million ($2,105) from the bank to build our house but we have not earned enough money to pay them back yet. We cannot do anything to help Hop and his grandmother, all we can do is give them a place to sleep.”

Phon started having health issues and Hop had to go to work at the young age of 5. As Hop grew older, the family needed money and had to ask for food and assistance for Hop’s schooling fees. He sold things on the beach during summer and went with his grandmother to sell things on the streets during winter.

Hop said, “I wanted to go to school earlier but I did not have money.”

He and his grandmother keep working hard, trying to make extra money to cover the increasing cost of living. He goes to school one day and goes to the beach to sell things the next. “I can earn about VND20,000 ($1.05) per day, but some days, I can't sell anything,” says Hop.

Hop’s school rests 2 kilometres away from his house and without a bike, he must make the walk to attend school. “My classmates are very lucky. Their parents take them to school and pick them up everyday and buy treats for them. I envy them, they all have very nice clothes and I haven't had any new clothing in the last 2 years because my grandmother does not have the money.”

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