Vietnam Ethnic Minority Children Live in Austere Conditions

Children growing up in the northwest region of Vietnam most often experience harsh living conditions closer to nature – rife with hunger and discomfort. The lives of them are pictured, as follows: Red Dao ethnic minority children help their mothers in the rice paddy fields at Hoang Su Phi in Ha Giang province. Mong ethnic minority children paddle a raft on Noong Lake at Phu Linh village in the Vi Xuyen district of Ha Giang province. Mong ethnic minority boy walks to school in freezing weather at Trung Hai hamlet of the Y Ty village in Bat Xat district of Lao Cai province. Pupils at Y Ty primary school dress in warm clothes donated by charities. Dao ethnic minority children wearing home-made nylon shirts to fend off cold weather. Dao girl in front of winter wood stack in the Khoang Hamlet in Sapa in Lao Cai province. Despite difficulties, children still regularly attend school. Phu La ethnic minority newborn in the poorest village of Nam Sai in Sapa district in Lao Cai province.