I had an interesting talk with a Vietnamese friend. I asked her why she thought so many of the parents of the children we help are illiterate. She told me even though there were some teachers who were brave enough to continue to teach through the war, many children weren't brave enough to go to school.
She told me she had always had a rebellious spirit and loved school so she was determined to go every day even though bombs were dropped near her often. She wore a military helmet to protect her head and a heavy jacket to protect her body on the way to school and back.
Her older siblings all left school and went to work. She too was asked by her family to leave school and work, but she loved school so much that she went to school and then to work.
She also told me that many families had years when they were on the move the whole time trying to avoid the fighting and to try and make a living. Many families needed all their children to work too, to try and make ends meet during this period of time.
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