Internship with Open Hands - Birth registration for the Vietnamese

Internship with Open Hands - Birth registration for the Vietnamese

Written by: Grace Hyunjoo Lee

In remote areas of the Philippines, there are people who live in extremely 

impoverished conditions. Many of them live without being registered as lawful citizens 

of the Philippines and often do not feel the need to register their children either. 

As a result, those children do not have the opportunity to attend school or get a job. 

Without proper education or support from the government, these children grow up 

to live a life suffering from poverty like their parents. 

Since 2021, the Ecosave club members have been supporting those children 

to obtain proper citizenship in order for them to be protected by the social safety net. 

So far, 18 children have obtained citizenship in the Philippines 

with our support. 

In July 2023, I had an opportunity to work for Open Hands with 2 other members 

of the Ecosave club for 3 weeks.We launched an effort to extend the birth registration 

initiative to include babies being born in Vietnam. We learned that birth registrations 

in Vietnam are different from the Philippines, as they can be made only at the time of birth 

with records of hospital visits.

In partnership with Open Hands, by raising awareness about the issue 

using campaign boards, fliers, and communication through social media, 

we supported birth registration for 12 babies in Vietnam. 

I felt very proud to lead the process of target setting, brainstorming, planning, 

and final execution. I feel appreciated that I am able to help out others with our skills 

and resources and continue to guide them through each of their journeys. 

I hope those babies and children will benefit from our social support and get 

one step closer to achieving their dreams.