Project gives disadvantaged children the opportunity to take the stage
Through the Children’s Voice project, underprivileged children in Ha Noi and HCMCity are seeing theatrical performances for the first time and even taking part in them. Vu Thu Huong gives them the spotlight.
When the Youth Theatre’s magician stepped into the classroom, a sea of wide-eyed children stared at him, mesmerised by the strange appearance of this figure in the long black cape.
The 156 street children living at the May 19 Orphanage had never seen a magician or any kind of theatrical performance before, and, if not for the Children’s Voice project, they probably never would have had the chance.
Aiming to call attention to the rights, wishes and needs of disadvantaged children throughout the country, the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (SIDA) has joined forces with theatre troupes in Viet Nam, China and Laos to offer theatrical performances for disadvantaged children, starting in February.
In its first three months of operation, the programme has already given many underprivileged children nationwide a welcomed respite from the anxieties of their daily lives, according to Dang Thi Phuong Thuy, director of the May 19 Orphanage and chairwoman of Ba Dinh District’s Committee for Population, Family and Children.
"Almost all of the children living in my centre have been orphans since birth or since they were very young," she said. "Worse, some of them still live with their families but have fathers who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. They are forced to go home at the end of each day and give their earnings to their drunk fathers. So going to the theatre is beyond their wildest dreams."
The performance at the orphanage was courtesy of Ha Noi’s Youth Theatre, which already has carried out nine performances at schools for disadvantaged children in the capital. In HCM City, the Small-Stage Theatre 5B Vo Van Tan and the Drama Theatre have also been entertaining schoolchildren.
"The performances have all gone off with flying colours," said Truong Nhuan, vice director of the Youth Theatre.
Sixth-grader Nguyen Thi Nga agrees. After class, she usually sells goods like chewing gum to support herself, so the chance to spend the afternoon seeing beautiful actresses with her own eyes was "like a dream".
"Normally, the only place I can see them is on TV," Nga said.
The children aren’t the only ones benefiting from the shows: the performers say they have been deeply moved by the love and gratitude they have received from their young audience members.
"It’s so natural to love and sympathise with these poor kids," said Nguyen Thu Nga, an actress of the Youth Theatre. "Although performing in the theatre for normal schoolchildren and their parents is a lot of fun, I often find I’m more inspired when performing for disadvantaged kids. I hope to do more to provide unlucky kids with the opportunity to laugh like any other children."
According to Ngo Thi Phuong Dung, the programme officer of the Embassy of Sweden and supervisor of the project in Viet Nam, the theatres’ enthusiasm is especially impressive because they have yet to receive their funding from the Children’s Voice project, amounting to about VND2 billion (US$125,000) for each.
The Youth Theatre has been preparing a variety of dramatic performances, including singing, dancing and even pantomiming.
"The young audiences are very different; therefore, we divided our performers into teams so that we can tailor performances to the audience’s needs," Thu Nga said. "For instance, when we performed at the Xa Dan School for the Deaf, we had to change our show from singing to miming."
By doing so, the troupe can cater to a diversity of audiences, thus far including SOS Children’s Village, Xa Dan Secondary School, Hoa Sua Vocational School, Bo De Primary School and the May 19 Orphanage.
In the first year of the project, the Youth Theatre plans to stage about 100 free performances for disabled and street children. It will extend its targets to school-aged children living in rural and remote areas outside of Ha Noi in the second phase of the project.
According to Nguyen Van Ky, headmaster of Bo De Primary School in Long Bien District of Ha Noi, these children may be the ones who have the least opportunity to take part in theatre activities. In a thank-you letter to the Youth Theatre, he wrote that his students’ parents rarely paid any attention to providing their children with artistic education or extracurricular activities because they were all low-income farmers. He stated that it would take the school almost three years to save the money to take their students all the way to the Youth Theatre for a performance.
As the project develops, the groups plan to shift the focus of the performances to encourage children’s participation in theatre activities. In addition, new shows will emphasise educating children on issues like human rights, gender equality and environmental responsibilities.
Rather than just bringing an hour or two of entertainment to children, the project has loftier aims, like giving children the opportunity to learn life lessons and explore their own abilities.
