As Infrastructure Lags Behind, Saigon's Poorest Hardest Hit by Worsening Flooding
In April this year, in the first downpour of southern Vietnam’s rainy season, the narrow rented room where Mã Thị Diệp and her children were staying in Hồ Chí Minh City was inundated by knee-high wate...
Saigon Announces Plan to Give Poor Residents Smartphones to Aid Digitization
As more municipal administrative procedures migrate online, underprivileged citizens without smart devices are often left behind.
Pandemic Pushes 80m People in Asia Into Extreme Poverty, ADB Data Shows
The global pandemic has undone decades of economic improvement in some nations.
[Photos] Inside a New School for Lao Cai Children, Built by Hanoi Architects
While some students in Saigon bemoan slow internet that hampers their distance education at home, there are communities in Vietnam’s remote areas whose only school can barely withstand the elements.
[Video] A Day in the Life of an Ordinary Schoolgirl in Saigon
What might life be like for a public school student in Saigon who hails from a less well-off family?
An Evening With the Grass-Roots Volunteer Group Helping Saigon's Homeless
The group meets at the Saigon Central Post Office in District 1 at 10:30pm. Although it is late in the evening, there are still tourists loitering around the building, one of the city's primary attrac...
Many Homes in Vietnam Lack Toilets. But Thanks to Women, That's Changing.
At daybreak, when crickets croon and Tan Xuan Commune is still awash in darkness, Chung is already awake. “We will support you in getting access to funding,” she chants several times in front of a mir...
[Photos] Inside Binh Thanh's Xóm Nước Đen by the Cau Bong Canal
In recent years, development in Saigon has exploded, giving rise to towering skyscrapers, office towers and residential complexes throughout the southern hub. But even as the city’s modernization hits...