The students that attend 15 May School come from economically disadvanaged areas throughout Ho Chi Minh City and its surrounds. Due to the school's affiliation with the People's Committee of District 1, a high-majority of our students reside in the local area.

Alternatively, the students residing at the school are brought to 15 May by the government, the police, tourists and even the children's families under very difficult circumstances; stories of abandonment, abuse and neglect are common. Some have been abandoned by their parents, or have lost their parents to drug addiction or arrest for drug-related offences. Others may come from a single-parent background where the pressure on the parent to work and provide food for their family leaves no time to care for the children. In these cases we provide food, clothing, shelter and education for the children.

The children range in age from 6 - 18 years of age.