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project vietnam

a new primary school

With the help of Global Community Service Foundation, Global Playground’s new partner in Vietnam, fundraising has begun for a planned four-room primary school in the central mountain village Khe Sanh in Quang Tri province, Vietnam.

Global Community Service Foundation is an NGO incorporated in both the United States and Vietnam that “works to eradicate poverty in Southeast Asia by implementing sustainable, community-based programs that focus on improving access to health care, education, and income-generation activities.”

The cost of the school will be $46,368 which will include: four classrooms, a toilet, and 72 desks and chairs. The local community will contribute land and materials for the school.

The future Khe Sanh primary school is located about two hours from the former imperial central Vietnamese city of Hue and is nestled in the mountains between neighboring Laos and the Gulf of Tonkin. Through the Department of Education and Training of Huong Hoa District, the school will serve approximately 140 first through fifth graders and 8 teachers, and is expected to grow.

The ethnic minority Pako and Van Kieu children in Khe Sanh who will benefit from the new school currently study in two separate shifts each day in a flood-prone school on the edge of an erosive riverbank with cracked walls and broken chairs and tables. Every year at least one major flash flood damages homes in the area and prevents students from attending classes because the school is inaccessible. Additionally, flooding poses major health risks through the contamination of water supplies and the spread of water-borne diseases. The new school will be built on higher ground and will provide a safe and suitable learning environment for the children of Khe Sanh.

Learn more about Global Community Service Foundation...

the state of education

Although Vietnam boasts primary enrollment and literacy rates above 90% for both boys and girls, the ethnic minorities that predominantly live in more isolated mountainous areas do not share these same educational successes. Lack of access to schools and quality education, coupled with poverty that can tempt parents to keep children home to help generate income instead of allowing them to attend school, has resulted in achievement gaps between the Vietnamese and ethnic minorities.

The Pako and Van Kieu ethnic groups in the area deal with four distinct challenges: (1) the annual floods that destroy houses and force closure of the school; (2) poverty, as many families live on $15 a month; (3) unexploded landmines from the Vietnam War that continue to maimand kill villagers plowing fields or children at play; and (4) the remnants of Agent Orange which have resulted in a whole host of health problems.

The new primary school in Khe Sanh – a famous area known for its battleground during the Vietnam War – will help reduce these challenges. Building on higher ground will help prevent flooding and reduce the associated health risks. The new school will provide education to help reverse the local cycle of poverty, provide safe places to learn and play, and add to Global Playground’s worldwide network of schools where onsite Teaching Fellows will continue to facilitate global cross-cultural dialogue.