Being brought up by parents who have money and receiving a good education system in Hanoi, Vietnam, I never fully understood that there is still poverty in some schools in Vietnam until my father’s company built schools in a mountainous region discovered more about those projects.

Because of the lack of the Vietnamese national budget, numerous Vietnamese schools are still in poor condition, so that many non-profit organizations and companies have given these schools supplies to support the students’ learning. Some schools may even lack basic facilities like proper toilets.

So, what is the real situation about Vietnamese schools’ condition, and why should we give schools supplies?

The Real Situation In Rural Vietnamese Schools.

My father’s project was about six years ago when school-related projects were less popular, and people tended to have projects for hospitals and other buildings. At the time of his project, it helped me to re-think the problems of the Vietnamese education system:

While Vietnam has plenty of private schools with abundant facilities, various schools in the poor areas are in bad condition. In some extreme cases, the school facilities are so bad the students can not even go to school.

In years past, Project Sprouts has helped to build several toilets in some rural schools. We raised funds to build the toilets as some of the areas we were working in did not have proper sanitation facilities for the students.

In fact, many schools do not have enough money to maintain and improve the facilities, and plenty of students cannot afford the tuition fee in Vietnam, especially in mountainous religions and midlands. People in these regions usually have low incomes, which means they cannot provide their children with good education when they are busy making money, such as working out in their fields.

The image of a class of ten students sitting on broken tables and chairs in a classroom with no air conditioner is all too common to people in poor areas.

Unlike cities’ schools, schools usually have only one or two classrooms with a chalkboard and some old tables and chairs. On the hottest days of the summer, students have to study without fans or air conditioners, as sometimes the electricity may not even work.

Many people then will ask: Why does the government not support these schools?

However, things are not easy; the government does not have enough money to give all of the schools in our country supplies and cannot provide all the children with a chance to go to school. There are thousands of poverty-related problems in Vietnam. The government has to tackle other problems before solving education as it is not an urgent issue.

Moreover, poverty in Vietnamese schools is about the lack of money and the lack of knowledge. Due to some old culture, in numerous regions in Vietnam, people still believe that there is no need for children to go to schools – especially the daughter. They believe the daughter should stay home and help their parents make money or take care of younger siblings.

As a result, many kids in poor areas do not have a chance to study at school.

It is understandable why people believe this when they struggle with surviving every day for what they can eat or how they can live or how they can keep warm in the cold weather.

Their attention is not on education for these parents, as they do not even have enough money to eat and live; how can they even pay for their children’s studying?

Why Project Sprouts Give Schools Supplies?

There are many reasons why Project Sprouts give school supplies to these rural Vietnamese schools.

First, to help the schools and support the students in the poor areas. In many poor areas, schools need to have some support. So we help them with some basic school supplies.

Second, to help develop Vietnam. When students can receive a good education, they will have stable jobs and salaries, which means they can contribute to Vietnam as viable citizens. Their kids can also study in a better condition and this will help the government to improve the academic standard of our country.

Third, to help encourage education. Education plays an important role in developing a country and also all the world, it can help everyone to escape from needy and change the future of us.

“Make me the the master of education, and I will undertake to change the world.”

Gottfried Leibniz

We believe in education, so one of our main focuses is showing the students in these poor areas that education is important.

Project Sprouts is a grassroots initiative to help schools, students, and communities in Vietnam. We work a lot in the Hmong communities in North Vietnam. All our proceeds go to help those in need. Would you please help us by giving to our cause so we can help those in need? You can give by clicking here.

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