The Dong Tam commune in the Lac Thuy district of Hoa Binh province is located 80km from the center of Hanoi, which takes 2 hours by car to reach the destination. The terrain of Dong Tam commune mainly consists of hills and valleys, resulting in slow and difficult economic development, where people earn their primary income from small-scale agricultural jobs.
The Dong Tam School is located deep in a valley that is placed 10km from the center of the commune and is significantly worn out. Thus, it is very difficult to reach to the school, taking about 30 minutes to arrive. Overall, the school has 117 pupils of primary and lower secondary education in 2 villages that hold the highest poverty rate in the commune.
This year, the school caught the attention of the Vietnam Party Committee, resulting in local authorities contributing investments through resources such as i signs, classrooms, operators, toilets etc… However, there are still a few items that the school lacks in order to truly create an educational environment that encourages growth. Despite the investment, pupils and teachers alike have to use old resources dated back from the 90s such as tables, chairs, and writing boards that can sometimes result in a boring or stuffy learning environment.
Through understanding the difficulties and resource shortcomings the school faces, we at the SEN Charity along with our mission of “Sharing Love – Connecting the Community” came and tried to support the school and students by gifting numerous learning materials and tools before the start of the new school year of 2020-2021. This was officiated on September 4th, 2020, when representatives of the SEN Charity presented 21 sets of tables and chairs, 117 sets of school supplies, 117 confectionery sets to the Vice Chairman of the commune, representatives of departments and unions, including the President of the Veterans Association, the President of Dong Tam Commune Women’s Union, the School Board and all teachers.
Through seeing the classroom seemingly become more spacious with new furniture and school supplies alongside the faces and gazes of joy from the teachers and students, we felt moved to continue doing such charity work. It created an air of confidence to our belief of continuing our mission. We at the SEN Charity wish the teachers and students of Dong Tam School a successful new school year.
Translator: Tricia
