Build a Library for Children near Khe Sanh

Dear GCSF Friends,

Global Community Service Foundation sends our best greetings. With the arrival of fresh breezes and warmer temperatures, our little friends in Khe Sanh are enjoying Springtime.

GCSF has updates to share on the progress of our library program in Khe Sanh Town and its vicinity. Over 800 children - 30% belonging to indigenous ethnicities – now have access to books, magazines, and 5 modern computers.

The students were visited by GCSF American volunteers, Kimmy and Robert, this past week. Kimmy and Robert were impressed by the energy and enthusiasm shown by all the Khe Sanh School students. After meeting students in the school library, Kimmy* couldn’t stop smiling. “The teacher commented that the students were shyer in the past. After the library was built and the school saw more visits from foreigners, the students have become more confident in themselves. Many students read aloud from their English books to us. I see how books make a world of difference in this area isolated by the mountains.”

GCSF’s 2017 mission is to extend its effort in providing books to 403 indengeous children in the nearby Huong Phung School. The mid-level public school needs a library for its boarding students. With the majority of its students coming from the poor communities of the Van Kieu and Pako tribes, the school is having difficulty in securing financial support for a library. Mr. Cong, the Principal*, is happy knowing that GCSF has helped support the Khe Sanh school library, and hopes that the organization can do the same for Huong Phung: “We are at a disadvantage living far from the city. My students do not have access to a public library like their friends in downtown Khe Sanh. We are hoping GCSF can help provide us with a school library.”

“The majority of Khe Sanh school students come from the Van Kieu and Pako tribes. Their quality of living standards are lower especially because they live in such remote areas. I now have a better appreciation for the value of books. They not only provide knowledge but serve as entertainment during the students’ free time.” - Kimmy*

Kimmy is spending six months in Central Vietnam helping GCSF with its community development projects. Working with the indigenous students is among her favorite activities. Along with her support, your kind contribution is instrumental to GCSF’s Huong Phung School Library project.

With your support, we can make this happen for the 2017-2018 School Year.

Yours sincerely,

Tam Nguyen

* No last names are used in this report

** These photographs were provided pro bono by professional photographer Robert Paetz.

We are very happy for our achievements in helping students near Khe Sanh town get access to books and computers via GCSF’s Library Program. More than 800 students, most of whom are ethnic minority children from Pako tribe and Van Kieu tribe, have benefited from our Library Program.

In 2017, GCSF Vietnam wants to extend our efforts to deliver books and computers to 403 ethnic minority students from Huong Phung Middle School. Among these students, 220 are boarding students because their families live far away from the school. In average, these students have to travel about 8 km to go to school. Many don’t even have bicycle to cover this distance. “We want the students to use their break times in a meaningful way. Having a library with interesting books and computers with internet access would be an attractive and useful leisure time opportunity. Besides, our students are from 12 to 15 [in age] and they are entering their pubic age. We want to take advantage of the library to provide sex education and reproductive health education for the students through books and websites with those topics”, shared Mr. Cong*, Principal of Huong Phung Middle School. 

For these ethnic minority students, Middle School education is important. It is instrumental in determining plans for the next stage of their life: further education or marriage. Because of traditional culture and the lower level of education, many get married by the age of 16 and do not have the opportunity to move on to High School, which provides them with the chance to be more successful in life. A library offers additional educational enrichment and a better chance to finish their secondary level of education. Once they finish Middle School, High School will welcome them with a chance for college, which can secure these tribal children with a good job. These students are considered the future generation of their own tribes, who will hopefully be the next generation of leaders fort their homeland if they receive adequate educational opportunities.

GCSF Vietnam would like to offer this educational opportunity to these disadvantaged children in the mountainous area near Khe Sanh, the former battlefield in Vietnam War. Your support is vital to our achievement of this goal. Together, we can give this invaluable gift to our young friends in Vietnam.

* There are no last names in this report