What do we do ?

Ba Vi Trip - My Experience

After travelling through Southeast Asia for six months, I crossed paths with different education-focused charities helping children in rural areas. There was something about Better Life Vietnam’s Books for Library project that grabbed my attention, as it aims to provide access to something I truly believe should be accessible for everybody today – books. The idea behind the ongoing project is to provide books for 15 million children in Vietnamese rural areas through the East Asian charity. 

Later, I learnt about BLV’s Scholarship Program and was more than happy to help the Vietnamese social enterprise, by documenting their work with underprivileged children. This got me into Ba Vi, armed with a loaded camera and a curiosity to meet with children who were at the top of the class in their rural schools. 

That is how I met Le Khanh Duong and Nguyen Ngoc Anh. They were 14 and 12 years old and both among the top students. They were not only students, but they also worked hard in crop fields, to help their parents provide for their families. 

I met them at their school, greeted their classmates and headed back to their houses, where they introduced me to their families. They couldn’t speak English and my Vietnamese was far from the point where I could express anything other than saying “Thank you” or “Hello”. Despite this, we were able to have a great talk. 

While experiencing this program first hand, I was able to see how valuable BLV’s teaching techniques were, on improving the students’ comprehension and ability to learn. The children were all strong, bright and above all, they showed perseverance in overcoming hardship and challenges in their everyday lives. 

I hope that the videos we filmed will encourage volunteers and sponsors from all around the globe to learn more about these exceptional young people and provide further support through our educational charity.

 

 

Petra Zivic- Serbian Journalist


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