Becoming Book-Smart with Better Life Vietnam
Opening
a new book for the very first time still fills me with the same excitement and
anticipation as it did as a child. Not only do books enable children to
discover new worlds, learn about the past and the present, they also have the
power to transform lives. By sparking imaginations, stimulating critical
thinking and developing empathy, reading gives children the literacy skills
they need to succeed at school, at work, and in life. British novelist Matt
Haig captures the magnetism when writing for children, expressing that “while
their vocabulary and experiences might be smaller, their imaginations are much
wider”.
Although
teeming with aspiration and potential, the sentiment of unlocking new worlds
when reading is harder to access for those living in rural and underdeveloped
communities.
While
the reading culture is commonly rife in metropolitan areas all over the world,
rural communities are falling behind and in desperate need for books and
literacy improvement. It is globally recognized that students from urbanized
areas soar through a larger volume of books at a faster rate than those from a
rural background. In the rural communities of Vietnam, the level of literacy is
so weak that pupils are only able to read one or two books annually.
Luckily for these communities, hope is not
lost.
Founded
in 2010, Better Life Vietnam (BLV) is a non-profit foundation that works to
improve education conditions for underprivileged children and youth in Vietnam.
With the vision to help reduce the burden for poorer families in the country,
BLV has dedicated its efforts to encourage knowledge to support children in
getting the education they deserve. The organization’s main projects include
donating books libraries, scholarship programs, and English classes. In order
to solve the shortage of books and to better promote a thriving reading
culture, BLV teamed up with the Centre for Knowledge Assistance and Community
Development (CKACD), to create a project named The Books Library for Brighter
Future.
The project provides free books for underprivileged children through the
implementation of children’s libraries in Vietnamese schools. Each classroom is
equipped with a bookcase full of children’s picture books, short novels, and
textbooks, which the students are encouraged to read both at school and at
home. The students that manage to read the most are recognized and rewarded.
Workshops and writing competitions are organized within the schools to enrich
knowledge, enhance reading, and improve comprehension skills. The teams at
CKACD and BLV continuously monitor and evaluate the project’s progress in order
to identify areas of improvement and celebrate the successes.
The
CKACD, founded by Mr. Nguyen Quang Thach, has successfully built more than
10,000 bookcases for nearly 500,000 children in rural schools in Vietnam. The
two teams aim to offer book access to 15 million rural youths in Vietnam during
the course of the coming years.
“Since the classroom libraries were implemented, I have seen more students read books both at school and at home. Students are thinking outside the box, asking teachers more questions, and starting their own debate clubs, which they run themselves. I feel sad for the thousands of former students who lacked the same opportunity.”
- Duong Le Nga, former chairwoman
of Youth Pioneers Union at An Duc Secondary School
Matt
Haig was right - you either read to escape or you read to find yourself, and
the Better Life Vietnam charity aims to make that luxury possible for every
child in the country.
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