PROJECT-SUPPORT VIETNAM

Association LittleBigDreams, Hamburg, Germany

Country / Place

Vietnam, Kon Tum

Vietnam is an elongated coastal state in Southeast Asia. It borders China, Laos, Cambodia, the Gulf of Thailand, and the South China Sea. To the north and south are two fertile rice-producing river deltas, with a narrow, rather barren area characterised by forests and mountains in between. In total, three quarters of Vietnam is covered by mountains and plateaus.

Vietnam has an estimated 100 million inhabitants. The majority of them live in the densely populated areas of the Red River and Mekong estuaries, or in the urban regions of the large cities. Hanoi became the capital of reunified Vietnam in 1976. The largest city by population and the economic centre of the country is Ho Chi Minh City.

The city of Kon Tum is the capital of the Kon Tum province of the same name. The town is located in the central highlands near the border with Laos and Cambodia.

General

LittleBigDreams is a non-profit organisation that supports children and young people in Vietnam. The organisation does this by strengthening local initiatives in the development of structures that support children and young people in need on their path to growth and education.

Implementation: Joint construction of an orphanage with personal commitment, expertise, practical project support, and initial funding. The orphanage is located in a suburb of Kon Tum city. It is surrounded by a large garden full of banana trees and various types of vegetables, a beautiful rice field and enclosures with free-range chickens and ducks.

Beneficiaries

The Vietnamese woman Teresa is the director and the heart of the orphanage. Together with her husband Thin, she runs the house and gives the children a home, structure, and trust. There are currently 93 children from the age of two living at the home. Most of the girls and boys go to primary school, 32 are in middle school, 13 attend secondary school, and five are already in university.

Many of the children belong to the Montagnard ethnic minority. The Montagnard’s, which means ‘people of the mountain’ in French, are indigenous peoples of the central highlands of Vietnam. They live mainly from agriculture (rice cultivation), traditionally practising shifting cultivation. In this region, the people struggle daily against extreme poverty.  

Project-support

Project: Construction of a new education centre

The children currently do their homework in an old, half-open classroom on the ground. There is not enough space and no protection from bad weather conditions. In a new education centre, the boys and girls can do their schoolwork in peace and quiet, protected from the rain and sun, prepare for school lessons/university with the help of books and computer programmes, and continue their education independently. The building will contain the following rooms:

Library:
Young people can study and learn in this room. There will also be a group table where the children can do their homework together.
Computer room:
A computer room enables everyone to do research for school. Here they can also use English programmes that have been specially developed for Vietnamese pupils in order to obtain language certificates.
Kindergarten room:
The third room is to be used as a kindergarten for the little ones. The plan is to set up a picture book corner and purchase toys that have a positive influence on early childhood development.
Study room:
The fourth room is primarily used for English lessons, schoolwork or for learning together.