Representatives of teachers and students in HCM City discuss at the workshop on April 5 (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – A project is underway in Ho Chi Minh City to promote child-friendly education environment and protection for vulnerable children, aiming to help build a sustainable society.
The municipal Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs held a workshop on April 5 to share experience in the implementation of this project, which is carried out by Save the Children Vietnam and funded by the IKEA Foundation of the Netherlands.
The second phase of this project is implemented from September 2016 to August 2019 at 50 schools in the districts of Go Vap, Cu Chi, Binh Tan and Thu Duc, aiming to promote disadvantaged and immigrant children’s access to basic services like education and health care and their right to be protected in a safe and friendly environment.
The project has benefited about 55,000 children aged between 6 and 16 and 48,000 adults who are school managers, teachers, parents, child protection workers, and volunteers.
Under the project, a survey has been conducted with the involvement of 628 students, 26.4 percent of whom are from immigrant families.
Results show that 29.9 percent of the respondents said they would strive to escape from family or community violence if they faced such acts, while 28.4 percent opted to report to trustworthy adults. About 22.9 percent of the interviewees chose not to do anything, and 31.3 percent said they knew the places or persons from whom they could seek assistance when suffering from abuse or violence.
A representative of Save the Children Vietnam said the project’s findings show that it is necessary to step up educating children on their rights to raise their voice and be protected. Information about trustworthy places where children can seek help in trouble also needs to be provided for them.
The organisation also called on activities of student consultation rooms to be diversified to attract more students.
Vice Chairman of the Go Vap district People’s Committee Tran Van Tinh said the project should hold exchanges among students of different schools so that they can share their thoughts and learn from one another. He recommended providing more books on children’s rights for schools, and increasing training for teachers in this field.-VNA
VNA
