Ben Tre (VNA) – A group of students from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has helped complete the construction of a new schoolyard for pupils at Tan Loi Thanh Primary School in Giong Trom district in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre.
The project was inaugurated on May 21 after beginning construction on May 12. Carried out on the site of a deteriorated old schoolyard, the 500-square-metre space was fully upgraded and resurfaced with significant involvement of the foreign students. The work is expected to significantly reduce flooding at the site during the rainy season, improving safety for more than 140 pupils and creating a better environment for their learning and play.
Phan Thanh Tre, Deputy Secretary of the provincial Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, expressed his appreciation for the social enterprise YMCA Vietnam, which helped link Singaporean students with local schools in need, especially disadvantaged satellite campuses with limited infrastructure.
Ben Tre hopes to see continued collaboration with YMCA Vietnam, allowing more international young volunteers, including those from Singapore, to work alongside local youth in future social welfare projects, he said, adding that such partnerships help strengthen friendships between young Vietnamese people and their international peers.
Kyle, a representative of the NUS student group Scrub-up, shared that the 10-day experience was a challenging period, especially under the scorching southern heat. However, he said the smiles of the children made every drop of sweat worthwhile.
He shared his hope that the modest efforts of the 19 Singaporean students would leave a lasting impact on the children as they embark on their path to knowledge.
Kyle also noted how much he and his fellow volunteers learned from local culture, cuisine, and history, and expressed a desire to return to Ben Tre in the future.
To mark the occasion, YMCA Vietnam and NUS donated 40 sets of English-language books to the school.
This was not the first such initiative to take place in the province. In March, the company worked with students from Singapore’s Ngee Ann Polytechnic and the US’s YMCAs of Greater Houston & Arlington to build another schoolyard and a shelter in Chau Thanh and Mo Cay Bac districts./
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