Hoang Then Junior High
March 2018 – Due to the lack of access to safe drinking water in the northern mountainous regions, the students in Lai Chau often get sick and dehydrated. This spring, CVBF installed a commercial water filtration system and a large 2000L water tank to give hundred of students at Hoang Then Junior High School in Lai Chau the freedom to learn and play without worrying about getting sick when drinking contaminated water. We also built a space to house these units and ran a piping unit from the water well near the front school gate to bring in water. They celebrated their first glass of safe drinking water. The staff at Hoang Then school sent their greetings and heartfelt thanks to you, our CVBF supporters, for your commitment to improving the lives and health condition of hundreds of students.
December 2017 – Hoang Then Junior High school in Phong Tho, Lai Chau was built in 2005. The school didn’t have continuous source of water coming into the school. For the past 12 years, the students and staffs have struggled daily to go out to get water for washing/ cooking/ bathing. There is no water at the school. They collect rain water or go distance to get water at the small falls about 1 km or more to get water or to bath and when shortages of water there they use the muddy water streams below the hill at the back of the school. However, it is harmful water due to the pesticide/ fertilizer used by local farmers and garbage dumps. But when they desperately need water, they are forced to use it sometimes. Because the streams flow through the rice fields of the farmers and when it is time to the harvest the gains, the farmers block the flow of the streams; thus shortage of water to use.
Principal Pho has been reaching out for help drilling a water well for the school for the past 4 years. Because the school is in high altitude location, the cost of drilling a water well is very expensive (60-70 million VND) and the outcome isn’t 100% guaranteed found water. They asked the government for grant/ assistance for years. Just recently, the school got approved for partial grant (30 millions )from the government. The local businesses, people, friends, families, teachers and supporters rally up to help out 40 millions to initiate the drilling the water well. They drilled 1st, 2nd times no good result and the 3rd times they located the water(70 meters deep) near the front entrance of the school. They have to install water pipes and special pump to pump the water up and to bring the water to the back.
They were short funds building the water cement conservation/ tank and asked CVBF for help. We helped build the water well containment tank with roof cover and helped repaired/ patched up the exterior of washroom, bathroom so that the place is cleaner and safer for the children to use. The 260 children and 20 staffs are so excited to have water access at school so that they can wash their faces and hands, their clothes, wash themselves, water for cooking.
August 2017 – The power switches near the bunk beds were neither safe nor easily accessible for the children. So, we helped replace all 5 living quarters/rooms with new wiring and switch outlet. The roof top of this building is aluminum making the rooms so hot during the sunny days. It felt like a steam room when the fans aren’t on. However, many of the fans were broken. So, we had new fans installed in each room for the children.
“This young boy’s story touched my heart. He came to school with this only outfit, no second outfit for changing.
He told me that, he had only two outfits to wear. One is at home, when he goes home on the weekend. One he is wearing right now for school
😔 Broke my heart to hear that. So that evening before I left Lai Chau, I asked principal Pho to take me shopping and I returned to school that evening before I caught my bus to Ha Noi.” — Linh
The Junior High students having their first basketball tryout. In addition to the 2 basketball sets with 4 balls. we brought the students 5 soccer balls with nets, 1 set of high jump bar and mat and 1 set volleyball with net. It’s great to see them having so much fun. Maybe there will be a future Olympian in the school
In addition to the sports equipment and electrical repairs at the Hoang Then School in Lai Chau, our Foundation also brought the kids 162 books for their school library, 1000 eggs, 100 boxes of noodles, 25 sets of uniforms, 100 warm jackets, 250 honeycomb shoes, 11 First Aid Kits and nail clippers! When Linh learned that none of the children had clippers, she made sure we gave them a few to help keep their nails trimmed.
November 2016 – Last month, the principal of Hoang Then Junior High School in Lai Chau Province reached out to our Foundation to help provide food and warm winter wear for their 139 students, many of whom stay at the school because they are unable to make the daily trek of up to 20kms over the mountainous road from their home. Last week, our dedicated and passionate CVBF team- Hoang, Phuong, Viet and Ai Linh, who were all on another project for us up north, kindly accepted the task of making this long detour to reach these children to provide the urgently needed items. In this trip, our Foundation brought to the children 80 warm jackets, 50 thick blankets, 40 bed mats, 30 kg of dry fish, 30 kg of dry baby shrimp and 9 live boars for the children and staff to raise for investment, as well as treat bags and milk cartons for each of the children. We will try to return to provide more help to these children.
