In Vietnam, a new school for the children of working-class families

The Association Solidarité Internationale Santé et Education (International Health and Education Outreach Association - ASISE) was created to bring together all non-commercial initiatives providing access to education, healthcare, and social support for the most disadvantaged. This type of humanitarian action in fact requires a united effort, as significant material and human resources are required in order to ensure it is well organized and secure. The association’s field of action focuses on Africa and Asia. It works directly with the people it serves, or supports NGOs chosen for their humanist values.

The project for which the Veolia Foundation was approached comes within the field of education. Families from the agricultural and disadvantaged regions of rural Vietnam are settling in Dĩ An, in the Vietnamese province of Bình Dương, to find work in the industrialised areas. In these populations, which have become urban and working-class, both parents work in factories and proper education for children is not always guaranteed. There is a lack of structures providing quality care for these young people.

The Association Solidarité Internationale Santé et Education has therefore undertaken to build a school to accommodate 350 children, aged 18 months to 5 years. The desire is to provide comprehensive education, which includes raising awareness of good practices in terms of hygiene and food, the themes of health, environmental protection, etc. The educational project is based on the right and access to knowledge, the right to health, access to responsibility and independence through a participatory and social life, and the physical and moral protection of children.

The work began in 2020 after the acquisition of the land and installation of the fence. The construction of buildings should be completed in 2022, before the equipping phase of premises. The project is ambitious, designed to address the local challenges of Dĩ An.