Organization Builds Kindergarten for Mekong children

Teachers and parents as well as representatives from SCC, the local authority and Poristes Stiftung join forces in the ground-breaking ceremony for Phu Can kindergarten. Saigon Children’s Charity (SCC) and its sponsoring partners this September will put into use a new kindergarten in the Mekong Delta Province of Tra Vinh’s Phu Can Commune, enabling more local children to enjoy pre-school education.
The two-room Phu Can Kindergarten, which will be equipped with two restrooms, a fence and a large playground, broke ground on June 16, under the assistance of SCC, the Swiss-based foundation Poristes Stiftung and local authority. The decision to set up a new kindergarten came after SCC noticed the urgent need to build more classrooms for kindergarten children as classrooms in Phu Can Commune are often shared between primary schools and kindergartens and there was no room left for the kindergarten children. The new school will help more local children, most of them Khmer ethnic minority people, attend kindergarten as the current preschools could only afford 283 out of the 437 children between three and five years old. Going to kindergarten will make Khmer children well-prepared for their further education as primary school is especially difficult for children from ethnic minorities who are not familiar with the Vietnamese language or alphabet and who are unable to reach their full potential when they enter primary school. Local parents and children are excited about the new kindergarten as for them, early integration into Vietnamese society is essential for equal development and employment opportunities. Saigon Children's Charity was founded in 1992 for a specific purpose of helping disadvantaged Vietnamese children to get an education and an equitable start in life. Their aims are to help the most disadvantaged children of Vietnam to escape from poverty through education and training. Their area of operation is in the south of Vietnam, around Ho Chi Minh City, extending to the Cambodian border and down into the Mekong Delta. (www.tuoitrenews.vn Sept 8)