Vietnam

Our work with school-aged children focuses on education, increasing their rights and keeping them safe. In 2015, 120 educators received training in child-centered classrooms, language development, disabilities and stigma, and 372 teachers were trained in experiential learning, which lets children take an active role in their education. We also helped set up 10 child advisory boards — with 150 student participants — so their voices could be heard in the management of their schools. Thousands of children were given notebooks and other educational resources, and more than 20,000 parents, children and other community members attended workshops on children’s rights, child abuse and injury prevention. ChildFund Vietnam and our local partners continue to make sure children’s voices are heard at local, regional and national levels.

Youth in Vietnam participate in vocational and life skills training programs supported by ChildFund, helping them find good jobs as they finish school. In 2015, these programs centered on animal husbandry, book-keeping and household economy management. We also work with youth to help them make good decisions regarding their lives and their health, and prepare to shape their communities’ future.

In the past 20 years, Vietnam has seen great advances in the number of children enrolled in school, even in the poorest communities. ChildFund’s work, too, has evolved from providing basic school infrastructure to partnering with community members, families and children to make sure their voices are included in the management of schools. We work with local education officials and policy makers to promote education based on children’s rights, experiential learning and child-centered teaching methods.

Our Child Rights and Child Protection program is helping develop the capacity of our local partners and increase the voice and agency of children through clubs, campaigns and a national children’s forum. Teachers and other educational staff members in Vietnam’s poorest school districts receive training in helping students develop cognitive skills, literacy and other academic needs, and some educators are learning about school auditing, to make sure schools continue to improve.

Making sure that children have continuous access to education is a vital part of interrupting the cycle of poverty. Although considerable progress has been made in school enrollment in recent years, students in isolated rural regions have larger challenges, including child labor and higher dropout rates in secondary school.