In 2000, MCNV worked for the first time in the Dak Lak province to establish a special school for children with disabilities. A great adventure that turned out very well. The school, essentially a multi-rehabilitation center, turned out to be a perfect fit with the province’s request for children with disabilities to go to school. Not only that, they could also live there and play and live together with other children. The children came from poor families and lived in more remote villages where there is nothing for children with disabilities.
The positive news spread and other provinces asked MCNV to help realise a multi-rehabilitation center. This is how three more were created. It turned out to be the solution for children who had never gone to school before. It was a starting point for them to gain a place in society. The Vietnamese provincial government sees the importance of these centers and supports them as much as possible.
2024: Special school and multi-rehabilitation center in Binh Dinh
Last year, the Hy Vong special school in Binh Dinh asked if we could help ‘transform’ the special school into a multi-rehabilitation center for children with severe sight and hearing impairment, where parents can also go for help and advice. Based on the experience and knowledge we have gained in other provinces, we can contribute to a better life for the children in Binh Dinh.
Give children the right education, in a nice place where they can play and learn!
Binh Dinh is a province on the south-central coast of Vietnam, with a population of 300,000. It is one of the provinces in Vietnam that were heavily bombarded by the US Air Force with the poisonous defoliant Agent Orange during the war. The consequences of this – misbirths and disabilities – are still visible. According to official figures, there are more than 3,000 children with disabilities in Binh Dinh.
One of the most effective approaches to reducing the impact of Agent Orange is to focus assistance on services, such as health, education and social services, that aim to improve the quality of life of children and adults with disabilities to improve.
It’s possible in Binh Dinh!
Every year, Hy Vong School receives 160 to 180 children with disabilities between the ages of six and 16 from across the province. MCNV has been supporting children, teachers and parents for several years to ensure that children learn to read and write and can play with peers. Exchanging experiences is very important for parents so that they feel less alone and can learn from each other how to deal with daily care. They also learn to deal with the stigmas that make their children’s lives more difficult. Since September last year, visually impaired and blind children have also been welcome at the school.
Taking a big step forward
Providing care and education to such a large number of children with disabilities is a difficult task for teachers, caregivers and the school director. As in other provinces in Vietnam, most children come from poor families. The circumstances in which they live leave little room to devote attention and money to health and education. In addition, the provincial government does not have sufficient resources to invest in the school. Another point of attention is the poor condition and lack of all kinds of teaching materials and equipment. In order to achieve positive results, the school wants (and must) make a significant step forward in terms of quality.
The Hy Vong school has asked MCNV to help make this step. This concerns:
- Creating specific care for the children so that they can actually follow their education;
- Improving the knowledge and skills of management and teachers to provide ‘tailor-made’ care and education to children with disabilities;
- Improving the knowledge and skills of teachers in regular schools in the areas of early detection, early intervention and inclusive education for children with disabilities;
- Cooperation and coordination between special schools and regular education in Binh Dinh so that children with disabilities can also attend regular schools.
What is needed for this?
- Learning aids, such as Braille books for blind children and visual learning aids for children with hearing and intellectual disabilities;
- Meals for the children.
- Continuing training for teachers, employees and management.
- Advanced training for teachers in regular schools in the field of dealing with children with disabilities.
- Transforming Hy Vong Special School into a multi-rehabilitation center so that more children with disabilities and their parents can receive support.
Price Waterhouse Cooper-Vietnam (PWC) has financially supported the school until 2023. There is still some money left, but it is not enough to continue the activities in 2024 and 2025. That is why we ask you to contribute to the step that the Hy Vong school wants to take.
Thank you in advance for your (extra) donation.
Warm greetings from Hanoi,
Nguyễn Thị Thanh Thủy
MCNV program coordinator and educational expert