Project No. 38 – Books for a better future
Writing books and doing good. These activities always fill my heart with happiness and joy. Reading books as well. Because books can not only expand our level of education, take us into wide worlds and inspire us to dream. Books can also change a life and thus positively influence the generation of tomorrow.
Thus while reading, I think of the children of the most remote regions of Vietnam and I get a little saddened: Most of them still have to struggle with big poverty and long, dangerous ways to school. Their school facilities often do not have enough resources to provide them with children’s books and other learning materials.
Apparently I wasn’t the only person with this thought. So Ms Vu Thi Yen from Ho Chi Minh City started the “1000 books for highland children” initiative on December 19th, 2021 for the benefit of the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung). After a professional assessment, used, well-preserved books should find their way to the children of Ha Giang Province (1st to 12th grade) for a beginning.
Since a team from the LOAN Foundation (LOAN Stiftung) is on site and knows the situation there very well, we will soon be able to find the suitable school facilities that need this support the most.
Depending on the arrival of the donated books, we plan to make two handovers: One before the Tet holidays (Asian New Year in February 2022) and the next in Autumn 2022 at the start of the new school year.
We would like to thank Ms. Vu Thi Yen for this great initiative!:) We also thank our Vietnamese team on site for the perfect coordination of this project! 🙂
We will report.
Status Dezember, 2021: On December 27th, 2021, four large boxes with a total of 500 books have been sent to Ha Giang. The books are suitable for grades 1 to 5 and have been carefully examined and packaged by Ms Vu Thi Yen. Numerous well-preserved books from private individuals, but also many vouchers from organizations, shops, authors, journalists, etc … have been donated. The joy in implementing this initiative is immense.
The first delivery is to be handed over to the primary school in Nan Xin (our Project No. 34) in mid-January 2022 at the handover ceremony of our new boarding house directly to the children and teachers. This school facility will have a small, exquisite library.
Status January, 2022: Change of plan: Due to the damp weather, our project in Nan Xin cannot be handed over as planned in January 2022. The painting work must be done in warm weather. So we decided to hand over the first shipment of books to the elementary school in Che La (our Project No. 31). There we officially handed over the new boarding house for 160 children on December 4th, 2021. This school facility is run lovingly and with full dedication. The many children will soon get great books in January, 2022. Of course we will try to send books for Nan Xin to the children at a later date. We will report.
On January 10th, 2022, we handed over 500 books to the children and teachers of Che La (Xin Man District, Ha Giang Province). Their joy was immense!:) Now the primary school is well supplied with books. Our deepest thanks to all supporters and donors.
Status March, 2022: On March 15th, 2022 I personally visited Ms Vu Thi Yen in Ho Chi Minh City. Full of enthusiasm, she showed me the new books and vouchers that her donors had sent. Once again, a large number of books have come together for the poorest children in Vietnam. Our team plans to officially hand over again 500 books to the children of Nan Xin (our Project No. 34) on May 13th, 2022 at the inauguration of our new boarding house for 160 children. We will report.
Status April, 2022: Our loyal sponsor CML Jacob-Hoeft-Stiftung supports this project with a donation of € 1,000.00. Thank you very much! 🙂
Status May, 2022: On May 13th, 2022, after the official handover of our new boarding house in Nan Xin (Project No. 34), our team handed over 500 books to the primary school students (Project No. 38 “Books for a better future”).
All these books were collected by Ms Vu Thi Yen on her own initiative in order to make reading material accessible to the poorest children in Vietnam. The kids were very happy! 
We say THANK YOU to Ms Vu Thi Yen and to all donors who have contributed to this great success!:)
Status September, 2022: At the beginning of September, 2022, Isabelle Müller and her Vietnamese volunteer team visited the school facilities in Che La, Nan Xin, Xuan Minh and Minh Son. The small “libraries” in Che La and Nan Xin were examined after the previous handovers and two new handovers of each 500 books were made to Minh Son and Xuan Minh. The joy of the students and the teachers was huge.
Status December, 2022: On Dezember 6th, 2022, during the awarding of scholarships – I (Isabelle Müller) also handed over a selection of donated books collected by Ms Yen Vu to the children of Thang Mo. The joy was great!:)
Status June, 2023: On June 1st, 2023, Mrs Truong My Hoa, (Former Vice President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and President of Vu A Dinh Scholarship Fund) and her delegation visited together with me (Isabelle Müller) and my Vietnamese volunteer team the primary school of Chim Van commune in Son La province (Project No. 39, construction of a boarding house). On June 3rd, 2023 me and my team also visited the kindergarten and the elementary school of Na Tong commune in the province of Dien Bien (Project No. 40, construction of classrooms for both schools).
As part of the two handover ceremonies, each school facility also received donated children’s books, which we handed over directly to the children. Ms Vu Thi Yen, Mrs Binh Do Thanh and many of their supporters, whom we would like to thank deeply, carefully ensured that a wide selection of age-appropriate books could be collected. The joy of the students and the teachers was huge!:)
Status August, 2023: During my next visit to the province of Tuyen Quang at the beginning of September, 2023, children’s books, school books and notebooks as well as pens are already being collected by Ms Vu Thi Yen. Once there, I will handover these donations directly to the children during the handover ceremony of the kitchen.
Status September, 2023: On September 6th, 2023, just in time for the new school year 2023-2024, the official handover of the new kitchen took place in Sinh Long with our German and Vietnamese team. We handed over to the children hundreds of children’s books, learning materials, paper, pens and notebooks as part of our Project No. 38 (“Books for a better future”), which were collected and donated by Ms. Yen Vu and friends. The joy and gratitude were great!:) We wish the children, the teachers and Sinh Long commune much success for the future!:)
Status September, 2024: On September 9th and 10th, 2024, I (Isabelle Müller) and my Vietnamese Team planned to hand over 700 books, pens, paper pads and knitted items for the children of Na Hang (Tuyen Quang Province). We had prepared everything accordingly and the visits to the school facilities were scheduled.
Unfortunately, Typhoon Yagi affected our plans. We reached Tuyen Quang City at noon on September 9th, 2024, but severe flooding hit Na Hang commune and the surrounding area. Due to further dangers (impending floods, stormy winds, landslides, etc…) we gave up our plans for the first time in 8 years. The donated books and materials were left in Tuyen Quang City. They will be handed over to the school facilities at a later date.
September 17th, 2024: The relevant authorities in Na Hang handed over all donations (700 books, pens, paper pads and knitted items) to the children and their teachers. The joy was immense, especially after the damages left by Typhoon Yagi in this region.
On September 27th, 2024 the official handover of our Project No. 44 in Thang Mo (Construction of a new boarding house Ha Giang province) took place. At this occasion, we handed over 321 new books to the children. They now have age-appropriate reading material and can continue their education and/or relax with a good book during their time at the boarding house. The joy and gratitude were great!:) We wish the children, the teachers and Thang Mo commune much success for the future!:)
