Hope Foundation to install toilets, clean water supply in northern mountainous schools

The foundation signed an agreement Thursday to receive sponsorship from the pharmaceutical company to carry out the "School Hygiene" project in Ha Giang’s Dong Van District.

Representatives of Hope Foundation (R) and Sanofi Vietnam sign an agreement to carry out the "School Hygiene" project at schools in Vietnam's northern highlands, April 13, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Ngo Loc

The project is part of Hope's "Schools of Sunshine" campaign, which was launched in June 2022 and which has been accompanied by Sanofi Vietnam.

After six months, the campaign has built 49 new toilets at schools in Van Ho District of Son La Province and Muong Nhe District of Dien Bien Province, both in the northern highlands, benefiting 7,000 students and teachers.

A boy runs past makeshift toilets at his school in Dien Bien Province in northern Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

The campaign this year focuses on the northernmost province of Ha Giang, one of the poorest localities in Vietnam. In Dong Van District, where 61% of families are poor, there are almost no proper toilets and no clean water supply. Many school toilets are makeshift ones or do not have separate rooms for boys and girls and their teachers. Some schools even have no toilets.

Truong Thanh Thanh, chairwoman of the Hope Foundation Management Council, said at the signing ceremony Thursday that poor toilets have been a haunting problem for generations of students in Vietnam, where toilets are considered an extra part of a building, instead of a main part.

"The 'School Hygiene' project hopes to ring a bell to remind everyone that building clean toilets is an important issue," said Thanh, "and that the work requires the long-term support of all of us."

 

 

Hope Foundation to install toilets, clean water supply in northern mountainous schools

Hope Foundation to install toilets, clean water supply in northern mountainous schools

According to UNICEF, 40% of diarrhea cases among children in Vietnam start from school hygiene problems.

Sanofi, known for innovations in its global healthcare projects, has launched campaigns aimed to lower children's deaths from diarrhea. The company has brought that initiative to Vietnam starting with building school toilets in Son La Province in 2022.

"We've seen positive results from the project, which gave children better access to essential facilities," a Sanofi Vietnam representative said.

"We've also witnessed changes in the children's habits and the community's increased awareness about how small acts can bring big differences to public health."

As many as 33% of school toilets in Vietnam do not meet hygiene standards, according to the Ministry of Education and Training.

 

 

Hope Foundation to install toilets, clean water supply in northern mountainous schools

Hope Foundation to install toilets, clean water supply in northern mountainous schools