Kim Noi Boarding Primary and Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities in Mu Cang Chai District, Yen Bai has toilet rooms that were built a long time ago.
The toilets are enclosed with corrugated iron sheets that have severely deteriorated.
The corrugated iron doors are rusted and rotten, and the toilets reek of a heavy stench due to stagnant wastewater on the floor, attracting swarms of flies. Nearly 600 students depend on it for daily use.
In the same district, Ly Tu Trong Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities' boarding area has 12 toilets that were built more than 20 years ago.
During every recess, students have to line up and wait for their turn to use the toilet. The handwashing area is also damaged and degraded.
Teachers and students at Mo De Boarding School, Primary School, and Secondary School in Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai work together to clear a drain outside the school's toilet. They have to uncloge more than a dozen times a day.
Teacher Nguyen Tan Phong said that with over 1,100 students, the school's toilets are severely overloaded.
"Each toilet is used by about 100 students daily, which leads to frequent clogging," Phong said.
At Pho Xin Chai, a boarding campus for ethnic minorities of Ta Leng Primary School in Tam Duong district, Lai Chau, the sanitary facility built in 2012 is quite rudimentary, with only enough room for one person at a time.
There's no septic toilet inside, no water, and no septic tank. According to teacher Lo Thi Don, this place is used by the whole village as nearby families don't have their own sanitary facilities.
Ho Thau Primary and Secondary School's toilet in Tam Duong, Lai Chau, built in 2008 with two compartments, is seriously degraded. The school currently has 500 students, of which 150 are also living at the school. The toilet is always overloaded during recess, with students having to wait in line.
Teacher Nguyen Binh Dien said: "Using the toilet has become a nightmare for many students."
Nung Nang Primary and Secondary School's students in Lai Chau have to line up to use the toilet.
The dilapidated corrugated iron building is used by 262 boarding students. Giang Thi Ngoc Mai, a third-grade student, said: "There is a lot of trash inside, and it smells badly. I hope there will be clean and beautiful toilets so that I will no longer have to worry about going to school."
Tan Phu Nhieu School and Ban Giang Primary School's toilet in Lai Chau was built 17 years ago. Despite many renovations, the building is still degraded and often clogged, affecting the daily activities of teachers and students.
Na Hum School and Binh Lu Primary and Kindergarten School share a toilet.
This place does not have a septic system. Students and teachers have to carry water quite far away.
With the hope that children in the mountainous districts of Mu Cang Chai and Tam Duong have standard toilets to ensure their health and learning environment, Hope Foundation implements the "School Hygiene" project, accompanying probiotic brand Enterogermina.
The project expects to inaugurate 20 toilets in early September, serving 10,000 students and teachers. To join hands with Hope, click here.
