Chi Thi Elementary School

Yen Cuong – Bac Me – Ha Giang – Vietnam

Ha Giang province is located in the northernmost part of Vietnam with 90% of the population are ethnic minorities (Hmong, Tay, Dzao, Kinh, and Nung). More than 88% of people live in rural areas. Ha Giang is poor in both its economy and infrastructure. The day-to-day struggles of the people include growing rice and corn for their families and to sell at local markets. Chi Thi Elementary School is located high and deep in the mountain.

The path to the school requires cutting through the mountainside on a motorbike, traveling on a very rocky and bumpy road that stretches 45 miles long.

There are 67 students in total at the school, in which 27 are in kindergarten, 12 children are in first grade, 13 children are in second grade and 27 children are in third grade.

Lotus School Foundation has committed to sponsoring 100% of the reconstruction effort for a new school. The school is in the process of working with the local government to apply for the building permit. We are projecting to break ground on this project by mid-November of 2018.

Our Project Supervisor, Mr. Dam inspected the school on October 15, 2018. Below are pictures highlighting the existing poor conditions of the school.

Your generous support and donations will help LSF carry out our mission of building a new school to help provide a safe learning environment to benefit hundreds or even thousands of children for years to come.

01/20/2019

RAIN! RAIN! RAIN! And more RAIN!

During this time of the year, the mountainous communities are often affected by severe rainstorms and this year is no exception. It has been raining continuously in the last couple of months, which causes the road to become dangerously slippery and very difficult to travel on. Our builder was able to transport the building supplies and materials to the site last month, but they have been waiting for the rain to stop and the road to dry up in order to transport cement to the school site. Our construction team is on standby and is ready to build anytime once the weather improves.

It requires at least 3-4 days for the road to dry once it stops raining. However, the pattern has been that it would stop raining for only 2-3 days and then rained again. From the video, we can see the extreme hardship the villagers endure in these mountainous areas during the harsh winter months, and many children have to walk in this condition to go to school.

New School – Grand Opening

March 2, 2019

It was with great happiness for the Lotus School Foundation team to attend the Grand Opening of the new Chi Thi Preschool & Elementary School on March 02, 2019. We were extremely happy and grateful to see the newly completed school, as it was one of our most challenging projects to build. The area was constantly plagued with heavy rain during the winter season and the roads were very rocky and dangerous to transport building materials. It took the construction team three attempts to successfully transport cement to the site.

Traveling to the new schools for the grand opening, our team was able to directly witness extreme struggle and hardship that the students and teachers endure every day just to go to school in these rural mountainous areas. It took our team more than 2 hours traveling up the mountain on motorbikes, but we had to walk through many parts of the terrain. It took another 2 hours to go down to an area where it was safer for us to travel by car down the mountain. Although the paths are extremely challenging and often dangerous, the spirits of the teachers and students are very strong and their desire to learn and be educated is undeterred. After going through this experience, we have gained a greater appreciation for the teachers and greater love for the children in these rural mountainous areas.

This is only possible due to your generous support and donations. We extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who has supported our projects. A special THANK YOU is extended to Mrs. Do Thi Hau for generously sponsoring this school.

In addition, we would like to thank our local field partner, Quy Xay Truong Vung Cao for donating the classroom furniture.

Through your compassion and support, children in these rural, poverty-stricken areas will now have an opportunity to develop their skills and look forward to a better future.

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