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Impact & Reach

Vietnam

Working in high-poverty areas, Room to Read Vietnam's Literacy Program’s library model has been replicated by other schools and welcomed by government partners. Our Girls’ Education Program spreads best practices in mentoring, builds life skills and encourages parental engagement.

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Poverty Divides Urban from Rural

One of the world’s most populous and impoverished countries, Vietnam’s long history of foreign occupation and warfare ended through 1975s unification. But the following period brought widespread poverty, economic isolation, and intense government control. More recently, Vietnam’s economy has improved, making it a lower-middle income country. However, the disparity continues to widen between the young, ambitious urban middle class and two thirds of the population who work as field laborers. Around 43 percent of the population, comprised mostly of ethnic minorities, still live in poverty on under $2 a day.

Our Work in Vietnam

The Vietnamese government’s recent educational policies closely align with our program areas, allowing us to collaborate with the government and amplify our impact. The country’s national standards require libraries for all primary schools, providing us with a great opportunity to scale our Literacy Program. We are partnering with the government so that we can implement our library model across the country. With the government’s focus on gender equality, provincial education departments and schools are also now responsible for providing life skills trainings for students, and mentoring and counseling for girls. Room to Read plans to help by expanding our Girls’ Education Program in Vietnam.

Room to Read Vietnam currently operates in government schools within Thai Nguyen, Ha Tinh, Dak Lak, Tuyen Quang, Bac Giang, Binh Dinh, Can Tho, Long An, Ho Chi Minh City, Tien Giang, Vinh Long and Tra Vinh.

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Class Divide, Large Youth Population Disadvantages Many

Vietnam’s school system faces a slew of challenges, many of them remnants of decades of war and economic hardship. The divide between the middle and lower classes profoundly affects access to quality education. With a third of Vietnam’s population under the age of 15, schools are often overwhelmed and in need of crucial resources. Rural areas lack sufficient facilities, teachers, textbooks, and other supplies. Although libraries are required in primary schools, most library rooms go unused or serve other purposes.

System Addresses Girls but Cost and Location Prohibit Access

Children outside of cities are frequently deterred from attending school due to transportation challenges and war-damaged roads. Education at the secondary and tertiary level is no longer free, and costs for textbooks, tuition and fees severely hinder the lower classes. Due to longstanding norms, families often pressure girls to work rather than remain in school. Fortunately, the government has prioritized correcting gender equality in education and is implementing policies towards change.

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Room to Read Library Model Expanding Nationwide

Since 2001 we have worked to improve Vietnam’s school libraries and in 2015 we succeeded in influencing Vietnam’s national education policy. That year we launched a new “Friendly Primary School Library Program” with the Ministry of Education. This program, which we helped plan and design, will take Room to Read’s library model and expand it across Vietnam. The Ministry of Education will be using Room to Read’s librarian training model, library period curriculum, and library establishment practices to enhance school libraries in government primary schools nationwide.

Spreading Best Practices in Mentoring

Girls in low-income communities often lack positive role models to guide them in their pursuit of education, so our social mobilizers act as mentors for our Girls’ Education Program participants. Over the years, we have built strong mentoring models, and recently the Vinh Long Department of Education asked our Vietnam team to organize two workshops to share our learnings. 150 Vinh Long teachers at non-Room to Read schools attended and learned about the role mentoring plays in girls’ development, as well as different activities for engaging and supporting their students.