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.