-Aide et Action, Vietnam-
Photo: Junior football players playing in summer games, Hoa Binh © Ban Van Tuan/ AEA Vietnam
WE LOVE TO PLAY!
“I’ve liked football since I was very small. Sometimes, my friends and I just played with the ball but not in a team, like I often saw on television. I wished I could play as well as the players did. And now my wish has become true. You know, I couldn’t sleep last night. I wanted it to be this morning so soon that I could go for football. I would like to give so much thanks to you for making my dream comes true” – said Xa Minh Dang, 2 grade student of Tien Phong commune, Da Bac district, Hoa Binh province, to AEA.
Photo: Xa Minh Dang, 2 grade student of Tien Phong commune, Da Bac district, Hoa Binh © Ban Van Tuan/ AEA Vietnam
Tien Phong is one of the poorest communes of the poor Da Bac district. Though Government of Vietnam has invested a large amount of budget on improving education conditions in mountainous areas, however, quality remains a matter of concern. There are no entertainements nor educational activities organized for children. At school,children do not have proper playground nor tools to play. During the break time, they just run around or play some traditional games in a muddy or very rough concrete ground. During the summer, children are on their own, hanging around in the community and having nothing to play – This will be easily exposed to many risks or accidents including drowning, traffic accidents, etc. Talk more about education/facility etc
Responding to the needs of children and giving them more joys at school and at home, AEA organised some activities for children during the summer including Mid-Autunm Festival, Awards for Best Students from Poor Families, Playground Development, Friendly Library Establishment, Summer Sports Games, Injury Prevention Training. Of all activities, Da Bac Summer Sports Games attracted the longest and most excited participations of children and parents. In cooperation with Tien Phong Commune Youth Union, the project organised football games for boys and Aerobic dance sports for girls.
“Thanks to support from donor, our poor children have a chance to enjoy themselves in a healthy way. We are so happy because children just waited the day they were gathering to practice. Some educational activities for them to participate in and prevent them from hanging around,” said one of the mother of children.
Photo: 85 children enthusiastically competing in the Games, Hoa Binh © Ban Van Tuan / AEA Vietnam
SUMMER IS AWESOME!
After 2 months training, a competition was organized for the teams. All children were gathered to cheerfully celebrate the event. The players showed all techniques, skills they had learnt and their talent they had had to the community audience. The winners equally shared their awards to others for the common spirit of solidarity.
- 85 children participated the games: 35 boys in 5 teams were competed in football and 50 girls in 10 teams performed Arobic dance sports
- Junior atheletes were trained during 2 months of summer
Through the activities, the children did not only gain the skills, good health but also built their team spirit, discipline awareness and community solidarity. The children felt more confident in interactions among each other. The activities involved the children in healthy games and distracted them from harmful, dangerous tracks that might cause injuries or bad effects.
Active participation and support from the children’s parents, local authority and social organizations were another winning of the games. It has much encouraged the children and strengthen parent-children relationship. In the future, the games will be kept a regular activity for children in the field. We believe that with continual supports from sponsors and our tireless effort, the children will have many opportunities to develop both mentally and physically, to have better chance in school as well as in life.
Photo: Exciting crowd cheering up performances © Ban Van Tuan / AEA Vietnam
Also focusing on child physical and spiritual development, a playground was setup in Chi Mat village, Tien Phong commune.
The local community people and parents were mobilised to contribute available local materials and make all possible play accessories and toys from those materials including used tires, wooden pieces, soft drink cans and bottles etc. AEA project supported labours and used tires. All the stuffs were put outdoor on the playground and painted with vibrant colours that attract children’s interest.
The activity was not just simply giving the children a simple playground but it also involved active participation and support from the children’s parents and the whole community from the beginning when building the ground, gathering materials, making toys and tools, as well as maintaining the playground for long-term use. The activity partly contributed to mobilisation of the whole community’s care of their own children’s healthy development.
The new playground serves 44 preschool children in the village.
Photo: Hand-made toys from available local materials in the making © Ban Van Tuan / AEA Vietnam