On February 2, 2023 in Dong Loi commune, Son Duong district, Son Duong district People's Committee (Tuyen Quang province) and GNI held the inauguration ceremony of Dong Loi Secondary School library.

"More reading spaces for Vietnamese children" is one of the important goals set by Good Neighbors Vietnam (GNI) in 2023 and the following years, shared by Park Dong Chul, GNI Chief Representative with Thoi Dai Magazine.

In July 2023, the project of Learning Center - Community Library in Phuc Tien Commune with a total estimated cost of VND 13.2 billion (USD 555.000) funded by Korea Kookmin Bank and GNI will be started construction on a land area of 17,500m2 in Phuc Tien commune, Phu Xuyen district, Hanoi, Park said.

The project consists of two functional blocks, including Community Cultural Center and Community Library serving children and local people. This is a cluster of works designed based on the metaphorical image of the Vietnamese village communal house - where the cultural features of the community are kept to help create continuous open and closed spaces.

Image of the design of the Learning Center - Community Library in Phuc Tien commune, Phu Xuyen district, Hanoi.

The whole building consists of two two-story blocks located on one axis. Front block, both floors are used for library needs; The block behind the first floor is used for physical activities, and the second floor is used as a multi-purpose space. The two blocks are about 5m apart and connected to each other through a bridge. This connection not only ensures independence but also satisfies the need for interconnection between functions in a complete whole.

Park Dong Chul, GNI Chief Representative. GNI is an international non-governmental humanitarian organization established in the Republic of Korea (RoK) in 1991. It currently operates in 48 countries around the world, focusing on Community Development and child protection. GNI officially operated in Vietnam on June 1, 2005, and is currently implementing Community Development projects in six cities/provinces namely Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, as well as Hoa by Binh, Tuyen Quang, Thanh Hoa, and Ha Giang provinces.

Along with the above project, in the last six months of 2023, GNI will implement a plan to support the construction of four libraries/community activity centers in Hanoi, Hoa Binh, Tuyen Quang and Ha Giang provinces as well as promote activities on education and child protection.

Over the past 18 years, GNI has been sponsoring more than 17,000 children, including nearly 3,000 children with special circumstances. All sponsored children will be able to participate in activities such as annual health checks, nutritional support, annual gift-giving, and development progress updates.

To ensure the enforcement of children's rights, GNI implements rights education programs such as raising awareness of children's rights, improving children's self-protection capacity, and puppet theater to prevent child abuse. The programs have attracted the participation of more than 90,000 students/parents, Park continued.

In the field of Public Health, GNI offers the opportunity to increase stable and sustainable income for households through the establishment of cooperatives and livelihood groups. Currently, GNI is supporting seven cooperatives, and 63 livelihood groups with thousands of participating households. With accumulated revolving capital of up to VND 25.8 billion (USD 1 million), households can borrow capital to develop production and improve income.

The organization also contributes to improving access to healthcare services for more than 16,000 people. More than 30,000 people have benefited from activities to support water improvement; over 7,000 people benefit from sanitation improvement activities. In particular, the three-year "Green Eco Light" project from 2019 to 2022 with the goal of improving environmental sanitation has been implemented by GNI in Mai Chau district.

Within the framework of the project, GNI has supported the renovation of one waste treatment plant; two collection trucks and nearly 300 garbage containers; and built two playgrounds from recycled materials, Park added.

Park Dong Chul, GNI Chief Representative interacts with students in Quang Binh district, Ha Giang province.

With the implementation of humanitarian aid activities as well as disaster relief, GNI has been making efforts to contribute to ensuring social security in Vietnam. GNI has supported 26 provinces/cities with a total value of more than USD 18 million.

According to Park, Vietnam has made many achievements in child protection work. However, issues such as labor, child marriage, violence, and child abuse are still challenges for Vietnam. The country needs to build a team of full-time staff at local levels in charge of children's work, pay attention to interdisciplinary cooperation, focus on raising awareness for the community about children's rights, and improve capacity of the self-defense for children.

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