New playgrounds bring fun-filled summer to mountainous kids in Quang Tri

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Children in Huong Hoa district (Quang Tri province) have a joyful summer thanks to the newly-built playgrounds in their locality. Source: MCNV

The two playgrounds are located in Hoong village (Huong Linh commune) and Moi village (Huong Son commune) in Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province, with vivid decoration designed for kids of age 5-12.

The playground equipments were manufactured by a mechanic workshop nearby Dong Ha city in half a month before the installment.

Since August 2018, totally nine playgrounds have been constructed for kids in Huong Hoa district by the Medical Committee Netherlands-Vietnam (MCNV), of which eight were sponsored by Suus van Hekken fund and one was funded by Hoi An Roastery. The total value of the nine playgrounds was EUR 5,500 (over USD 6.300).

In the last two years, around 1,000 children of ethnic minority have accessed to the infrastructure.

In the border district of Huong Hoa, recreation facilities for children are considered luxury in most villages. Instead of spending leisure time in playgrounds, kids of ethnic minorities have to play in unsafe or unhygienic environment like roadsides, stream banks or home yard where poultry, cattles are raised.

The playgrounds were provided as part of the project titled Supporting Ethnic Minority Adolescent Girls (known as Ethnic Minority Community Development since 2019).

Kick started in 2017 by MCNV, the project aims at tackling serious problems faced by adolescent girls aged 12-19, including school dropout, unwanted pregnancy, early marriage, and unemployment. During the intervention process, MCNV realized that younger children in these communities could not access to playgrounds, a very basic need.

Ethnic minorities children don't have to play in unsafe or unhygienic environment like roadsides, stream banks or home yard anymore.

Founded on November 18, 1968 by a team of dedicated Dutch doctors, MCNV’s initial mission was to deliver the aid from the Netherlands to Vietnam to support the country’s resistant war. Most of the sponsorship was made through medical supplies, hospital building, the prevention of tuberculosis, malaria, etc.

In later years, MCNV has diversified its fields of operation, joining hands with Vietnam in the cause of development, with various projects in livelihood improvement, gender equality, rehabilitation, response to climate change, etc.

In 2018, MCNV marked its memorable 50th birthday with the fourth time receiving the Friendship Order of the State President to acknowledge the organization’s contribution to Vietnam in half a century.

Quang Tri is MCNV’s key beneficiary locality, where the organization started its supports for Vietnam in 1968./.

From bare ground to playground (before and after)

Since August 2018, totally nine playgrounds have been constructed for kids in Huong Hoa district by MCNV.

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