(VNF) - For more than two decades, Singapore International Foundation, a Singaporean non-profit organization has been contributing relentlessly to the enhancement of the two countries' people-to-people links via various projects, particularly in education and healthcare.

Vietnam-Singapore Friendship Association and SIF sign a MOU on March 23, 2017 (photo: TV)

Since 1994, the SIF has collaborated in projects with various institutional and inpidual partners in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, in the fields of healthcare, education and arts and culture. For instant, in healthcare, the SIF’s specialist Singapore International Volunteers (SIVs) have trained Vietnamese healthcare professionals to build capacity in areas such as Paediatric Cardiac Care (2011-2014), Cardiac ICU Nursing (2009-2011) and Psychosocial Skills in Palliative Care (2008-2010). This has resulted in the development of about 60 Vietnamese master trainers to benefit more than 1,500 patients annually.

Collaborations in education included enhancing Pedagogical Skills for English Teachers (2012-2015) and a mobile library project called Words on Wheels (WoW) (launched in 2011 in Hanoi and 2014 in HCM.City) which provides students better access to educational materials including books, the internet and multimedia facilities via a mobile library which visits participating schools on a rotational basis.

The inaugural edition of WoW (HCM.City) in 2014 had successfully brought the joy of reading and lifelong learning to over 3,000 students. Close to 250 SIVs had volunteered their time and resources over the course of four years which also resulted in the refurbishment of library and IT facilities of six schools.

As part of a training-of-trainers (ToT) component, Phase One also saw specialist SIVs, librarians from Singapore’s National Library Board, share library management and Information Technology (IT) skills with their Vietnamese counterparts. Both communities continued further peer learnings and sharings through a series of workshops and a study visit to Singapore. The Vietnamese trainees have since been equipped to cascade their newfound knowledge and skills by training their peers in the field.

At the same time, SIF also focused on assisting Vietnam in education for children with disabilities. One of the longest-running projects is in Special Education (2010-2018), aimed at addressing the shared challenge of educating students with perse abilities and needs. The SIF’s SIVs have thus far trained a core group of 75 special education lecturers and teachers in Vietnam to raise their capability in special education teacher training. They will in turn go on to train some 400 teachers to eventually help thousands of Vietnamese children with a spectrum of developmental needs.

Specially, in March 2017, a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) reaffirming the SIF’s longstanding friendship of 23 years with Vietnam was signed between the Vietnam-Singapore Friendship Association and SIF, on occasion of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s official visit to Vietnam.

The MOU affirmed the Vietnam-Singapore Friendship Association and SIF’s commitment to further strengthen cross-cultural understanding and people-to-people ties between Singapore and Vietnam. This will be achieved through collaborations on projects and initiatives over the next two years that engage leaders from both communities in the promotion of social innovation and entrepreneurship, arts and cultural exchange, and volunteer cooperation.

Since the signing of the MoU, Vietnam-Singapore friendship collaboration has been reinforced immensely in various fields.

For instance, in January 2018, the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) partners with Hanoi Medical University (HMU) and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) for the first time to enhance standards in haemodialysis care for over 5,000 kidney patients in the region.

The project will enable both sides to collaborate through a training-of-trainers approach. Over the next two-and-a-half years, Vietnamese participants, including a core group of master trainers, will also undergo various training workshops, leadership engagement sessions, and a study visit to Singapore.

Ms Chan Siew Mie (left, in white top), Singapore International Volunteer and Senior Nurse Manager from Tan Tock Seng Hospital, demonstrating permanent catheter dressing techniques to Vietnamese master trainers during the clinical training workshop.

In terms of educational project, recently, the Phase II of WoW was kick started in HCM.City in late March.

Under Phase Two, the mobile library will travel to seven government schools to positively impact over 7,000 Vietnamese students aged six to 15 (Grades 1-9). It will be fitted with internet-enabled laptops and tablets equipped with learning applications. In addition, five schools identified by GSL, will see their libraries and/or computer labs undergo refurbishment to create a more conducive learning environment.

Phase Two of Words on Wheels was launched on March 29 (source: infonet)

Over the next four years, approximately 120 SIVs will travel to conduct English language and IT literacy workshops at the schools. The curriculum will be specially designed to cultivate students’ interest in reading and learning, while facilitating cross-cultural exchanges. In addition, staff volunteers from the sponsor of the project, Keppel Land, have developed English lessons on green living and financial literacy with the aim to inculcate values on sustainability among the local community, particularly the youths.

The joint project also benefits the volunteers, as it makes their life more meaningful. “I had been looking to do some volunteer work, but didn’t feel I could build houses and schools, or render any medical assistance. Helping children to learn through ice-breakers and show-and-tell sessions, however, was something I felt I could handle,” said Gladys Ng, a member of SIVs, who worked for the phase 1 of WoW in HCM.City, Vietnam in 2014./.

( Phi Yen )