US Former first lady Michelle Obama urges Vietnam girls to stay in school

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	Michelle Obama reveals she will visit Vietnam this December to promote girl’s education
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The promotion of girls' schooling has been the cornerstone of Obama's charitable work since her husband Barack Obama left office in 2017 after two terms as US president.

"When you educate a girl you give them power and a voice and an opportunity to improve their lives and the lives of their family and the lives of their community," Obama said at Can Giuoc high school in southern Long An province in the Mekong Delta.

Accompanied by Roberts and Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former US president George W Bush, Obama encouraged the girls to stay the course of schooling.

"I want you all to stay committed and focused, it will get tough at times - it already has for some of you - but it is well worth it," she said, before the women sat and chatted with students.

"Even if your families don't understand that today, trust me they will, when you go off to college or start your businesses," she added.

With its booming youth population and fast-growing economy, Vietnam routinely outperforms its neighbours in education rankings, especially in math and sciences.

School enrolment rates are also high at 91.7 per cent, but the quality of schooling often drops off in rural areas, and in the poorest pockets of the country economic pressures can force girls out of school early.

Student Truong Thi Hai Yen said Obama's visit - and life story - was a major motivation.

"She kept trying every day to be better and now we can see that she is very successful," the 16-year-old told AFP.

In her best-selling book "Becoming", Harvard-educated Obama details how her own education and good teachers shaped her life and paved her path to becoming a successful lawyer, university administrator and advocate.

The Obamas have dedicated much of their post-presidency time to the non-profit Obama Foundation, which includes the Girls Opportunity Alliance initiative that Michelle promoted in Vietnam on Monday.

Obama was joined in Vietnam by the daughter of former US president George W. Bush, Jenna Bush Hager

The former first lady announced last week a US$500,000 donation to the Alliance's work world-wide, money earned from merchandise sales related to her book.

She will travel next to Malaysia with Barack and Roberts to speak at an Obama Foundation Leaders event on Tuesday.

Former first lady Michelle Obama and actress Julia Roberts meet Vietnamese students in Can Giuoc district, Long An province, Vietnam on Monday. Obama and Roberts are in Vietnam to promote girls' education, ahead of their visit to Malaysia for the Obama Foundation's Leaders: Asia-Pacific conference

The former first lady hugs a student in Vietnam today ahead of her visit to Malaysia

Roberts and Obama meet girls at the high school on Monday. Tomorrow they will begin a four day conference in the Malaysian capital where Roberts and Obama will 'share reflections about their trip to Vietnam, as well as lessons from their own leadership journeys and their path-breaking careers'

Obama speaks to students on Monday morning. Roberts has previously worked with the Obama Foundation. In January she joined Meryl Streep, David Beckham, Anne Hathaway, Natalie Portman, Amy Poehler and John Legend, in a video to promote educating girls

Obama hugs a girl during the visit to the high school today. Tomorrow they will begin a four day conference in the Malaysian capital where Roberts and Obama will 'share reflections about their trip to Vietnam, as well as lessons from their own leadership journeys and their path-breaking careers'

Roberts and Obama were joined by Jenna Bush Hager, co-host of NBC's Today show and George Bush's daughter, to discuss opportunities in women's education as part of The Obama Foundation's Girls Opportunity Alliance program

Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former US president George W. Bush, embraces a Vietnamese student in Can Giuoc district, Long An province on Monday

Obama and Roberts in Vietnam this morning to discuss educational opportunities for adolescent women as part of the former first lady's international outreach program

Former US First Lady Michelle Obama (center R) and actress Julia Roberts (L) meet Vietnamese students in Can Giuoc district, Long An province on December 9, 2019

Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former US president George W. Bush, poses for picture with Vietnamese student in Can Giuoc district, Long An province