Canon builds new classrooms for Yen Bai children

The goal of the program is to help underprivileged children with their education and for the first time in the five year duration of the initiative Canon has built and handed over two new classrooms at Na Lieng School, giving kids the chance to go to school and study in a safe environment.

It took roughly four hours for Canon’s team to travel from Hanoi to Yen Bai’s centre, after which the team had to travel a further 35km over badly damaged roads to reach Na Lieng’s new schools. Before receiving support from Canon, all the classrooms at Na Lieng School were simple wooden structures that were unable to provide adequate shelter from the rain or sun. Similarly to Na Lieng school, Khe Hao has had just three small classrooms which lacked chairs, tables, books and pens. The upgrade of the two schools is totally dependent on a small amount of funding from the local government, as well as donations from kind-hearted sponsors.

Understanding the urgent need of the schools, Canon volunteers made the journey to Yen Bai from Hanoi to donate practical materials such as stationary, learning support equipment and teaching aids to students and teachers at Na Lieng and Khe Hao. In addition, Canon constructed two new classrooms for Na Lieng School with a total value of VND160 million ($8,000).

Nick Yoshida, president and CEO of Canon Marketing Vietnam, shared: “Having lived in Vietnam for over two years I have great respect for the diligence and knowledge of the Vietnamese people. However, I appreciate that in many areas, particularly in remote, rural regions, students do not enjoy an environment conducive to pursuing their learning dreams. Therefore, we are delighted to be able to extend our assistance to these two schools. We intend for these materials and the two new classrooms to act as special “New year” wishes to foster the students’ passion and enthusiasm for learning in the new school year.”

In addition to the learning support, Canon volunteers helped spread the love of photography among the young children through a session “Photo training for kids” that teaches kids how to use a camera and capture beautiful moments in their lives.