Children at a Summer Library in Tuong Duong district, the central province of Nghe An. (Photo: baonghean.vn) NgheAn (VNS/VNA) - Some 7,000 children in Tuong Duong district,in the central province of Nghe An, have enjoyed their summer breakat local libraries.
The SummerLibrary project was co-organised by the local Youth Union, volunteers andteachers.
MoongVan Phuong, a Kho Mu ethnic minority teacher at Nhon Mai Primary School, turnedhis house into a Summer Library for children in Nhon Mai commune since July.
Phuongand his wife Vi Thi Huong, secretary of the commune’s Youth Union, called onpeople to donate old books, newspapers and stories to open the library.
Phuongsaid his house was large, so he often organised games and prepared gifts forthe children to encourage them to go to the library every day.
Huongsaid the titles were diverse, including folk tales, short stories aboutPresident Ho Chi Minh and celebrities, self-help books, history books and somepublications about child abuse prevention.
Thanksto the library, children visited every day instead of going swimming in localstreams and rivers which can be dangerous, she said.
LeThanh Tung, a leader of a voluntary team from the province’s Vinh University,said his 15-member team went to Tam Hop commune in Tuong Duong district to helpset up a Summer Library in July.
Theteam spent two weeks teaching local children to read, organise games and teachEnglish for free, he added.
“Inthe commune, children start learning English at 12 (instead of at 6 like in citiesand urban areas), so we wanted to introduce English to them and motivate themto learn in the future,” he said.
Theywere very excited to learn English, they enjoyed being able to count andintroduce themselves in English, he said.
LoVan Giap, Secretary of the district’s Youth Union, said Tuong Duong is a poorborder district, with six ethnic groups living together, Tien Phong (Vanguard) online newspaper reported.
Duringthe summer, ethnic-minority children often had to follow their parents to workon the field or stay at home alone, he said.
Therefore,the youth union organised the Summer Libraries in order to help the childrenhave a more meaningful summer break, he added.
Parentswelcomed the model because they knew their children could have a safe andhealthy summer while avoiding dangerous activities, he said.
Toopen the libraries, the district's Youth Union coordinated with communes,villages, hamlets and schools to gather donated books and newspapers. It alsosent volunteers to help children read, he said.
Therewere four teams of volunteer students at local universities in the provinceshelping with the programme.
“Weintegrated culture, arts, life skills-based education, as well as teaching kidshow to be safe in the water and COVID-19 prevention,” he said.
TheSummer Libraries attracted a large number of children, he said.
MaiSon commune was the first commune in the district to run the model, receivingpraise from both children and parents, he said.
Soon,17 communes across the district had started the Summer Library model to helpmore than 7,000 children, he said.
Althoughthe new school year began on September 5, the libraries would stay open at theweekend./.
VNA
