Vietnam
Sence of Identity
After two prolonged wars last century, first with the French then the Americans, Vietnam is, according to some United Nations statistics, one of the poorest countries in the world. With the devastating after-effects of war still in evidence, modern technologies have brought about a loss of traditional culture and values. Money is sweeping aside morality and materialism reigns supreme. Vietnam has a hard task ahead to heal itself and rebuild its sense of identity and well being, and nowhere else can one hope for a better solution than in the sphere of education. A new education is indeed urgent.
In September 2002, Thanh Cherry inaugurated the first Steiner/Waldorf based kindergarten in Ho Chi Minh city after three years of preparation. Born and grown up in Vietnam, Thanh has lived and taught as a Steiner kindergarten teacher (in Australia) and trainer (Australia and Asia) for over 30 years. Since 1998, with the assistance of the Freunde der Erziehungskunst RS e.V. Thanh travels to Ho Chi Minh every year to train teachers and oversee the three kindergartens that she had helped establish there. She also founded a charity organisation – the Vietnam Children’s Project (VCP) in order to raise funds to support these kindergartens, and an orphanage.
A wholesome Education
The first to open in 2002 is Dieu Giac kindergarten, part of the Buddhist orphanage of the same name. It has 30 children, from 3 to 6 year old, about half of whom come from the orphanage, the rest from poor families in the vicinity. The education is free of charge with parents only paying a nominal fee. Dieu Giac has been thriving for 7 years, its children and parents happy and grateful for the wholesome education.
The second kindergarten – Thanh Lan – opened in 2003 in remote Cu Chi. It started with 7 children and now includes 2 kindergarten and a nursery groups, totalling 77. The VCP has raised funds for the building of the 3 classrooms and continues to financially support their operation. Here too, the children are from poor families who pay a nominal fee only. Thanh Lan has lately been cited as a model kindergarten in the area.
Tho Trang Childcare Centre is the youngest of the 3 initiatives. It opened in 2005 in the far away village of Binh Chanh. Again the VCP provided funds for building the kindergarten and nursery classrooms; total number of children is 25. Tho Trang also catered for under-priviledged families and the VCP works, as in the other 2 cases, to find financial sponsorships for the children. The Freunde and the International Help Fund have contributed their support in this respect.
A Challenge
In May 2009 Tho Trang was unfairly victimised by the rigid educational authorities. Because of an accident in the playground, the authorities decided on a general clamp down and told Tho Trang if, within 2 weeks, their wooden furniture and natural material equipment were not replaced by plastic ones – tables, chairs, shelves, swings, toys, sandpit, bowls, cups – the centre would have to close. The teachers decided on the latter.
Tho Trang has re-opened in November 2009 nearer to the city. They lost all the old children as the distance proved too great and started with 4 new ones. The cost of the move has been enormously challenging and they are in dire need of support – financially and morally. The International Association for Steiner/Waldorf Early Childhood Education (IASWECE) has agreed to support a mentoring project for Vietnam in 2010.
Project leader: Thanh Cherry, cherrythanh@gmail.com