A novel approach

This summer, Lo Hong Ha isn’t interested in escaping the scorching heat by swimming in the local river or playing with her friends in the rice fields, avoiding the ever-present danger of drowning or injury.

Instead, the 10-year-old enjoys reading at a World Vision-established club in her village in Tua Chua, a mountainous district in Vietnam’s north-west province of Dien Bien.

“We can read many stories, play games, like follow my leader and blind man’s buff, and throw balls at a goal,” says Ha of the club. “We do everything together; we’re a good team. I can make new friends there, so I’m very happy.”

Opened in June 2014, the reading club has 19 members, aged from seven to 11. World Vision supports the club by providing novels and non-fictional books, including titles covering life skills, science and history.

Lo Thi Hanh runs Ha’s club with two assistants. At each meeting, she tells the children to read a story, asking them questions afterwards to encourage them to think about the content.

She says: “The children enjoy going to the club. It opens at 2pm, but they usually turn up half an hour early. There are many kinds of books, so everyone can find a favourite one.”


"We can read many stories and play games,” says Ha of the club. “We do everything together; we’re a good team."

As the members are from ethnic minorities with their own distinct languages, the club is an opportunity to practise Vietnamese – a vital skill to live and progress in wider society.

Describing the club members, Ha says: “The youngest children read out loud very slowly and pronounce some words incorrectly. We tell them about their mistakes and read out the sentences as examples.”
 
“I’ll carry on helping the younger ones improve their Vietnamese, as well as others at school and in the village whose school results aren’t good and who aren’t in the club,” she adds. “I love helping others to read and I want to be a teacher when I grow up.”

World Vision has so far opened five village-based reading clubs in Tua Chua, with the total number of members expected to grow from the one hundred who have participated to date.

Vietnamese text and photos: Trinh Thi Ly – Tua Chua ADP Development Facilitator.