New classrooms, kitchens and libraries open for Vietnamese students in remote areas

Classrooms, kitchens, toilets and libraries have been put into use for the new school year in provinces across Vietnam, supporting students in mountainous and border areas. Two new classrooms at Ayun Preschool in Ayun Commune, Gia Lai Province, were inaugurated on Sept. 25. The school has more than 150 pupils, most of them Bahnar ethnic children.A classroom shortage had previously forced some classes to study in temporary facilities about two kilometers from the main school. After returning to the main site, students had to share the school's gymnasium for lessons.The new classrooms, equipped with private toilets and other supporting facilities, provide additional space for learning, play and childcare.Principal Do Thi Hong Dinh said the project had addressed the school's long-standing classroom shortage. Two new classrooms at Ayun Preschool in Gia Lai Province were inaugurated on Sept. 25, 2026. Photo by Vy An Elsewhere, students at the Na Loc school site of Dua Mon Ethnic Boarding Primary and Secondary School in Muong Lam Commune, Son La Province, began the new school year with a new kitchen and dining hall.The new facility replaces a corrugated-iron kitchen that had deteriorated after more than 10 years of use. Separate food preparation and dining areas provide more space for cooking and serving boarding students.A new kitchen at Na Hang Kindergarten in Tuyen Quang Province has also been put into use, serving more than 50 pupils at two school sites. Students at Dua Mon Ethnic Boarding Primary and Secondary School use the new kitchen and dining hall in Muong Lam Commune, Son La Province. Photo by Lo Nguyen In Quang Tri and Quang Ngai provinces, 29 school facilities, including classrooms and toilets, were repaired or upgraded with nearly VND1.3 billion (US$50,000) contributed by FPT staff. The projects were handed over before the new school year began.Beyond classrooms and boarding facilities, schools in disadvantaged areas have also received libraries and digital learning equipment.Nearly 400 students, mostly Tay and Nung ethnic children, at Van Thuy Primary and Secondary School in Chien Thang Commune, Lang Son Province, began the school year with a new 60-square-meter library.The library has bookshelves, tables, chairs and 15 tablets loaded with digital learning materials. It replaces a makeshift arrangement in which an unused kitchen was used to store books and a corrugated-iron roof in the schoolyard served as a reading space that could not be used during heavy rain or extreme heat."The new reading room allows our school for the first time to include reading periods in the official timetable and to open the space for students' self-study during breaks," Principal Hoang Van Tri said.At the handover ceremony on Aug. 21, rapper Den Vau donated 100 books to the library. Students at Van Thuy Primary and Secondary School use its new library on Aug. 21, 2026. Photo by Song That Van Thuy is the first library under a plan by Hope Foundation, FPT Corporation and partners to build or upgrade 38 school libraries nationwide in 2026. The libraries provide reading spaces, books and devices for students to access both printed and digital resources.In Dien Bien Province, nine inter-level boarding schools in border areas received electronic libraries worth a total of VND900 million through Hope Foundation during the new school year. Each library includes equipment and learning materials for study and research.Students in the province were also given accounts for an AI learning program developed by FPT Education, providing schools with additional technology resources for teaching.The projects are part of the School of Sunshine program, run by Hope Foundation since 2018. Rather than applying a uniform model, the program assesses the needs of each location before deciding whether to invest in classrooms, boarding houses, kitchens, toilets, clean water facilities or libraries.To date, the program has built or renovated more than 760 school sites and established 150 libraries, serving hundreds of thousands of students and teachers across multiple provinces.Projects in 2026 are funded by businesses, organizations and the community, including FPT staff worldwide, UNIQLO Vietnam, Opella Vietnam, Volvo Vietnam, Home Credit Vietnam, Nutifood, MoMo users, other partners, VnExpress readers and users of fundraising platforms.In the remaining months of the year, the program will continue completing school buildings, sanitation facilities and libraries in Lao Cai, Lam Dong and other localities in central and mountainous Vietnam.Readers can support the School of Sunshine program here.