Hamilton students tour Vietnam

Danielle Erb and Eoin Blythe went to Vietnam as part of a Unicef program

By Adam Carter, CBC News

Posted: Oct 7, 2012 1:13 PM ET

Last Updated: Oct 7, 2012 1:29 PM ET

 

Hanoi, Vietnam can seem a little crowded when you're an eighth-grader from Hamilton.

"I bet you every single person in Hanoi owns a motorcycle," said Danielle Erb, a grade eight student at Allan A. Greenleaf Elementary School. "It was so busy."

Erb, along with Greenleaf teacher Nirogi Wijayasingha and Eoin Blythe, a grade nine student at Waterdown High School, spent 11 days in Vietnam in late September.

'Some of these kids have to walk three hours just to get to school'—Nirogi Wijayasingha, teacher

The group was chosen to take the journey based on their participation in Unicef's School-in-the-Box program during the World Education Games last March.

The Unicef School-in-a-Box is an education kit that's designed to be used in an emergency setting, effectively allowing teachers and students to learn anywhere and under any conditions. The World Education Games is an online competition for students in math, spelling and science.

The trio toured the northern region of Lao Cai, an area where kids from ethnic minority tribes struggle to get access to quality education.

Unicef is working with the government of Vietnam to better serve the needs of these children, who comprise 54 ethnic groups — many with their own languages.

"Many of those ethnic minority groups can get left by the wayside because they don't speak Vietnamese," Wijayasingha said.

Erb and Blythe spent time in both urban and rural areas of Vietnam. (Supplied)

Many children also struggle with disabilities because of the use of Agent Orange, a toxic herbicide used during the Vietnam war. Birth defects and disabilities are still present many years after the fact.

Then there's the trip to school. "Some of these kids have to walk three hours just to get to school," Wijayasingha said.

In some cases, students sleep over at school, with more than 20 to a room. In some schools the group toured, students have to walk along the side of a cliff just to get to a bathroom.

The experience was an eye-opening one for everyone involved. "And it made us very grateful for what we have," Erb said.

It wasn't all gloomy though, as schools that have already received Unicef funding are doing much better, Wijayasingha said.

And soccer seems to be well received no matter where you go. "You should have seen the smiles on their faces as soon as we brought out a soccer ball and pumped it up," Erb said.

Though even that can be bittersweet — most children that live in rural Vietnam don't usually get to play soccer, she said. They spend all their spare time working, and helping their parents.

Still, this is one trip these students won't soon forget.

"They welcomed us in a way that just blew us away," Erb said.

For detailed blogs of Danielle, Eoin and Nirogi's trip, click here.

-With files from Flannery Dean

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