Global Village Foundation is proud and excited to introduce our very first Portable Library Project Literacy Training Workshop, which will be held in Da Nang the 3rd and 4th of August, 2006.  (To see the complete Workshop Program, Click Here >>)

We hope to provide assistance in addressing two major issues that we have identified in Viet Nam, especially in the rural, central region. The first is the literacy problem, and the second is the shortage of books and other reading materials to be used as teaching tools. 

Among the trainers are M. Somboon Sinkamanan, founder of the “Portable Library System” in Thailand, and Le Ly Hayslip.  Other trainers from Thailand will also join in the effort.  Primary school teachers (especially those who have been trained to teach English as a second language) in rural Central Viet Nam will get the opportunity to learn this unique technique in teaching young children to develop reading and writing skills.  Children will not only learn how to read and write, but will be encouraged to tap into their creative side by retelling the story they’ve just read.  They can retell the story by acting out a scene, drawing pictures depicting one or more characters, rewriting the story in their own words, or doing whatever suites their fancy.  The whole idea is to allow and encourage children to enjoy learning how to read, making it fun instead of a chore, and having them want and look forward to reading instead of its being simply something they have to do.

The first day of the workshop will be dedicated to training primary school teachers to become proficient with this technique.  Schools from two rural districts of Da Nang, Cam Le and Hoa Vang, will be the first recipients of such workshop in Viet Nam.  Trainers from the U.S.A. and Thailand will go through the philosophy of this teaching method and demonstrate how to work with children of various age groups (from 6 to 10 years old).  By bringing teachers from different schools together, we hope that lasting bonds of friendship and camaraderie will be formed among these participants.  More than anything else, we also hope to bring to and instill in all participants the message that learning should be fun and should never cease.  A librarian from each school will also be invited and trained to care for the Portable Library Unit and to distribute the books properly.  By the end of the workshop, up to 105 participants, including teachers, librarians, and administrators from 35 schools, will have been trained and hundreds of children will benefit from this workshop for years to come.

Global Village Foundation aims to donate as many as 35 Portable Library Units to participating schools, each unit containing between 152 and 243 books appropriate for first to fifth grade students.  The Vietnamese education system divides primary schools into Main and Subordinate schools.  The Main primary schools receive most of the attention and funding, which means that each school is equipped with a library, but not the Subordinate schools.  Our aim is, therefore, to provide these Subordinate primary schools with Portable Library Units filled with books so that children attending these schools will not be left behind, educationally speaking.  11 out of 20 primary schools (9 of which are Main primary schools) in the Cam Le district will receive Portable Library Units.  24 out of 54 primary schools (19 of which are Main primary schools) in the Hoa Vang district will receive Portable Library Units. 

Each Portable Library Unit will remain at the designated school for a period of four and a half months (or one semester), then will be rotated to another participating school.  This process will be repeated for the next two years.  After the two-year period of rotation [of units among the participating primary schools], these Portable Library Units will be collected and delivered to other participating school districts to be shared and enjoyed.  It is extremely important to prolong the shelf-life of these books so that they can be used for a very long time; therefore, the job of the librarian is a very important one.  The idea is to provide a large number of books that can be shared by dozens of school districts, hundreds of primary schools, and thousands of children without having to buy duplicates.  Approximately 7000 books will be shared among children in all schools which will have participated in this first workshop.  We hope that this will be the first of many successful workshops to be presented not only in Central Viet Nam, but throughout the country as well as in other countries with similar needs.

Please consider sponsoring a Portable Library, either individually or with your friends. The cost of one basic Portable Library System is $500, including books. And for each $500 donated, we will have your name, logo or a name of your choosing inscribed on the library case.

We've established a secure and easy to use online donation system that not only allows you to individually donate, but allows you to network and email your friends, inviting them to join you in sponsoring the gift of a library to some very thankful children in Vietnam.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE AND GET STARTED RIGHT NOW! >>