A visit to the Anh Linh school

Lily's last weekend in Vietnam has been fun, and laid-back. On Saturday morning we took to the local pool and I ended up getting very sunburnt. In most areas of my life I will learn from my previous mistakes and move on. When it comes to protecting myself from the sun, I never seem to learn. The cost of my stupidity has been painful red shins and feet all weekend. In the evening we went out with my new friend Gretchen. We went to the Bitexco sky-bar, where Lily and I went on Friday to take pictures, and had a drink, watching as the sun set and the city lit up fantastically. Then we had a nice Vietnamese meal followed by some beers in Pham Ngu Lao.

Amazing views over the city

Stunning

Yesterday Lily and I ran the Saigon Hash. This was Lily's first introduction to a 'real' hash as last week it was only a bar crawl in the city. The walk was about five and a half kilometres, but the terrain was difficult as it was mostly sandy. As ever, the walk/run finished with a circle and people of different nationalities were called forward for 'charges' held against them for offences during the run or for scandals in world news. For example, the Dutch, German and French runners were charged with supplying horsemeat to Britain and Ireland, and so, of course, had to down a jug of beer each. It is all very silly and it was a totally exhausting day.

The walkers set off

Villagers gave us curious looks

Doing the down-down

The ice block: a punishment for misdemeanors

This morning I went to visit the Anh Linh free school in District Seven, where I will be doing some voluntary work. The school has been running since 1990 to provide education and care for children who cannot afford to attend mainstream schools. The school's website explains:

In Vietnam, education is free, but the cost of supplies, uniforms, books, meals, and medical attention are borne by the families of the students. This can amount to $15-25 per month. There are no scholarships or sliding scales. We serve children who don't have families or who live with a single mother or grandmother. Many of the families we serve cannot afford to pay public school fees. As well, many of these children are too old for public school or don't have the required birth certificates. As a result these abandoned children have little hope for a future that is anything different than continued economic and social deprivation. They are at risk for being sexually or commercially trafficked.

I was shown around by Kim Ngoc, the school's headteacher. The building was clean and bright and the children looked happy in their smart uniforms. The majority of the 240 students that attend this school, aged between seven and eighteen, come from the countryside and live in rented rooms near the school. Twelve girls are housed in the school's dormitory. Often the students will sell lottery tickets or small items such as lemons and chillies in their spare time to earn a little money for their families. Sat outside in the school playground I met a group of secondary school students who were making beaded keyrings in the shapes of dogs, lizards and bears. They are packaged and sold in the school's name to make some money to go back to the children. These students would start their classes in the afternoon.

All of the children study maths, literature, biology, history and geography. Secondary school students also study English, physics, chemistry and IT. The school has twenty-eight computers but is in need of another ten to match the class sizes of thirty-eight. There was also a well-stocked library and around ten sewing machines, used to make the school uniforms. I will be running an after-school art class from next week for a group of ten to fifteen primary school students. I really enjoyed my visit to the school and am looking forward to getting started with my voluntary work there. To donate to the school or to sponsor a child, please visit their website: http://bridges2learning.org/Schools/anh-linh-free-school.html 

Maths class