The Gio Hai School Toilet Renovation Project has been a success! On September 5th, over 400 students at Gio Hai Primary & Secondary School experienced a truly special school opening day. The excitement of back-to-school day doubled when they discovered newly renovated, clean and sanitary, and comfortable restrooms.

With generous funding from the Loving Work Foundation, managed by Project RENEW staff, sanitary conditions at the school are now healthier and more conducive to a wholesome learning environment for the students.

Principal Do Thi Linh expressed her gratitude to the Loving Work Foundation for their support through Project RENEW. “This is a generous gift to kick off the new school year,” Principal Linh said. “It will help us improve our teaching and learning activities, and will make our school greener, cleaner, and more beautiful.”

With a comfortable and hygienic learning environment, students feel more connected to their school and they will be more motivated to study well, commented Pham Thi Gia Han, a student in Class 5B.  She expressed her pleasant surprise when she came back to school after her summer vacation to discover the new restroom facilities.

The Gio Hai School Toilet Renovation Project has not only improved the physical environment of the school but will also have a positive impact on the students’ overall well-being and academic performance, Principal Linh noted.  In an era of tight budgets for community schools, priority will usually go to books, teaching aids and educational tools.  Clean restrooms may be low on the list of priorities, Nguyen Hieu Trung, Coordination Manager of Project RENEW said, “We hope this project will inspire other organizations and individuals to make similar contributions so we can bring this initiative to more schools in Quang Tri Province.” He noted that the cost of the project was modest, but it was not easy for students and their families to advocate for such support outside of the school’s budget. The total budget for the renovation of the Gio Hai School toilets was $9,631.

Trish Thompson, a long-time resident of Vietnam, founded the Loving Work Foundation to foster deeper connections between individuals and the Vietnamese culture. The foundation aims to inspire personal interest in the country’s rich cultural heritage, spiritual practices, and everyday life.

Beyond cultural immersion, the Loving Work Foundation is committed to humanitarian work. It supports programs that improve the lives of disadvantaged Vietnamese children and families. By organizing mindfulness retreats, the foundation provides a unique platform for friends and supporters to practice together, build community, and engage in service.

The Gio Hai School Toilet Renovation Project is another project to emerge from creative cooperation between the Loving Work Foundation and Project RENEW in Quang Tri Province.  It demonstrates the foundation’s dedication to making a tangible, positive impact on Vietnamese communities.

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