Trieu An (23-02-2009)
On the morning of 18 Feb 2009, Project RENEW in coordination with Quang Tri Department of Foreign Affairs and Trieu Phong District People’s Committee successfully hosted the ground breaking ceremony of Tuong Van Elementary School in Trieu An commune, Trieu Phong district under the financial assistance from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF).
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1. Young students welcoming the ceremony;
2. Participants breaking the ground
A total of 51,000 U.S. dollars have been granted to Tuong Van School project thanks to generous contributions from three Vietnam veterans. They are Marshall Carter, chairman of the New York Stock Exchange; William Murdy, chairman and CEO of Comfort Systems USA; and William Soza, chairman of Security One Bank.
All three serve on the Corporate Council of the VVMF.
Participating in the ceremony were Robert H. Frank, VVMF treasurer; Richard LeVan, VVMF consultant, Chuck Searcy, VVMF In-country representative; Vu Xuan Hong, President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations; officials from the Quang Tri Department of Foreign Affairs and Trieu Phong District People’s Committee; and officials of Trieu An Commune. Special activities during the ceremony included several musical performances by the elementary school students who are to attend the new school.
The current school in Tuong Van Village is nearly 30 years old and hard to access during the rainy season. Also, it is too small to accommodate the entire student population, so the school day must be split into half-day sessions to accommodate all of the young people who want to learn.
The new school is estimated to be completed in June 2009 and will provide a safe and clean facility for Trieu An Commune’s local children to learn and prosper. As stated by Mr Bien – Vice Chairman of Trieu Phong District People’s Committee in his opening speech during the ceremony, this grant is an significant contribution to improving the local education system, providing opportunities for young students in the commune to broad their learning experience and prepare them to become useful citizens.
