One of the real benefits of our assessment meeting was that there was a group from another church (Forefront, from Virginia) that was here working in the Ta Phin school. One of the nice surprises here has been that the Vietnam government has taken education very seriously. In the remote village we found a well built school with several classrooms and teachers. The forefront church had been there during the week and worked on several projects at the school.
Easiest to accomplish was the computer lab they set up. For about $1,500, they bought two computers and a printer from a local retailer. GVI and Sherman set it up. The computers were Windows based and in English, which is the way they wanted them. They did have some software that helped with some translation and programming issues that was pre-loaded by the local retailer.
Next, they had some ladies teaching English as a Second Language while they were there for the week. Everyone enjoyed this opportunity to interact, as they did during the playtime. The Forefront group also bought or brought some soccer balls, basket balls and a basketball rim. The created a makeshift basketball goal that the kids were amazed to see. It was evident that they had never seen one before, because when Brian (their group leader) through the ball to the kids, they scattered.
Of most impact was the water filtration and storage system that Forefront installed. This was a $5,000 project that included two storage tanks and a UV filtration system. It surprised many of us to learn that the people here did not drink the water, either. We were under the false impression that they were used to the bacteria here and that it was safe for them, but not for us. Apparently, the water isn’t safe for anyone to drink – but it is at Ta Phin School. They now have potable water on tap, thanks to the Forefront church.
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