HCMC – “Saigon Times – Great Circle – Helping Students Get Back to School Post Storm” program organizers visited Yen Bai City on September 22 to assist students impacted by typhoon Yagi.
The program provided support to five severely affected schools in the city. At Yen Ninh Primary School, it donated 90 rice cookers, 19 water bottles, a speaker system, and VND45 million in cash to the school and its students.
For Hoa Lan Kindergarten, the group provided 10 rice cookers, additional supplies, and VND10 million in cash for 20 students.
Over 440 pupils in three other schools received more than 220 rice cookers, food items, clothing and essential supplies, and a combined VND220 million.
The Hoa Lan Kindergarten in Hong Ha Ward suffered extensive damage from flooding, with all classrooms, administrative offices, and dining facilities damaged. Essential educational materials were also lost, leaving the school in disrepair.
At Yen Ninh Primary School, floodwaters reached the first floor’s ceiling. The teachers’ equipment was destroyed, and the campus was buried under 60 centimeters of mud. To expedite the cleanup, the school had to purchase a mud suction pump. Teachers carried the equipment through mud for about a kilometer, facing difficulties due to inexperience in the equipment.
Speaking with the organizers, Principal Nguyen Thi Binh of Yen Ninh Primary School emphasized the urgency of the cleanup, saying “We are doing our best to clear the mud. Every bucket of mud removed counts.”
Yen Bai City has been identified as the most severely affected area in Yen Bai Province’s education sector, with nearly 30 schools impacted by landslides and flooding. Over 600 teachers’ homes were also affected. While complete damage assessments are ongoing, many schools and their communities are struggling.
Recognizing northern provinces is doing their best to recover from typhoon Yagi and ensuing flooding, the Saigon Times Group, in partnership with the 2030 Business Club, the Saigon Times Market & Real Estate Club (SMRC), and the Branding Club, launched the “Saigon Times – Great Circle – Helping Students Get Back to School Post Storm” to help bring students back to school and support storm-affected schools in their recovery.
The relief effort raised over VND700 million and provided supplies valued at more than VND2 billion.
On September 21, the program brought gifts and supplies worth hundreds of millions of Vietnamese dong to three schools in Tuyen Quang Province.
