SCHOOL BRIGHTENING UP
Code: 57674 Copied
Vietnam
Renovation
Education
Culture
Renovation
Education
+1
Fixed dates
About the project
SCHOOL BRIGHTENING UP
📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
Lao Cai is a province of the mountainous Northwest region of Vietnam bordering the province of Yunnan in China. The province covers an area of 6383.9 square kilometres and as of 2016 it had a population of 674,530 people .
In the province, one can observe the large rich and poor gap. While there are big houses in some towns, expensive cars on the streets, most of the population, with ethnic Vietnamese being the majority, are still experiencing a difficult life. In fact, Lao Cai is currently one of the poorest provinces in the country, with more than 70% of the population living under the poverty line. Traditional economic activities such as agriculture and forestry remain important, but the province has also been attempting to develop foreign investment in the area. In order to attract and push foreign investment, it is important to have a capable workforce to work with them. Therefore, the province has also paid more attention to education and is trying to encourage children to go to school.
However, in the mountainous areas, the drop-out rate from school is rather high due to many reasons. One of them is the lack of facilities and playgrounds that makes going to school is not applealing enough to the children. Therefore, VPV wishes to help improve the facilities at schools in Lao Cai, with the hope that it would attract more children to school.
To carry out the volunteer programs in Lao Cai, VPV has received positive support from Lao Cai Department of Education and Tr
💼 What the programme involves
The workcamp named School brightening up is projected to take place at Lao Cai boarding school in Muong Khuong town, Lao Cai province. This workcamp is organized by VPV, in cooperation with the Center for Global Education Link (GEL).
Muong Khuong town is 50km to the Northeast of Lao Cai city, with the border line of 86,5km with China to the Northwest. As a mountainous town, Muong Khuong has a lot of mountain ranges and narrow valeys. There are 14 ethnic groups living in the town, with H’Mong being the biggest group.
Lao Cai boarding school was founded in 2009 in Muong Khuong town to provide educational environment and shelter for children in Lao Cai province to come to learn and stay. Currently, there are nearly 500 students attending this school, grouping in 14 classes from grade 6th to grade 12th. The students are from all 14 ethnic groups, with H’Mong and Nung students being the majority. If they don’t stay at school, they will have to travel between 20 and 40km every day to get to school. The students speak their own languages at home; at school, they are taught and speak Vietnamese. They are taught English as well but due to the lack of practice and interaction with foreigners, their English is not well developed yet.
The title of the workcamp, school brightening up, literally refers to the idea that we would carry out some activities to make the school look nicer and brighter such as painting wall murals, redecorating the playgrounds, planting flowers,
In a br
🏠 Accommodation on site
Volunteers will stay at the school dormitory with basic living conditions. Volunteers should prepare for basic bathroom and toilet facilities. There will be bunk beds and mosquito nets. Volunteers should bring a sleeping bag.
Electricity, internet, clean water is available but limited.
Volunteers can eat at the school canteen or eat out at some restaurants nearby (1 or 2 km from the school). Food will mostly be locally sourced and cooked. Those who have special diet should inform VPV beforehand.
📍 About the location
Free time
In the evening, we will have some bonding activities like Vietnamese lessons for international volunteers or group games. Volunteers are encouraged to come to the workcamp with ideas for group activities of the camp.
Weekend
Volunteers will have 2 days off on Saturday and Sunday at the end of the 1st week of camp. Volunteers can stay in Muong Khuong area to discover the local village. There are a number of caves, mountains and water falls for those who like trekking. There are mandarin gardens, night market and Sunday market for those who want to discover local life. Muong Khuong is not a tourist attraction, which makes it a perfect place for those who want to learn about authentic life of local people.
Alternatively, volunteers can travel to Sapa, one tourist attraction in Lao Cai province. Volunteers can travel to Sapa on Saturday morning and come back to the school on Sunday afternoon. Sapa has stunning lanscape and scenery but at the same time it is very touristic. Nevertheless, it can still be a place of interest for those who want to experience some lively night life or to have a pizza bite on the weekend. Volunteers can also leave the village on Friday afternoon and take the bus back to Ha Noi or other provinces to see other remarkable places in Vietnam.
If volunteers stay at the village over the weekend, food and accommodation are still provided. Those who travel to Sapa or other provinces will need to take care of their own food and transportation.
ℹ️ Additional information
The program fee is to cover food, accommodation, transportation to the project site as well as project cost and coordination cost.
Interested in this project? Create your account and apply online.
Sign in to apply📅 Available sessions
VPV18-02
23/07/2018 → 04/08/2018
Volunteers registered
2 / 10
♂ 0/5
♀ 2/5
ℹ️ Key information
Age required
18–60 years old
Solidarity donation
0.00 EUR
French tax residents may be eligible for a tax reduction of up to 66% of their costs (membership, plane tickets, solidarity donation).
📍 Location
Lào Cai, Lao Cai, Vietnam
Vietnam
🌍 Location info
Local currency
Viet Nam Dong (VND / ₫)
Exchange rate
1 VND = 0.000035 EUR
Rate as of 31/05/2026
Timezone
Indochina Time
Local time: 21:19 (12/11/2026)
🛡️ Before you leave
✅ Features
🗣️ Languages spoken
English
Vietnamese