Summer camps to combat school dropout rates

For more than sixty years, Children of the Mekong has been committed to educating disadvantaged children in Southeast Asia. This mission is carried out throughout the year through sponsorship, support for families and homes, and the organisation of events such as educational and fraternal summer camps.

What are the goals of summer camps?

This summer, our Vietnamese sponsored children were able to enjoy 17 summer camps organised by teachers and our programme managers.

There are multiple objectives: preventing school dropouts, combating child labour, reassuring parents… but also, quite simply, enabling children to have fun while learning!

The result: nearly 3,500 children have benefited and enjoyed two months filled with discoveries, friendships and learning!

When school is out, summer camps begin in Vietnam.

What is the daily routine like and when do these take place?

‘When they come here, the children gather to study and have fun. Without these summer camps, they would stay at home with nothing to do. Parents are very happy that their children can study here and avoid hanging around outside,’ explains Sister Ngọc Lan, who is in charge of a summer camp in Dak Lak.

Every morning, from Monday to Saturday, the children arrive on foot or by bicycle, sometimes after travelling several kilometres along mountain paths. In some villages, nuns teach the classes. Elsewhere, seminarians, volunteers or teachers take over.

How do the children learn?

All children learn a lot at summer camps: not only academic subjects, but also how to live together with love and spirituality. At Ea Kmar, a camp leader was moved to see shy children find the courage to sing in front of everyone. It helped them make friends!

In an Edê village in Dak Lak, Huong Xuan, a Year 3 pupil, says with a smile: ‘I really like summer camps because I can learn and have fun at the same time. The children even tried new activities such as rugby and traditional music from their ethnic group. This allows them to combine modern schooling with their culture.’

What is the atmosphere like?

The camps are offered to the most disadvantaged children, such as Song Thi Sai, a Year 8 pupil: “I am very happy to be taking part in this summer camp. My parents are farmers, so my family cannot afford to send me to summer classes. I am very happy. Here, I am looked after by the Sisters and I have lots of fun with my friends. ”

For Brother Xuan Thanh, a Franciscan, it is very important to organise these summer camps because ‘without them, the children would spend their time at home playing video games or getting into mischief…’.

Who benefits?

Organising a camp mobilises the whole village: priests, nuns, catechists, but also volunteers who come from far away. In some camps, there are more than twenty people looking after the children.

In addition, in Dunde, in the highlands of Vietnam, the village chief, Mr Ro Cham Hmunh, testifies: ” Before the Sisters arrived, during the holidays, the children often went to play near the rivers and risked drowning. Thanks to this programme, they train and have fun safely. The inhabitants, who were initially concerned about having to pay, were relieved to learn that everything was taken care of. Since then, they have been actively collaborating, sometimes bringing wood or a little rice for meals.”

How do the camps impact children?

In Huoi Mot, in the mountains of Sơn La, a secondary school pupil confides: “Today, I am braver, I dare to speak in front of others. The camps have helped me to gain confidence in myself. ”

Everywhere, the same conviction emerges: these camps transform children. They enable them to acquire new skills, but also self-confidence, discipline, and the rules of community life. As Y Duyên, a Year 6 pupil, says: ‘I’m leaving with lots of memories. I’ve learnt, I’ve played, and I’ve made new friends.’