Clean Water for Our School Program – Đăk Lăk, 5/2019

Hello, blazing summer…Lăk – a land to love, to miss, to cherish…

The 50-seat bus, in Y Tam's signature red, carried us out of Saigon at night. On the bus, many first-timers seemed a little shy, while those who had joined before chatted and laughed, happy to see each other again, sharing the same bus and the same journey…

The bus drove through the night; we lost all track of time, and when we opened our eyes we had arrived. Lăk welcomed us with cups of hot milk coffee, thick, fragrant and delicious, as intoxicating as the land itself.

We traveled another 30 km to reach the Y Ngông school site in Đăk Sa village. Part of the road to the school was dirt, and where it was too muddy for the bus we had to get out and walk. Everyone was thrilled by the scenery before them: hills on all four sides and lush green trees and grass.

Because we arrived later than planned, we quickly got to work. Saturday was the day to complete the recycled playground, which meant painting tires, digging holes for the posts, assembling the play equipment, pouring concrete…

Volunteers quickly pour concrete, set posts and assemble the play equipment

Volunteers working enthusiastically

Everyone left their phones behind and seemed to forget about them entirely, focusing completely on the work. Everyone gave their all and worked tirelessly, so by 4 p.m. on Saturday we had finished the playground, with 7 connected play structures. A wonderful achievement.

We thought the children might not make it to the campfire night, but to our surprise they came in large numbers. Around the flickering fire, we gave it our all with the children, singing and dancing. At 9 p.m. the children went home, and the Y Tam volunteers gathered together, sharing and talking quietly; it seems everyone stayed up very late that night.

Even so, at 4 a.m. the next day everyone was up to prepare for the festival.

The children here are so well behaved and incredibly sweet. They love the games and happily line up for a long time to play. The most adorable thing was that they washed their own bowls right after finishing their bún noodles and picked up litter in the schoolyard… As for the new playground, they were thrilled.

Y Tam believes that everything we do is simply in the hope that the children will be happy; their happiness is our happiness too.

26/5 was also an important milestone for the children, because on that day their school officially had clean water to use and a playground, and they got to play meaningful folk games.

It was also the day Y Tam held the signing ceremony to hand over the clean water well and the playground to the school.

Let's look back at the activities together:

– Donated a clean water well

– Donated a playground made from recycled old tires

– Donated a library bookcase to the school

– Gave 182 school supply packages: blank notebooks, pens, erasers, pencils, rulers

– Gave 400 gift packages of sweets, milk, stuffed animals…

– Cooked 400 portions of bún noodles and nước sâm (herbal drink) for the children's breakfast

– Organized folk game stalls

– Gave clothes to the villagers and the children

– Successfully held the signing ceremony to hand over the well and the playground

– Received countless smiles from the children and their parents

– Left a memorable journey in our hearts, and so much more…

The children arrived very early for Y Tam's festival

Y Tam served the students breakfast before the games began

Warm-up games delighted many of the children

The crafts stall was always crowded with little ones who love to draw

The schoolyard came alive with fun games, singing and dancing shared between the Y Tam volunteers and the children of Y Ngông Primary School

Lots of children started playing right away on the playground the volunteers had just built

Y Tam representative Ms. Nguyệt Đình Khôi and the leaders of Y Ngông school sign the handover record for the well and the playground

A truly meaningful program and a truly memorable day for the Y Ngông students and their Y Tam friends

For this success, Y Tam is grateful to:

– Our donors, who contributed funds and in-kind donations to the program

– The teachers at Y Ngông Primary School and the local leaders of Đăk Sa village

– Our partners: the well-drilling company, the ironworks…

– All the Y Tam volunteers, from behind the scenes to the front lines, who contributed to the program

– The parents and children who came to the children's festival with Y Tam.

A memorable journey that took Y Tam to Đăk Sa, Đăk Lăk

Finally, Y Tam wishes you all good health and peace in everything. Y Tam hopes to keep your support and companionship on our next volunteer journeys. Sincerely!

Because there are so many photos, Y Tam cannot upload them all to the website, so please click the album below to see the full set of moving moments from the Clean Water for Our School program!

Album link: https://bitly.vn/4da0