BASF partners with customers to rebuild school in remote area in Hậu Giang, Vietnam

• Renovation to take place at Kim Đồng Primary school at Hòa Long B site in Kinh Cùng Township, Phụng Hiệp District
• Project to upgrade one classroom, one playground and one toilet block
• Fifth school built by BASF and its customers since 2015, as part of the long-term commitment to Vietnam’s education development

Hau Giang, Vietnam – October 6, 2020 – BASF, the world’s leading chemical company, and its three partners, MKVN, Tam Trần and Nippon Paint Vietnam, and other project co-sponsors today broke ground on a joint school renovation project, for a primary school in Hậu Giang Province. The project will offer one new classroom, one toilet block and one playground, with a total area of 357 square meters for the Kim Đồng Primary School, at Hòa Long B site, located in Kinh Cùng Township in Phụng Hiệp District. Facilitated by Saigon Children’s Charity CIO, the construction project will be completed in 2021. Over 90 schoolchildren will enjoy a cleaner, safer and a more comfortable learning environment after completion of this fifth school project by BASF Vietnam, in close coordination with its partners.

The co-sponsors are donating cash and materials to renovate the school. For the fifth consecutive year, Nippon Paint Vietnam, a well-known paint and coatings manufacturer, is providing low odor products that meet Green Label Certification, made with BASF ingredients to reduce impact on human health and environment. The financial sponsors include MKVN Chemicals, a distributor of care chemicals, nutrition and health, and other functional products, and Tam Trần Company, a company specializing in supplying and making consignment sales of basic chemicals for paints, inks, plastic, etc.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, a total of 300 pairs of shoes, made by Khoan Nghị, a manufacturer of shoes and slippers, were presented to all students from different sites of the Kim Dong Primary School. The shoes made with BASF materials enhance the comfort and safety of children and adults. 

“BASF continuously supports local communities through a variety of programs, including this school renovation to provide a healthy learning environment for schoolchildren. This initiative has also inspired our partners to jointly support the common cause of supporting remote communities get better access to quality education. With this project, we are also thrilled to celebrate the fifth school we have renovated with our partners, showing our long-term commitment to support Vietnam’s sustainable development,” said Erick Contreras, Managing Director, BASF Vietnam.

The Hòa Long B satellite site of the school currently has four classrooms, three of which are for primary classes and one for kindergarten level. The classrooms were built in 1996 with basic structures and materials and for almost 25 years, the classrooms’ structures have been deteriorating. The condition gets even worse during the rainy season since the rusted corrugated iron roof leaks and creates nuisance noise negatively affecting the learning environment.

Located over 270km away from Ho Chi Minh City, Phung Hiep is one of the poorest districts in a province where 11% of the total number of households are classified as poor*. A study conducted by the Ministry of Education & Training showed that less than 50% of primary schools in Hau Giang were built with proper concrete structures**. Without stable foundations and a safe environment for learning, students’ safety is at risk. In 2017, BASF and its partners renovated two schools in the district, benefitting 140 students at Long Thanh 3 Primary School and Tan Long Kindergarten.

BASF Vietnam has been active in multiple community projects including the partnership with Saigon Children’s Charity to renovate schools. Moreover, BASF has also provided

scholarships to disadvantaged university students for their four years of studies and held its interactive education program BASF Kids’ Lab for 5,000 primary school students since 2011. Additionally, BASF constructed four public playgrounds accessible to more than 12,000 children to promote a sense of exploration, inspire creativity and develop different skills among children.

* Source: http://baohaugiang.com.vn/xa-hoi/huyen-phung-hiep-giam-3-43-ho-ngheo-75290.html

** Source: https://www.ungm.org/UNUser/Documents/DownloadPublicDocument?docId=339570

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. More than 117,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €59 billion in 2019. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the U.S. Further information at www.basf.com.

About Saigon Children’s Charity CIO

Saigon Children's Charity CIO (saigonchildren) was founded in 1992 to help disadvantaged children in Vietnam to escape from the cycle of poverty by giving them an education and a fair start in life.

saigonchildren takes simple, practical steps to ensure that the children most in need get an education. We build schools and provide scholarships, as well as targeted extra help and vocational training. We work in District 4 of Ho Chi Minh City and the rural fringes such as Can Gio and Cu Chi. In addition, we work in rural provinces close to HCMC such as Dong Nai and Tay Ninh, several provinces of the Mekong Delta (Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Kien Giang, Hau Giang, Ca Mau, Soc Trang, An Giang) and have also built classrooms in Quang Tri, Phu Tho, Ninh Binh and Tuyen Quang Provinces.

With more than 25 years of experience, saigonchildren has now built and renovated more than 534 classrooms and has supported more than 41,000 children and young people with scholarships and vocational training.

A board of independent trustees is accountable for the work of the organisation and saigonchildren publishes audited accounts annually with grateful thanks to KPMG. We aim always to be a high quality organisation, which is both transparent and fully accountable.

To find out more about saigonchildren, please visit www.saigonchildren.com, call us on (84 8) 3930 3502 or email us at info@saigonchildren.com.