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BASF and customers build sixth school in remote areas of Vietnam
- Project offers two classrooms and one playground to about 105 school kids
- BASF and 6 partners renovate B Nhơn Hưng primary school, Tịnh Biên District, An Giang Province
- This initiative demonstrates long-term commitment to Vietnam’s education development
An Giang, Vietnam – December 7, 2021 – BASF today broke ground for its sixth school renovation project for the B Nhơn Hưng primary school, in a remote area of An Giang Province. As part of the project co-sponsored by BASF and 6 customers along with other partners, two new classrooms and a playground with a total area of 328 square meters will be built. Facilitated by Saigon Children’s Charity CIO, the construction project will be completed in 2022. The new facilities will benefit about 105 students for the 2021-2022 academic year and almost 150 school children from 2022 onwards, offering them improved learning environment.
Before the renovation, the school children attended their classes in old facilities built in the 1990s, with basic structures and materials, which did not offer a comfortable environment especially during high temperatures and rainy weather. The new facilities, located in Nhơn Hưng Commune, Tịnh Biên District, An Giang Province, will provide the children a safer and more comfortable place to learn and develop various skills.
“BASF supports the local community through a variety of programs with a focus on providing quality education. Despite 2021 being another challenging year, we are proud to support this project together with our valuable partners, to help school children from remote communities have a safe and high-quality learning environment. With this school, we want to help nurture Vietnam’s next generation and demonstrate our commitment to supporting Vietnam’s sustainable development,” said Erick Contreras, Managing Director, BASF Vietnam
For the sixth consecutive year, Nippon Paint Việt Nam, a well-known paint and coatings manufacturer, has sponsored low odor products meeting Green Label Certification, made with BASF ingredients that reduce impact on environment and human health.
The financial co-sponsors include:
- Brenntag Vietnam, a subsidiary of Brenntag SE, the global market leader in chemical and ingredients distribution;
- MKVN Chemicals, a company active in distributing personal care and home care chemicals, and other functional products;
- Phúc Hưng, a distributor for crop protection products in An Giang Province
- Sam Chem Sphere, a distributor of industrial chemicals, industrial lubricants, fleet lubricants and waterproofing materials;
- Viet Duc Lubricants & Chemicals, a distributor of lubricants and chemicals
Nhơn Hưng is one of those communes sharing a border with Cambodia in the mountainous Tinh Biên District, An Giang Province. Over 25% of the district’s residents are Khmer ethnic people(1) and 11.5% of them(2) are from poor households. School dropouts by Khmer students has been one of the biggest challenges for the local community.
Apart from the collaborative playground donation initiative, BASF Vietnam has been active in multiple community projects. For instance, BASF has partnered with Saigon Children’s Charity to provide scholarships to disadvantaged university students for four years of studies. It holds the interactive education program BASF Kids’ Lab on an annual basis for primary school students and offers BASF Virtual Lab, a website for primary students to do fun online chemistry experiments from the comfort of their homes or schools. The company has also built five public playgrounds for over 12,000 children.
(1) https://tinhbien.angiang.gov.vn/wps/portal/Home/trang-chu/tong-quan-tinh-bien/lich-su-hinh-thanh/
About BASF in Vietnam
BASF has been active in Vietnam since the establishment of its representative office in 1994. BASF Vietnam Limited was set up in 2009. The company maintains two sales offices in Hồ Chí Minh City and Hà Nội, offering solutions for Vietnam’s key industries, including agriculture, construction, automotive, footwear, paint & coatings and electric & electronics. BASF’s sales to customers in Vietnam were approximately €284 million in 2020. BASF employed 117 staff in Vietnam as of the end of 2020. Further information on BASF in Vietnam is available at www.basf.com/vn.
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 and around Ho Chi Minh City, including District 4, District 8, Tan Phu District and in the rural fringes such as Can Gio, Cu Chi and District 9. 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) and have also built classrooms in Quang Tri, Phu Tho and Ninh Binh Provinces
With nearly 30 years of experience, saigonchildren has now built and renovated more than 558 classrooms, and has supported more than 57,620 children and young people with scholarships and vocational training.
A board of independent trustees is accountable for the work of the organisation and SCC 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.
Media contacts:
BASF Vietnam
Đỗ Kim Chung
Phone: +(84 8) 3824 3833
Mobile: +(84 9) 38 945 288
Saigon Children’s Charity
Trương Thúy Ngân
Phone: (+84 28) 3930 3502
Mobile: (+84) 975 942 490