On a cold day in early December 2024, a “secret” gift box from Vinamilk and the Vietnam Grow Up Milk Fund suddenly appeared in the yard of Sinh Long Kindergarten. Located in a remote and extremely disadvantaged area of Na Hang district, Sinh Long consists of one main school and 10 satellite schools, some of which are more than 20km of mountain road away from the commune center, with more than 270 students studying there.
Overcoming long and winding roads, more than 20 Vinamilk employees from Hanoi branch and Tuyen Quang Farm came to the small school in the mountains. They were there 2 days in advance, personally preparing every detail to create a wonderful surprise for the children.
On the day of the event, the school yard was filled with fresh milk, toys and colorful balloons. At first, the children were shy, standing behind their parents and teachers. But when they felt the warmth and sincerity from Vinamilk, they boldly raised their hands to participate in the games.
The most anticipated moment was the “opening the box – receiving the gift” moment. Hundreds of warm coats, gloves, woolen hats; thousands of toys, school supplies, books… contributed by Vinamilk employees; along with nearly 10,000 boxes of delicious milk from the Vietnam Grow Up Milk Fund were sent to the children.
For most of the kindergarten students at Sinh Long, this is the first time they have been able to drink milk so freely. And not only at the event, all 270 students at 11 locations of the school will be able to drink milk every day when they come to class.
The school’s principal, Ms. Luong Thi Ben, said that 99% of the students here are ethnic minorities, mainly Mong and Dao. With a budget for meals of about 16,000 VND/day, the teachers have to pack a lot so that the children can drink milk once a week. “The cartons of fresh milk that come to the children on these winter days are truly precious. When the milk was delivered to the school, the children looked at it and craved it,” Ms. Ben shared.
In addition to nutritional products, warm items such as shirts, woolen hats, gloves, etc. also came to the children at the right time. The joy of children wearing new clothes is also the joy of adults when seeing the smiles on their faces.
The bright eyes and clear smiles of the preschool boys and girls when receiving lovely gifts from Vinamilk.
Handshakes, hugs and sincere affection make gifts sent to children warmer on cold days.
Also in the program, the medical team of Vinamilk Nutrition Center examined and assessed the health status of the children as well as advised parents on the optimal nutritional intake and menu for each case. Through the preliminary assessment results, Dr. Nguyen Vu Linh - Head of Vinamilk Nutrition Center - said that about 25-30% of students were malnourished and more than 50% of the children had respiratory problems, especially ear - nose - throat diseases due to the cold and erratic weather.
The farthest school is more than 20km from the commune center, and cannot be reached by motorbike. Teachers have to walk nearly 5 hours to get to class. The conditions are very difficult. Presenting the heaters to the school, Mr. Ho Tuan Nam - Director of Vinamilk Tuyen Quang Farm - shared: "Hopefully these warm coats and heaters will help teachers and students have warmer study and play hours in the middle of winter. I hope teachers stay healthy to continue teaching and taking care of the children."
2024 marks 17 years of Vinamilk implementing the Vietnam Grow Tall Milk Fund program. With persistent efforts, the program has brought more than 42 million milk boxes to half a million Vietnamese children, creating many humane values. Not only providing nutritional care for children, the Milk Fund also spreads the message of "Vietnam Grow Tall", helping many children overcome difficulties to rise up.
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