In February, saigonchildren’s journey to providing equitable education to marginalised children in Vietnam arrived at an especially unique location, Cấm Mountain (Tịnh Biên District, An Giang Province), where local inhabitants work in hospitality services such as operating small restaurants or transporting tourists to and from religious sites on the mountain to earn a living.
Núi Cấm secondary school is the only secondary school available for students in the region, and without any satellite sites. Located in the middle of a mountain with difficult terrain, the learning environment is much less convenient than schools in flatter areas, and there exists a lack of resources for teaching and learning. Fully equipping a computer room for IT classes felt like a pipe dream for the school due to constraints on construction budgets; for years there were only 5 old computers available for 120 students.

But, on the 17th of February, an opening ceremony for a new computer room was held at Núi Cấm School. The IT class is now freshened with 16 sets of brand-new PCs, 1 station computer, a large-sized television for presentation purposes, and an upgraded high-speed Internet system sponsored by United Overseas Bank (Vietnam) Limited (UOB Vietnam). This generous gift will surely enable students to increase their access to information and improve their IT skills.

During the ceremony, Mr. Trần Ngọc Thuận, the Principal of the school, shared: “My dearest students, I am delighted that we have received such huge support to finally afford a new computer room. Please promise that you will appreciate this gift and express gratitude to all our donors who have brought the digital world closer to you by studying harder and achieving excellent results in computer science. Do not forget to keep this new equipment in good condition, and follow your teachers’ guidance to ensure safety whilst using any learning equipment.”
About 25 students spent some time with the donor team to learn the benefits of the availability of these new digital equipment in schools. Although they haven’t been accustomed to computer usage much, the students successfully completed all the online educational games prepared, which aimed to help them become more comfortable with using a keyboard and mouse.



Ms Pham Tieu Giang, Team leader, Strategic Communications and Brand, UOB Vietnam: “As a responsible financial provider, we aim to do right by our communities by continuously supporting the social development of the local community. Through last year’s UOB Heartbeat programme, the Bank and our colleagues raised funds to facilitate this computer room for students in Nui Cam school. We hope that it will bring long term benefits for these students, especially in gaining better access to digital learning, improving computer skills that are crucial requirements for the future workforce.”
Over the years, saigonchildren has partnered with UOB Vietnam on numerous projects dedicated to providing underprivileged children with opportunities to access fair and quality education. A few months ago, part of the funds raised from the 2022 UOB Global Heartbeat Run/Walk also awarded 68 children living in poverty, from primary to high school level in Ho Chi Minh City, heartwarming gifts of essential sustenance and school stationery to encourage them to go to school every day and head towards their bright futures.

