New School Near Topas Ecolodge Completed
Following the completion of Nam Lang B school, we recently had the honour of handing over the fully rebuilt Ban Pho school
Situated on a beautiful mountain side 13km from Topas Ecolodge, the picturesque village of Ban Pho is home to 187 people of the Red Dao group. The village’s small school educates 15 children aged 6 and 7.
Last year when Topas Project Manager, Kien, visited the village to assess the need for the school to be upgraded, he learned that it was initially built as a temporary structure,but it had been used for 10 years. As a result it was in serious need of an upgrade.
A decision was made to select the school for development, with Topas managing a complete rebuild with funds from a school in Denmark.
Work began in July 2021 and continued for five months, finishing in December 2021.
The official handover ceremony of the school recently took place, with the participation of leaders of the Sapa Education Department and local authorities, General Director of Topas Group Mr. Mike Kruse, Topas Project Manager Kien Tran and all the teachers, pupils and villagers of Ban Pho.
At the ceremony, Mr. Bui Van Cat, the School Principal, said: “The new school of Ban Pho will provide great encouragement to help our pupils to strive up for the best in their studies. Now our pupils can be more comfortable studying and playing, and the teachers can be more confident when teaching in the school which is spacious, built to a high standard and well equipped with both teaching materials and toys.”
This school project is one of many that Topas Project Manager Tran Duc Kien has overseen. On completing the project, Kien said: “I feel very proud to have been in charge of the project, especially as the construction process faced many difficulties due to difficult roads and extreme mountainous weather. The joy of the students and teachers when receiving the new school is shared by Topas generally and I also feel a lot of personal happiness when the children and teachers are happy with the result.”
Mr. Phung Van Quang, Vice Chairman of the commune said: “Ban Pho village is a remote Red Dao ethnic minority village which has many difficulties. Today we are very happy because our long held wish for a new school has come true.”
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To read more about charity projects completed by Topas, visit the link below