Feature: Chinese power firm donations bring brighter days to Vietnam's mountain children

LAO CAI, Vietnam, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- In the early Tuesday morning mist blanketing Ban Ho commune in northern Vietnam's Lao Cai province, teachers and children gathered as essential supplies and new water heaters were delivered to Ban Phung kindergarten by the power firm China Southern Power Grid Lancang-Mekong International (CSGLMI), bringing warmth to the remote mountain school.

Ban Phung kindergarten currently has 188 students. Among them, "more than 10 percent are stunted, and around 5 percent are underweight," said principal Chang Thi Din.

In mountainous and ethnic minority areas, the Vietnamese government subsidizes children's main meals. However, "Parents here struggle financially and cannot provide the children with afternoon snacks," Din said.

Most parents grow rice, but they can only harvest one crop a year, she explained, while corn and cassava crops also bring low yields.

Against this backdrop of hardship, essential supplies and new water heaters were delivered to the school by the Chinese enterprise, bringing much-needed warmth and support to the mountain community.

Among the students receiving gifts, two five-year-olds, Nguyen Anh Tuyet and Doan Minh Quan, expressed joy and gratitude upon learning that they would now have milk for their daily afternoon snack.

Knowing the support came from a Chinese enterprise, Quan shyly told Xinhua, "I thank the Chinese uncles and aunties."

"I love drinking milk," Tuyet added with a smile, explaining that "I usually bring my own afternoon snack to class."

Besides milk, the enterprise donated rice cookers, instant noodles and rice cakes, which Din described as "very practical" for improving the children's daily nutrition.

Din also pointed out that recent natural disasters have severely affected the school's facilities, making daily care for the children even more difficult.

Among the donated items, the new water heaters are considered especially meaningful during northern Vietnam's cold season, as Din noted that, when thick fog covers everything, it is freezing and damp, and the water is extremely cold.

"The new water heaters will be installed inside the building so that when children go to the restroom or when teachers help them to wash, they can use warm water," Din added.

Liu Ba, deputy head of CSGLMI's representative office in Vietnam, noted that the "small but beautiful" philanthropic projects showed their commitment to social responsibility in Vietnam, and hoped they would encourage more enterprises and individuals to devote themselves to improving the well-being of the Vietnamese people.

At the event, CSGLMI presented five office computer sets and 250 packages of essential goods worth 190 million Vietnamese dong (about 7,550 U.S. dollars) to the People's Committee of Ban Ho commune, and donated water heaters, rice cookers, instant noodles, milk, rice cakes and other food items worth 150 million Vietnamese dong (about 6,000 dollars) to Ban Phung kindergarten.