Stories: Children, Community, Future

“Every day after school, I would just go straight home. I rarely joined any extracurricular activities. I was also very shy when speaking in front of a crowd,” Linh – a grade 7 student from Tan Lac district, Hoa Binh province – shyly shared about her past self. Once a quiet student with few friends and low self-esteem, Linh never imagined she would one day feel comfortable speaking in public or taking part in school events.

A turning point came when she was introduced to the “SEL Squad” – an initiative under the “Health and Happiness for Students” project. The project aims to help students build social and emotional learning (SEL) skills to support both their academic and personal growth. At first, Linh joined out of curiosity, but it was the open and supportive environment that gradually changed how she saw herself.

In the beginning, Linh felt out of place. Most of her peers in the squad were confident and outgoing, and her first real challenge was giving a presentation to the group — something she had never done before. With encouragement from her teacher and peers, Linh bravely stepped forward and successfully delivered her presentation. “The round of applause made me realise that I could do better if I just tried,” she recalled.

From that moment, Linh became more engaged. She took on new roles like writing scripts, coordinating group activities, and planning team projects. In each role, she gave it her all — and the results soon followed.