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Cao Bang Program Area

Cao Bang is a province of northeastern in Vietnam. According to the General Statistics Office of the Government of Vietnam, the population of Cao Bang province as of 2012 was 515,200 with a density of 79 persons per km2. The province of Cao Bang is home to many people from Vietnam’s ethnic minority groups such as the Tay, Nung, Dao, and H’mong.

In Cao Bang, ChildFund has been working in Tra Linh and Quang Uyen district since 2009. In comparison with other districts in Cao Bang, the two mentioned districts are among the most remote and challenging. Tra Linh is located more than 350 kilometres from the capital of Hanoi but it may take you some 8 hours driving to reach a community there. In Tra Linh, residents live in 10 different communities, known as “communes”, most of which are noted in the Vietnam Government’s list of communes with extreme difficulties. 

Rice and maize are the primary source of income. However, most families have an insufficient amount of water to irrigate their small plots of land. Families also derive income from animal husbandry, though their lack of knowledge on animal rearing techniques is the cause of low productivity.

Health services are difficult to access and lack sufficient resources, including staff and medical equipment. Facilities are often unhygienic. Treatable illnesses like eye infections, diarrhoea, and gynaecological diseases, are common. The malnutrition rate among children under five is quite high, about 23.1% (2009). Most households use unsafe water collected from wells, streams or underground spring water. Moreover, they do not have latrines or use latrines that are in unhygienic condition. At preschools and primary schools, there are often no water and sanitation facilities.

Streams and dangerous passes make it difficult for children to reach schooI. Classrooms are usually small and in poor condition and lack necessary teaching and studying equipment.

Some of the challenges that children and people in Cao Bang are facing include:

  • Lack of understanding about child safety
  • Ineffectiveness of child protection system due to lack of human resources and low competency
  • Low capacity to carry out public healthcare services to mothers and children under five
  • Inadequate access to sanitation facilities and practice

Projects that ChildFund is supporting in the area:

  • ChildFund Swipe Safe
  • Women Economic Empowerment
  • Improving Child Protection Effectiveness
  • Taking care of Mother and Child
  • Quality Education for Ethnic Minority Children

Stories From Our Program aresas

The journey of change for Linh and her mother

The journey of change for Linh and her mother

Linh, a 10-year-old girl living in Tan Lac district, Hoa Binh province, is the eldest of two siblings. Linh’s family…
The journey of change for Linh and her mother
Teachers tackle cyber safety

Teachers tackle cyber safety

Ms. Phương, a young and dynamic teacher, joined Hợp Giang Secondary School, the largest in Cao Bằng province, with over…
Teachers tackle cyber safety
Heroes among us – Professionals committed to children’s safety

Heroes among us – Professionals committed to children’s safety

Last year, after an argument online with a friend, a video of A.*, a young student from southern Vietnam, being…
Heroes among us – Professionals committed to children’s safety
Sex Education? Teens and their teachers are talking about it.

Sex Education? Teens and their teachers are talking about it.

Sex education may not be a subject many students would choose as their favourite, but it is one of the…
Sex Education? Teens and their teachers are talking about it.
Livelihood model creates a better future for children with disability

Livelihood model creates a better future for children with disability

Hao, 8 years old, is the eldest child of a family currently living in Quang Hoa district, Cao Bang province.…
Livelihood model creates a better future for children with disability
Thanh’s dream

Thanh’s dream

“Growing up, I did not ask my parents for much because they have always been working so hard. I also…
Thanh’s dream