Mekong plus has developed several health education initiatives.

Health problems are the leading cause of poverty. Mekong Plus works to raise children’s awareness from an early age in over 200 schools, and the children are very enthusiastic: group work, regular brushing of teeth at school… And the pupils in turn teach their families.

To achieve these results, Mekong Plus trains and monitors the teachers. The best schools are rewarded by improving sanitary facilities etc… with the participation of the villagers.

Example:

Every week, the whole school brushes its teeth in the playground. The children are responsible for keeping the school clean, the toilets, etc.; an eye test is organized every two years. Thousands of children from dozens of schools are covered by the program every year, and their health improves (the test covers around ten precise criteria). Since 2008, the program has been extended to 61 nursery schools, covering an additional 26,000 children.

Mékong plus also works on school infrastructures (access to water, clean latrines, etc.).

In 2008, Mékong Plus set up an inclusive education program. It aims to adapt the school to all children, even those with more specific needs.

Many children suffer from various handicaps. The family tries to help them, and often goes bankrupt for poor results. Teaching must be adapted to the children, not the other way round! Mekong Plus trains teachers to identify problems as early as kindergarten. In some schools, we open a “happy room” with specific activities for children in difficulty.

In Dúc Linh, Mekong Plus has opened a specialized center, 70% co-financed by parents, who attend the sessions, and learn how to help their child at home before they can join the school.

At school:

By training teachers and organizing special “happy room” classes, Mékong Plus integrates children who are not usually admitted to school because they have disabilities. Each child receives individualized attention. After just a few months, we can already see tremendous progress…

At home:

But when there are fewer than 3-4 children requiring special attention in a school, home help is preferable. Mékong Plus and village assistants visit the children at home for one hour a week. A lesson is given, tailor-made and with at least one parent.

OPENING COMPUTER TRAINING CENTERS AND LIBRARIES

Computers are part of the school curriculum in Vietnam, but many rural schools have no computers. So we learn at the blackboard, taking notes…

Mékong Plus supplies second-hand computers. 69 secondary schools have been equipped with a dozen computers. At each site, 2 technicians have been trained in maintenance. Students pay around 9 euros for a cycle to cover operating costs, but the poorest are exempt. Every year, more than 18,000 children are involved.

Almost all schools have no library.

Mekong Plus helps schools to develop their libraries by providing books at half price.

In village libraries in Cambodia: students volunteer to run a small library in their homes. They are paid €1/month. These libraries are closer to families and accessible every day. Reading has been shown to improve school results.

A. Linked to sexuality

Mékong Plus trains teachers to counter the lack of sex education among young people. At first, many of them were embarrassed and reluctant, but today this has been overcome. In this way, we hope to reduce the number of abortions, for which Vietnam holds the Asian record!

The program is aimed at tens of thousands of students, with a triple objective: to combat violence against women, reduce the number of abortions and raise awareness of human trafficking.

B. Linked to life skills – violence at school

In schools, many pupils are victims of conflict and violence. Mékong Plus has set up training courses to reduce gender-based violence and misunderstandings. These courses are aimed at teachers and educators, who in turn pass them on to their pupils. They have recently become part of the school curriculum, helping students to develop the cognitive, emotional, interpersonal and social skills they need to cope with the challenges of community life.

One solution for reducing the impact of pollution from farm animal excrement is dry litter.

This serves as a natural fertilizer for adjacent crops. To achieve this, a layer of rice bran treated with trichoderma* is laid down in pig or chicken houses. This saves time and water when cleaning the barns.

When the animals are sold, the litter is recovered for composting.

*Trichoderma is an ally of clean farming: it’s a fungus that acts on roots, making them more resistant to stress and disease; it’s also a cheap biological gas pedal that prevents disease.

When the rice is harvested, the straw is left on the fields without being burned, but is sprayed with a trichoderma solution that accelerates its decomposition on the ground. The farmer saves on transporting the straw and gains around 10 days in the transition between 2 crops.

Another way of getting rid of the pollution generated by the animals is to install a biogas system. In this case, the pig pens are washed down with large quantities of water before being evacuated into a tank.

Fermentation of the slurry naturally generates methane gas, which is fed directly into the kitchen. This process is doubly advantageous for both the family and the planet.

Not only is the evacuation of manure essential to the health of nearby residents (parasites and disease factors), but biogas also combats deforestation in the region, as a family without biogas uses one tree a month for cooking.

Mekong Plus faces a new challenge: the progressive salinization of the waters is making the land unsuitable for cultivation. Erosion and land subsidence are occurring along the canals, rivers and main branches of the Mekong.

A few locks try to keep fresh water upstream; some farmers abandon rice for shrimp fishing…

In any case, the most vulnerable are already the first victims. We are proposing a gentler form of agriculture, using less water and varieties that are more resistant to salt water.