Providing Clean Water in Hung Yen Province, Vietnam

Hung Yen province is located in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam, within the Northern Focal Economic Zone and the Hanoi-Hai Phong–Quảng Ninh Economic Triangle. Hung Yen has ten district and town-level administrative units: Hưng Yên city, districts of Van Lam, Van Giang, My Hao, Yen My, Khoai Chau, An Thi, Kim Dong, Tien Lu and Phu Cu.

Hung Yen has the features of a delta province: flat topography without hills and mountains, with 91 percent of the area dedicated to yearly cultivation; and the remaining for cultivation of perennial plants, fish farming, specialized cultivation and other purposes. The remaining unused natural land is available for agricultural production and development.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Minh Quang emphasized, “In 2018, the province has basically completed the objectives and tasks set out in the clean water and rural sanitation program. However, the rate of water supply from concentrated water plants in the province is still low, water quality in some factories is not interested; the rural environmental sanitation in some localities is not ensured, the situation of domestic garbage gathered along roads, near water sources is not handled.”

For instance, Tien Lu district is the lowest part of Hung Yen province, and the poorest of 10 districts in the province. The common problems among community children are malnutrition, limited access to quality education, injuries and sickness, lack of life skills and high rate of school dropouts. There is a low level of knowledge and practice of hygiene and sanitation, insufficient access to clean water, and human waste is not properly handled, especially after flooding. 15 percent of households do not have hygienic toilets and clean water. On top of that, filtration systems are poor and the uninformed use of pesticides makes well water unsafe. While agriculture (rice, corn and vegetables) accounts for most of the population’s income, productivity is low due to flooding, which occurs four to six months a year, poor soil conditions, sub-par irrigation systems, difficulty in transportation and lack of knowledge.

Providing Clean Water in

Hung Yen Province, Vietnam

Dong Than Primary School

“We are very happy to have this filtration system coming. Our students will have free water for drinking and to clean hands. Importantly, our students’ families will not have to contribute money for the water bottles. On behalf of all the teachers and the students here, we would like to thank you so much for this meaningful program” – School Principal, Ms. Phan.

Metito is changing the lives of a village in Vietnam with clean water system and hygiene education programs

HUNG YEN PROVINCE, VIETNAMDong Than Primary School

Dong Than Primary School is located in Dong Than Commune, Yen My District, Hung Yen Province. Dong Than commune’s economy mainly depends on agriculture and factory jobs in the region.

Although the industrialized rate is quite high in the region, absorbing many hectares of agriculture land, farmers here still maintain rice fields that were passed through many generations. In addition, the villagers also raise cattle and poultry to supplement their income. A large portion of young generation prefer to work at the factories nearby where the local workforce is always welcomed. Although they work hard, many people are still struggling with poverty and low income.

The school must purchase bottled drinking water for daily needs of the students and teachers. The water bottles they purchase are produced by regional suppliers with poor facilities. Still, the bottled water is much better than the nearby well water, which is only used for cleaning and flushing of toilets. The bottled water expense for thousands of students is a very high portion of the budget, and it is still supplemented by many families with low income.

Number of Students: 1,283

GPS Coordinates: 20.544953, 106.181342

Village Population: 13,000

Number of Households: 2,100

Elimination of expense to buy bottled water with a clean water

filtration system makes a big impact on Dong Than village

Metito is changing the lives of a village in Vietnam with clean water system and hygiene education programs

Planet Water Foundation is a U.S.-based non-profit that develops strategic partnerships that support Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts that align with four of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Quality Education; Gender Equality; Reduced Inequalities; and Clean Water and Sanitation. Project 24 programs and initiatives support these four SDGs with longitudinal support in each community for five years.

Since 2015, Project 24 is Planet Water Foundation’s World Water Day advocacy and engagement platform the focuses on the world’s critical need to bring an end to water poverty.

“We are hoping that clean water will come soon. The bottles of water cost a lot and my family cannot afford it.”- Bnh Pham, sixth grade

“The water here is not fit for drinking and what bottled water we can provide to our teachers and students is expensive.” -Mrs. Quynh, teacher