The challenge
In many rural, mountainous and remote areas of Vietnam, the cost of a single school year — textbooks, notebooks, pens, a backpack, a uniform, a pair of shoes — remains a real burden for families with low or seasonal incomes.
Without these basic items, children may feel self-conscious, attend school irregularly or share books with classmates. After natural disasters, many families lose both their books and the space to study, and returning to school becomes harder still.
Compared with infrastructure projects, this is not a large cost. Yet it is the most immediate and recurring barrier to keeping children in school.



