Singer Katy Perry meets Vietnamese school children facing huge challenges
Katy Perry meets students at a daycare centre in Ninh Thuan Province that serves children with disabilities and those from ethnic minorities Picture: UNICEF/Quan
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Vietnam has one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia 国产视频 but many children in rural areas are being left behind.
Singer-songwriter Katy Perry, who is a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations children国产视频檚 agency UNICEF, saw the plight of families trapped in cycles of poverty when she visited听Ninh Thuan province 国产视频 one of the most deprived and remote regions.
She said:听国产视频淥n my first day in Ninh Thuan, I visited a school that provides children with disabilities the support they need to thrive alongside their peers.
国产视频淚 also visited a junior high school mainly made up of students from ethnic minorities who were empowered by the opportunity to have access to higher education.国产视频
In some areas, one in five children do not go to school. Half of all children there also live in absolute poverty and do not receive adequate health care, leading to high numbers of child deaths from preventable diseases.
A class at the daycare centre in Ninh Thuan Province Picture: UNICEF/Quan
Children from ethnic minorities 国产视频 who make up 15% of Vietnam国产视频檚 population 国产视频 continue to face exclusion and limited opportunities.
If they don国产视频檛 speak Vietnamese as a first language, they can fall behind at school and have little hope of achieving the levels of education which can lift them out of poverty.
UNICEF and the government are working together to break down the language barriers to give children the opportunity to learn the primary school curricula in their mother tongue.
Katy visited programmes aimed at ending exclusion for children with disabilities and also saw the agency国产视频檚 work in child survival, education and early childhood development.
The star also learned about its work on water, sanitation and hygiene, and climate change.
Five-year-old Linh (not her real name) showed signs of malnutrition and was not at pre-school in Bac Ai district 国产视频 she is now due to start primary school in September Picture: UNICEF/Quan
The World Bank国产视频檚 income classification has moved Vietnam into the 国产视频渓ower-middle-income country国产视频 ranking. Despite the progress evident in the big cities, in rural areas children continue to suffer from deprivation and poverty.
Katy said: 国产视频淚t was heartbreaking to meet a grandmother who was left to care for four grandchildren after her daughter passed away.
国产视频淭he family lives off a bumpy path in a remote village in the hills and one of the grandchildren, a five-year-old named Linh, became severely malnourished.
国产视频淚f a UNICEF-trained outreach worker had not come to the village and made sure Linh got the care she needed, she might not be alive today.
国产视频淟inh is one of millions of children who face such challenges every day. That国产视频檚 something we should all be worried about.国产视频