A special ceremony organized by the Ministry of Education and Training in Ha Noi’s Ba Dinh Hall on May 5 was to honor benefactors who have given generously to further the cause of education and training in Viet Nam; the Lawrence S. Ting Community Support Fund and the Phu My Hung Corporation were awarded the Ministry’s Campaign Medal.
President Nguyen Minh Triet placed laurels on Ms. Ting Fei Tsong Ching, Chairwoman, and Ms. Tsien Niu Ping, Vice-Chairwoman, of the Executive Board of the Lawrence S. Ting Community Support Fund, in acknowledgement of the Fund’s valuable contributions to the country’s educational development.
The Lawrence S. Ting Community Support Fund was founded in November 2005 to commemorate Mr. Lawrence S. Ting, the late Chairman of the Central Trading & Development Group, who owned a large stake in the Phu My Hung Corporation, Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone, Hiep Phuoc Electricity Plant, and Sino-Pacific Company.
Since the date of establishment, the Fund has offered 4,500 scholarships to Vietnamese underprivileged pupils and students who have made excellent achievements in their study.
Ms. Ting Fei Tsong Ching said, “As a volunteer for a non-governmental charitable organization for 23 years now, I always feel that no one asks for our help, but it’s we ourselves that have the need for giving help to others.”
Ms. Ching added, “Viet Nam is now in the race for knowledge. Whether the future of the country is bright is determined by a good education for the younger generation’s and that is why we have decided to give a hand to the national education system. Our first project was to fill and level the swamp in the new urban zone of Southern Sai Gon and build a private school there.”
In 2006, the Lawrence S. Ting Community Support Fund and Phu My Hung Joint Venture started a program named “Heading Together with IT to the Future”. Under the program, 64 schools in 64 provinces nationwide have been funded to set up a computer lab equipped with a system consisting of some 25 personal computers, one sever, the copyright Windows software, an ADSL line, and a projector each.
The first stage of the project cost VND20 billion. To date, 54 computer labs have been put into operation and others will soon be finished with the installation and should be ready by the end of next month.
By doing this, the Fund hopes that not only students in the 64 schools but also their parents and students from nearby schools can use the computer labs and gain access to the global information source that is the internet - an affective way to broaden their knowledge.
According to Ms. Ching, the Fund and the Phu My Hung Corporation have also invested US$10 billion in building a high school named after Mr. Lawrence S. Ting in the new urban zone Phu My Hung.
The school will be equipped with modern facilities for study and offer curriculums in accordance with training programs approved by the Ministry of Education and Training.
The modern high school is a significant contribution to reforms in high-school education in Viet Nam. At present, the school is recruiting qualified teachers and management staff to prepare for the enrolment of the school year 2008.
As a brief note about the contributions of Central Trading & Development to Viet Nam’s economic growth: The Hiep Phuoc Power Plant has guaranteed an adequate supply of 45% of electricity to Ho Chi Minh factories and households during the dry season. Whilst the Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone has created 60,000 jobs for local people and the Phu My Hung Corporation has created an ideal living environment for some 7,000 families.
