Obstruction, setback, resilience, and courage in Hanoi, Vietnam

In the spring of 2023, Mira Spelbrink (teacher at the Free School Brabant) as portfolio holder for the Southeast Asia and China region of the International Aid Fund, made a tour of Vietnam. Throughout the country, she visited various free schools. At the end of her trip, she visited the Bambusa Steiner school in Hanoi. The International Aid Fund supports the school.

Bambusa Steiner school in Hanoi

The Bambusa (= bamboo) Steiner school was opened as a kindergarten in 2018. The school is located in a residential area of Hanoi. In addition to kindergarten classes, there are now also grades 1, 2, and 3. The school principal and founder of the school, Nga Tran, an engineer by training, was looking for appropriate education for her son. When anthroposophy came into her life and she saw examples from the West, she knew she wanted to establish this school and be trained as a free school teacher.

The school is a private school, which is not recognized by the government. Parents of the students pay tuition fees per month. Impoverished parents only pay a small part, as every child is welcome at the school.

When I visited the school, they had just leased three-quarters of a hectare of land for 50 years on the banks of a river, where the school eventually wants to move in its entirety. They already had a building permit for this. Building materials are expensive. There is actually no money to build. In addition, they are taking it slow to avoid attracting attention. They do not want to draw the attention of the strict government, to prevent it from becoming difficult for them to continue as a free school. The plot of land was initially used as a biodynamic school garden. Various teachers were trained in biodynamic agriculture and horticulture. The students regularly help out, and the fruits of the land are used for sale and also for the school meals.

Obstruction

Within the regular, government-recognized, school system in Vietnam, classes consist of 40 to 60 students per class. Teachers are judged based on the level of achievement of their students, so there is little room to pay attention to areas other than the cognitive. In addition, the government, like various other Asian countries, wants to maintain control over what the children learn. Who you are is not a factor.

Free school education is not recognized, and even "prohibited" from grade 1. During inspections by government delegates, recognizable free school play and teaching materials are even hidden and temporarily replaced by plastic toys or "government-friendly teaching materials". Fines are also paid or bribes are given to be allowed to continue as a school. Free schools have to promise to follow programs of regular government schools.

It's incomprehensible for us, who are used to being able to make our own choices about what education we think is best for our children! And how terrible for the development of the Vietnamese people and for the development of the country that the freedom of education is so restricted.

Setback

In early September 2024, Typhoon Yagi, a powerful tropical cyclone, swept across the Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, and Northern Vietnam. At least 900 people lost their lives, and there was a lot of flooding and storm damage.

The Bambusa Steiner School is located between two rivers, and the school garden is on the banks of one of them. I was sent photos of the situation just after the typhoon had passed. The rivers had far exceeded their banks, the high water was rushing under the bridges with great force, the rainfall had wet the floors of the classrooms, trees were uprooted and lay scattered across the street. In one photo, nothing could be seen of the school garden but water, water, water.

Despite this, the mood within the school community was good, there was only material damage, no students, no parents, and no teachers had lost their lives. The belief that a Steiner school receives protection from a higher power is strong.

Resilience

In October 2024, new messages and photos came from Hanoi. The water had receded. The school garden was visible again. All the vegetables and herbs that grew there had disappeared with the water, but there was not much mourning for that. They looked at what all the water had brought to the garden. A lot of silt had been left in the garden with a lot of living organisms that would ensure a fertile garden. Parents and children helped prepare the garden again. Parents turned the garden soil. New soybeans, corn, and sweet potatoes were planted again.

The fallen camphor trees in front of the school on the street had been chopped into pieces. Large pieces of wood were used to make toys and play equipment. Small pieces of wood went home with teachers and students as firewood for the winter. The fruits from the camphor trees were harvested. The essential oil in the fruits was used, and the rest was made into bracelets by and for the students.

Courage

Meanwhile, it is summer 2025 and there is plenty of life in the school garden. The school year has come to an end. All students, their parents, and the teachers celebrated the summer festival together in the school garden. The students from grades 2 and 3 performed a play. The play is about the saint Thanh Giong; a mythical folk hero from the history of Vietnam. The story goes that a boy had to fight against enemies at a young age and won by showing courage. It also talks about the power of nature and humans who can achieve great results by working together.

Just like the school garden, the Bambusa Steiner School is also growing. There are now 43 students in the kindergarten classes, 5 students in grade 1, 10 students in grade 2, and 7 students in grade 3. Construction is underway in the school garden. As much as possible with the help of parents, students, and teachers. A community center, a school building, is being built with natural materials. With a leaf canopy to keep out the rain and to blend into the landscape. In September, when the new school year begins, the 2nd and 3rd graders will go to school there.

The children are playing, as they should. Life is good for them; life is beautiful! The teachers at Bambusa keep up the morale. The tuition fees that come in monthly are spent on the rent of the school building, the construction of a new school building, the meals, the school materials, and the modest salary of the teachers. Bambusa teachers have agreed to a lower wage for the greater good, because they have confidence that this education contributes to the development of the people, to the future of Vietnam.

Can you help?

The International Aid Fund supports the Bambusa Steiner School by supplementing the school fund so that teachers can attend further training. This is to inspire them and provide them with the necessary knowledge to inspire and educate students to become who they are.

Do you support the International Aid Fund in this?

Please contribute to NL03 TRIO 0212 1950 50 in the name of Stichting Internationaal Hulpfonds, Nijmegen. With reference to Southeast Asia.

Thank you very much!