4nnef TRDSC

RURAL DEVELOPMENTSERVICES CENTER

Address:22D-K40, Giang Vo-Dong Da- Ha Noi

Tel/fax: (04) 514.2216/7€mail: rdsc@netnam.org.vn

UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND (UNICEF)ECD DEPARTMENT (ECD) - VIETNAM WOMEN'S UNION (VWU)

6HRIV CHILDHOOD CflRC PROJ6CT

ASSESSMENT REPORTPHI6NG LUONG COMMUN6 , MOC CHflU DISTRICT,

SON LA PROVINCE

Prepared by: Nghiem Hong SonNguyen Due ThanhLe Thi Sam

with cooperation of UNICEF, ECD Department and VWU staff

Ha Noi 8/2000

CONTENTSCONTENTS.......................................................................̂ 1

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS......................................................................,.......................................................^

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................................................̂

MAP OF MOC CHAU DISTRICT..................................................................................................................... 5

INTRaDIJCTlON»«».»»..»M»».»»;»».»».»»»«»»»».»»»»M»»M»»»»««»»»»....,.....,.....'..................»...................«

PART I: DISTRICT LEVEL............................................................................................................................. 12

I. THE CONCERN OF DISTRICT AUTHORITIES TO ECC............................................................... 121 . O lUiANI / .ATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

(i. Organization structure....................................................................................................................... 12b. Functions and responsibilities........................................................................................................... 13c. Finance.............................................................................................................................................. 13

2. EXI ' l -RII -NCK IN IMI 'L I -MI-NTINO Cl l l l . l ) !)!• VI-1.OI'MI:NT I'ROJKCTS ............................................................ 1 3a Health................................................................................................................................................. 13h. Education........................................................................................................................................... 13

II. COMMENTS OF DISTRICT OFFICERS ON ECC OF PHIENG LUONC,...................................... 14

1. TlIK POSITION Ol; T I I H COMMUNE ............................................................................................................. 142. ADVANTAGP.S AND DISADVANTAGES...................................................................................................... 15

a. Advantages......................................................................................................................,..^............... 15b. Disadvantages.................................................................................................................................... 15

3. SOLUTIONS.............................................................................................................................................. 17THE MAP OF I'HIENG LUONG COMMUNE............................................................................................... 20

PART II: PHIENG LUONG COMMUNE.......................................................................................................21

I. BACKGROUND OF THE COMMUNE................................................................................................. 21

1. NATURAL FI-ATURI-S ............................................................................................................................... 212. ECONOMIC FI-ATURI-S .............................................................................................................................. 213. SOCIAL FI-ATURI-S................................................................................................................................... 22

a. Population.....................................................................................................................^.................... 22h. Health................................................................................................................................................. 22c. Education........................................................................................................................................... 22

I I . V I L L A G E CLASSIFICATION................................................................................................................ 23

I I I . ECC ACTIVITIES IN PHIENG LUONG............................................................................................... 24

1. OROANI/ATION................................................................ ........................................................................ 24a. Structure............................................................................................................................................. 24b. Finance.............................................................................................................................................. 25

2. Hl-ALTII................................................................................................................................................... 25a. Personnel........................................................................................................................................... 25b. Advantages and Difficulties ............................................................................................................... 25

3. EDUCATION ............................................................................................................................................. 27a. Personnel..............................................................................................,.'........................................... 27b. Advantages and Difficulties............................................................................................................... 28

IV. THE CHILD DEVELOPMENT SITUATION AT HOUSEHOLD LEVEL........................................ 321. EDUCATION u-vi-i,oi;i'AKnNTS............................................................................................................... 322. KNOWI.HIXil- AND I'KACTICi; OF MOTIIl-R AND CIIII.DCAKI'..................................................................... 33

a. General situation <>f child health........................................................,...............^h. Pregnancy care.................................................................................................................................. 33c. Nutrition and Immunization for L.nildren .......................................................................................... 35d Children dixeaxex...............^.....................................................................................................^......... 36e. Behavior of parents in children diseases........................................................................................... 37

3. CHILDREN EDUCATION............................................................................................................................ 37u. General.............................................................................................................................................. 37h. EJiicafion clenidix/............................................................................................^................................. 37c. f'rohleinx lit clilMmn utttwmttHi......................................................................................................... 38

4. Ol'llliK r'ACTOKS...................................................................................................................................... 39a. F.coiKiniicft.......................................................................................................................................... 39b. Sanitation........................................................................................................................................... 40

V. GENDKR.................................................,............^1. OPPora-iJNrni:.soi-cx)NTAcroi)Tsini;woiu.i>........................................................................................412. GENDI-R IN l£CC...................................................................................................................................... 41

a. Roles of men and women.................................................................................................................... 41h. Role of boys and xirk......................................................................................................................... 41

PART3: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................ 431. CONCLUSIONS..............................:........................................................................................................... 432. RliC'OMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................................... 44

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONSPRARCDADBP/D/C WUP/D/C FUP/D/C Y UECCCCPCCARDECDVWURDSCCMSVBAVBPCPCDPCMoHDollDHC

Participatory Rural AssessmentResearch & Consultancy DivisionAsia Development BankProvince/Districl/Commune Women's UnionProvince/Dislrict/Communc Farmers' UnionProvince/Districl/Commune Youth UnionEarly Childhood CareChild Care Protection CommitteeChamber of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentEarly Childhood Development DepartmentVietnam Women's UnionRural Development Services CentreCommune Health StationVietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentVietnam Bank for the PoorCommune People CommitteeDistrict People CommitteeMinistry of HealthDepartment of HealthDistrict Health Center

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe consultant team of RDSC would like to express sincere thanks to the followingindividuals/organizations for their effective and enthusiastic participation and commentsduring the PRA training course and the fieldlrip in Moc Chau.

W Mr Brick Benson, Head of Education Unit, UNICEF Ha Noi;f* Ms Le Thi Anh Tuyel, Head of BCD Department;® Ms Samantha Hung. UNICEF Ha Noi officer;#> Ms Nguyen Thi Lam, UNICEF Ha Noi officer;<® Staff of BCD Departmenttffr Staff of Vietnam Women's Union;tffr Ms Nguyen Thi Tien, Vice-chairwoman of Moc Chau District People's Committee (DPC);#? Mr Pham Hong Son, Head of Moc Chau Chamber of Education and Training (CoET);tf£ Staff of Moc Chau DPC and other organizations;<$) Mr Dang Quyet Tien, Chairman of Phieng Luong Commune People Committee (CPC);W Ms Ly Mai Hoa, Headmistress of Phieng Luong Kindergarten; and#? Village heads and villagers from Muong, Km83, Xom Lorn and Phieng Sang Villages.

1 T.HOC CHAU2 T.NT HOC CHAU3 T.NT CHIENG UE4 C.TAN HOP5 C.QUI HUONG6 C.SUOI BANG7 C.TAN LAP8 C.NA MUONG9 C.SONG KHUA10 C. CHIENG HAG11 C.HUA PANG12 C.TO MUA13 C.MUONG TE14 C.CHIENG KHUA15 C.MUONG SANG16 C.PHIENG LUONG17 C.CHIENG KHOA18 C.MUONG MEN19 C.QUANG MINH20 C.LONG SAP21 C.UAN HO22 C.LONG LUONG23 C.CHIENG YEN24 C.XUAN NHA

P.SON LAD.MQC CHAU

INTRODUCTION

Background: Moc Chau is the district of the Northwest province of Son La where theUN1CEF, BCD and VWU have implemented several development projects, focusing onchildren development. However, many communes have not participated in these projects, andPhieng Luong is one of these. As a result, the commune has been selected in the pilot phase ofthe Early Childhood Care Project (the Project), which will be implemented in the 2001-2005period.

In order to get baseline data and design the action plan for the Project UNICEF invited theResearch & Consultancy Division (RCD) of Rural Development Services Centre (RDSC) toconduct a training course on Participatory Rural Assessment (PRA) and facilitate the fieldtrip.Participants of the training course include staff from UNICEF, ECD and VWU, andrepresentatives of Women's Union and Education sector from Yen Bai and Son La provinces.Alter the training course, RCD and some participants conducted a fieldlrip to the PhiengLuong commune, Moc Chau district, Son La province to collect the information needed for theProject. Objectives of the fieldtrip are presented in Appendices.

Methodology: PRA method and its tools such as workshop, semi-structured interview, groupdiscussion, observation and mapping are used in this mission to collect primary data. The teamalso collected secondary data from the local government and institutions.

Duration: The f ieldtr ip was conducted from the 15"' to the 22"d of July, 2000. The survey wasdistributed to the district level and household level in order to screen and crosscheckinformation. At district level, the PRA team conducted a workshop, which held several groupsdiscussions, and semi-structured interview with district authorities and institutions in order toget the general picture about the project sites and the existing network of ECC activities. Atcommune level, a one-day workshop was also conducted in order to discuss in to more detailthe ECC problems of the commune and identify the solutions. The PRA team also interviewedkey players in the commune and insti tution to identify the cooperation among government andlocal agencies, and collect secondary data. At village and household levels, the survey teamalso conducted semi-structured interviews and group discussions with men, women andchildren.Detailed schedule of the fieldtrip is presented in the Appendix.

PRA team: Three consultants from RCD (RDSC) are key members of the PRA team, actingas facilitators of the mission. Mr Nghiem 1 long Son, a master of agricultural economics, is theteam leader. Mr Nguyen Due Thanh, a bachelor of banking and Ms Le Thi Sam, a bachelor ofanthropology, are members of the consultant team. A team of multidiscipline experts fromUNICEF, ECD and VWU also joined the PRA team. In addition, staff of DoET, CoET, andrepresentative from Provincial Women's Union participated in the survey. The list ofparticipants is presented in Appendices.

Structure of this report: The report is divided in to three parts: Part I presents the concern ofdistrict authorities on ECC in Phieng Luong. Part I I shows the major findings of the survey atcommune and household levels. Part III presents conclusions and recommendations of thePRA team.

Sample of the survey: Phieng Luong is a commune with 4 ethnic groups namely Dao, Thai,Muong and Kinh (Vietnamese), where the population of Kinh is smallest. There are 9 villagesin Phieng Luong, of which 4 Dao villages, 3 Thai villages, 1 Muong village, and 1 villagecontains the mixture of ethnic.

Sample of this survey is selected in 4 villages, including three villages of single ethnic (Duo,Muong, and Thai), and 1 village of mixture (see Table 1). In addition of ethnicity, the villageswere selected according to location and population size. The household sample size is 10% ineach village. The households were selected by a criterion that they have children aged from 0-10. The detailed list of households is presented in Appendices.

Table 1: Sample villages of the surveyVillageDistance to thecommune center

Ethnic

Number ofhouseholds

Muong

Near

Thai

113

Km83

Average

Dao, Muong,Kinh, Thai

67

Xom Lorn

Average

Muong

76

Phicug Sang

Far

Dao

85Source: PRA training course in I In Noi

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Phieng Luong in located in Ihe Moc Chau district, Son La province. There are 4 ethic groups,namely Dao, Thai, Muong, and Kinh thai live in Phieng Luong. The commune has 9 villages,in which there are 4 Dao villages, 3 Thai villages, 1 Muong, and 1 village of mixtureethnicity. The location of Phieng Luong is very convenient for transport. The ranking resultsconducted by district officers show that Phieng Luong belongs to average group in economicsand social activities but i t is one of the leading communes of the district in education.

Phieng Luong has many economic potentials, especially lea and dairy production. However,these potentials have not been exploited yet. The main products of the commune at present aremaize and canna. Poor households account for 19% of the population. Phieng Luong isconsidered the pilot commune of llic district and province for socio-economic and cultureactivities. As a result, it will have a lot of opportunities for development.

Advantages of Phieng Luong& Large area of forest, which is under proper planting and exploitation;& Temperate climate, large land and fertile soil, which is also successfully cultivated;& Near the district center, convenient for exchange goods;*> Credit is available with the total loan of approximately VND 2 billion;& The commune economy is considerably developed;& The local authorities are enthusiastic;&> Three out of 9 villages of the commune were connected to electricity;& The education system is almost completed;& Some ethnic minority teachers are available;& Local culture and sport activities are maintained and developed;& A library with 200 book ti t les is available in the commune; and&' The local community has high level of awareness; low rale of illiteracy.

Opportunities for child development&> Government and local authorities are concentrating on child development;*• UNICEF, BCD, VWU support Ihe ECC project;& Education and Health staff, and Women's Union from provincial level to commune level

will participate in the Project;& National programs on education and health are being maintained; and<*> The economy of the commune will be developed further because of large land resource,

which is suitable for tea and dairy production.

Table 2: Problems and solutions for ECC in Phieng Luong

Problems Presence/ Causes Impacts of problems Impacted groups RecommendationsInfrastructureand equipmentare insufficientand havedeteriorated

Education- Lack of kindergartenclasses.-Classrooms havedeteriorated: roofs leak, nosafe water and latrine, shortof toys, chairs and desks areinsufficient and broken.Health service- Lack of function rooms

Lack of transportequipment

- Lack of microsurgery kit> Limited budaet

>• The quality of childcaring and education forchildren is deteriorated

> Children suffer from poorhealth

> Children's parents areenthusiastic in working

> The community lose faithin the education and healthsystems

> Community> Parents of

children> Children

- Design detailed plans to construct and improveinfrastructure with the participation of thecommunity; focus on the contribution ofcommunity and local authorities.- Setting up and implement regulations onmonitoring and maintenance of the infrastructuresystem

Educationand healthpersonnelare insufficientandunskillful

Education- Lack of local teachers,especially for daycare centers- Skills and enthusiasm ofteachers are poorHealth- Lack of staff on ECC-LackofVHWs- Low professional skills- Poor record system> Lack of staff.> Refreshment trainings arenot frequently conducted> Cannot select proper

person for training

Education> Teachers cannot go to

class rainy days. Theylack of native culture andcannot stay with thecommunity for a longtime.

> The kindergarten onlyoperates on half-day basis

> Poor teaching andlearning quality

> Cannot mobilize allchildren go to school

> Haven't got a longprogram for childrendevelopment__________

Children> Poor health

andknowledge

Community> Short of

healthy andskilled labor

Cooperate with provincial and districtauthorities to define responsibilities inselecting people, training, supporting expensfor training. Priority is given to select local aethnic minority people to send to the trainingEstablish a proper system of records for theCHS and VHWsConduct training courses, workshops andcontest to improve knowledge and exchangiexperiences

Health service> Pregnant women go to the

district hospital or thehospital of Moc Chaucooperative for antenatalcare and immunization

> Health of the communityand children are poor

> Nutrition program isinterrupted_____________

3. ECCknowledge,especiallynutri t ionknowledge isvery poor

> Inefficientcommunication due tolimited skills, lack ofenthusiasm knowledge ofpropagandist, lowenthusiasm, limitedcommunication methods

> Low level of literacy,especially for women

> Parents rarely teachVietnamese for theirchildren due to heavyworkload in the fields

> Date customs aremaintained

MalnutritionFuture generation willsuffer from poor healthNo antenatal examinationor examine because ofsickDeliver babies at homewithout safe toolsPoor reproductiveknowledgeVietnamese ability ofchildren in kindergartenand in the first two yearsof primary school is verypoor____________

> Community> Family> Children- Tired ofstudying: get poorresults- Suffer frommalnutrition,bronchitis anddiarrhoea

Establish a communication network fromdistrict to commune levelsTrain communication skillsDesign communication documents that aresuitable with the aims of the Project, locallanguage and cultureCombine communication activities withculture shows or sport events in commune andvillaees

4. Transport tosomevillages isdifficult

> It is difficult to go tosome villages, especiallyin rainy season

> Lack of capital> Investment is too big for

local community tocontribute

> Difficult to transferemergency patients fromvillages to health stationDifficult to contactoutside worldTeachers and health staffhave difficulty inaccessina local

> Family (lowincome)

> Children (poorstudy results)

10

community5. Economy of

somevillages isundeveloped

> Lack of productionknowledge

> Lack of off-season jobs> Lack of access to credit

even though sources areavailable

> Lack of saving habit

Lack of capital to investon children education andhealth careOverall development ofchildren is not ensured

> Children:malnutrition,diseases, loweducationlevel

Establish a credit and saving model forwomen, especially for poor womenEstablish suitable economic models such asthe processing of tea, maize and cannaTrain new production knowledge in order toexploit economic potentials of the communesuch as tea and dairy productionTransfer new technology in order to imprcvnutrition food for children

6. Safe waterandsanitation

> 29% Household use safewater

> 66% construct and uselatrine

> Free raising of livestock isexisting, mainly in Daoand Muons community

Far from water sourceWater is polluted in rainyseasonLiving environment ispollutedEasy to be infected byparasitical worms andintestinal diseases

> Bring diseasesto community

Construct safe water tankConduct communication activities onsanitation such as construct latrine andgarbage dumpConstruct demonstration models, using locamaterialEstablish regulations on sanitation practice ]all households and villages._________

PART 1: DISTRICT LEVEL

i. THE CONCERN OF DISTRICT AUTHORITIES TO ECC

1. Organization

a. Organization structureECC activities in Moc Chau district have attracted the concern of local government, theCommunist Party, inst i tut ions and mass organizations. The concern of the district isstrengthened since ihe in t roduct ion of the Child Protect Law (CPL). The d is t r ic t alsoestablished the Action Program for Children (APC) in the period of 1999-2000 in order toincrease the efficiency of ECC activities. APC an integrated program on health, education andculture. It is considered lo he the most crucial part in the strategy for human resourcedevelopment of the district. Organization structure of APC is presented in Figure 1. APC has 4objectives.

Objective 1: Provide proper nutrition and sanitation for children and their mothers in order toensure that all children arc strong and intell igent.

Objective 2: All children of the school age must go to school and complete primary education.Priorities in education strategy should be given to primary and literacy education.

Objective 3: Ensure proper conditions for children to join entertainment and sport activities,music and travel in order lo have holistic development.

Objective 4: Provide opportunities for children with d i f f icu l t ies lo mix with community, thusthey will be able to be good citizens.

DPC

Chamber of Finance, Chamber ofPlanning Investment

ChildCare & Protection

Committee

1Chamber of Statistics

HWoU

§

§.c«jE

si2 <£•3i-T '"§£•§•§J rt Ch

ambe

r of

Cultu

re

co'cD

<S)

tr"|

o>- W

omen

's U

nion

t/><s:O

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ocat

iona

lTr

aini

ng C

entre

Popu

latio

n an

dFa

mily

Pla

nnin

gCo

mm

ittee

Figure 1: Organization diagram of the action program for children in Moc ChauSource: Interview Moc Chau C/ii/il Cure & Protection Committee

12

b. Functions and responsibilitiesDistrict People's Committee (DPC): Supervise APC directly; gives priority for the budget ofAPC. Coordinate the participation of the district agencies to implement the programs.

District Health Centre (DHC): Improve the communication on child health care, focus onnutrition, and primary health care for mothers and children, focusing on remote areas.Improve skil ls for staff and equipment lor CHS.

Chamber of Education and Training (CoET): Construct more classrooms, provide equipmentfor schools. Allocate teachers for remote areas; open integrated classes in underpopulatedareas. Enhance the t ra in ing of local teachers.

Chamber of Planning and Investment (CPI): Design annual budget for APC. Cooperate withthe Child Care and Protection Committee to mobilize funding from domestic and internationalsources to support the implementation of APC.

Chamber of Finance: Ensure the transfer of funding on time for the operation of APC.

Chamber of Culture: Advice the District branch of Communist Party, and government tomobilize capital for the establishment ol entertainment centers for children. Conductcommunication campaigns in mass media on CPL. Cooperate with other inst i tut ions, massorganizations, and individuals to establish culture and sport activities for children.

Chamber of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs (CoIJSA): Conduct regular survey on theproblem of children with difficulties. Advice the DPC to organize free health checkup fordisabled children and children with difficulties. Promote the adoption and sponsorship forchildren with diff icul t ies .

Other institutions and mass organizations: Conduct communication activities on familyplanning, child and mother health care knowledge, and charity activities.

c. FinanceThe district has designed budget for Children Action Program in the period of 1999-2000 from3 sources:

- Central level: VND 43,530 billion- Local: VND 11,619 billion- In ternat ional aid: VND 3.925 bi l l ion

Total VND 59,074 billion

2. Experience in implementing child development projectsa. HealthDHC staff has some experiences in implementing national and international child health careprojects. The national health care projects are nutr i t ion rehabilitation, immunization, familyplanning, and protection common diseases for children. Meanwhile the Vietnam-AustraliaMalaria Control Program is the only one international health project in Moc Chau.

b. EducationThe interview results with head of CoET, Moc Chau have not received any support from bothdomestic and international organizations except some supports from UNICEF in 1999 such asintegrated class, toys, VAC1 documents, training courses, 10 smokeless stoves, and 8 latrines.

VAC is a Vietnamese abhriviai ion for a model of houseliould economics: V- garden, A- pond, ('- pig cage

II. COMMENTS OF DISTRICT OFFICERS ON ECC OF PIIIENC LUONG1. The position of the communeMoc Chau has 24 communes and 3 towns. The survey team use ranking method to identify theposition of Phieng Luong in the district in economic, culture, health and education comparedwith other communes and towns. The participants of the ranking process are officers fromdistrict ins t i tu t ions and mass organizations. The district officers were divided into 3 groups,namely Education, Health, and Inter-discipline. Results of the ranking are present in Box 1.

Box 1: Results of communes ranking result in Moc Chau district

INTER-DISCIPLINE GROURanksGood1 commune and 2towns

Average16 communes,Phieng Luong isincluded

Poor8 communes

HEALTH GROUPRanksGood12 communes

Average12 communes, PhiengLuong is included

Weak: 3 communes

EDUCATION CROUPRanksGood4 communes,including PliicngLuong communeAverage

I I CommunesPoor12 communes

Source: Moc Chaii district u

FeaturesHave enterprises, state cooperatives, land is available to cultivatef ru i t trees and cash cropsDairy production and services are developedHave completed education system, radio broadcasting andtelevision stations are availableInconvenient transport, 40% of villages have mini hydroelectricgenerators; 20% of villages connect to the national power systemCommercial production occupy 35-40 % of total outputsCommune market is availableReforestation is developedDif f i cu l t transportNo connection to nat ional power system; 20% households havemin i hydroelectric electricity generatorsSmall market is available

FeaturesUnder the close supervision of the dis t r ic t Party,Smoolh cooperation among local agenciesThe rale of immuniza t ion is over 85%The ma lnu t r i t i on rale is lowInf ras t ruc ture and equipment are goodNational health programs are implemented wellCooperation among local agencies is limitedInfrastructure is not. complete and sufficientLack of proper equipmentNational health programs arc implemented wellInfrastructure are deterioratedHealth staff is insufficient and unski l l fu l

FeaturesConcern on higher level in education. The socialization in educationis developedSkills of teachers are goodEducation facili t ies are satisfactoryWorse than the above group in the similar criteria

Worse than the above group in the similar criteria

'orkshop

14

Based on the ranking results, Phieng Luong ranks the average in economics and health.However, Pliieng Luong is one among 4 leading communes/towns in Moc Chau district ineducation.

2. Advantages and Disadvantagesa. AdvantagesThe results of the district workshop and interview with district agencies, the survey teamfound that Phieng Luong is one among communes, which have many advantages for socio-economic development, especially for child development (see Box 2).

Box 2: Advantages of Phieng LuongInter-discip 1 ine group

Close to the district center,convenient transport

Three among nine villagesare connected to the nationalelectric system

Have kindergartens- The ECC Project isimplementing

The first commune that hasintegrated classes and completedprimary education.

Eight out of nine communeshave VHWs

Villages are keen onimplementing educationactivities

Local culture, music andsport activities are developed

It is the pilot commune ofthe district for socio-economicactivities

Abundant credit sourcesfrom VBP and VBA. The totalloan amount is more than VND1 billion.

Education groupSmall area, convenient

transportThe socialization of

educational is implemented.The education system is

completed fromkindergarten to secondaryschools, and ruralcontinuation classes

Teachers are sufficientEducation level of the

commune is higher thanmany other communes inthe district

Mass media such asradio, newspaper and TV areavailable

High enrollment rate;Phieng Luong is the firstcommune that completedliteracy.

Health groupI lave guidelines from

upper authori t iesCommune authori ty

supervise closelyChild care regulations are

availableEight among nine

communes have VHWsFair economy, has land

potential but lack of financeand technology.

85% children are cared bynational health programs

Fair education levelConvenient transport

Source: District workshop

In conclusion, Phieng Luong is the commune that has many advantages lor child health careand education. The advantages are geographical conditions, economic potentials, sufficientconditions to develop health care and education. Furthermore, the commune is selected by thedistrict and the province as a pilot site for socio-economic development. Thus, it may have achance to mobilize investment and support from the districts and the provinces.

b. DisadvantagesAdditionally to the advantages mentioned above, Phieng Luong is facing with disadvantages.The problems were identif ied from the dis t r ic t workshop and interviews w i t h d is t r ic t officers.Table 3 below shows the identified problems anil their priority.

15

Table 3: Priority of problems in Pliieng Luong ranked by Health grouj)ProblemsFacilitiesDated customsInsuff ic ient concern of local governmentPoor skillsUnstable work and allowance for heal th collaboratorsLack of childcare knowledgePoor sanitat ion

RanksI

I IIIIIVV

VIVII

Source: Moc Chan district workshop

As he seen from Table 3, the most d i f f i cu l t problem in health care in Pliieng Luong is the poorfacilities, followed by the presence of dated customs of ethnic minority groups. The healthgroup also believed that the insuff ic ient concern of the local authori ty is one of the importantproblems in Phicng Luong. Moreover, this group also complained that work and allowance ofhealth collaborators are unstable. The last two problems are the limited childcare knowledgeof parents and poor sani ta t ion. Although these two problems are considered less serious thanother problems, the survey team believed that they have negative impacts on the community,who cause these problems.

Table 4: Priority of problems in Pliieng Lining ranked by Education groupProblemsInsufficient and deteriorated facilitiesVietnamese abi l i ty of ethnic children is poorDated customsLack of kindergarten teachersPoor management skil ls

RankI

III I IIVV

Source: Moc C/KIII district workshop

The discussion results of the education group show that insufficient and deteriorated facilitiessuch as classrooms, desks and chairs, t ra ining materials, toys, safe water and latrine are themost serious problem for child education in Phieng Luong (see Table 4). The second priorityproblem is the poor Vietnamese ability of children in kindergarten age and the first two yearsof primary school. The existence of dated customs also causes great diff icul ty for childeducation in Phieng Luong. The study of many students is effected by traditional festivals,making them gel bored of studying and quit school for early marriage. There are twodi f f i cu l t i e s related to the personnel development of the local government: lack of kindergartenteachers and poor management skills. Teachers for daycare centers (look after less than threeyears old children) are in great shortage. This is due to a lack of personnel quota for daycareteachers. The CoET plans to establish community-based daycare centers. However, no such acenter has been established yet due to shortage of capital to train, pay salary and allowancefor teachers.

Table 5: Priority problems ranked by the Inter-discipline groupProblemsLimited ECC knowledgeDifference of awareness level among villages and ethnic groupsLack of off ic ia l ly trained staffShortage of facilitiesLow enrollment rate at kindergartensDated customsSome villages have not connected to the national electric system

Rank1

IIIIIIVV

VIVII

Source: Moc Cluni district workshop

16

The discussion results of the inter-discipline group show that the most serious problem is thepoor ECC knowledge of parents (see Table 5). The difference in the awareness level amongvillages and ethnic groups is also a hot issue in Phieng Luong. In addition, skills educationand health staff at the commune are very poor. Moreover, insuff ic ient and deterioratedfacilities, and low enrollment rate of children are also considered just as serious .

The main problems of Phieng Luong, identified in the district workshops, are summarized andpresented in Box 3 below.

Box 3: Problems effect to childhood care development in Phieng Luon^LevelLocalgovernmentandorganiztionsat communelevelsHealth

Education

Households

ProblemsPoor skills

Poor infrastructureand equipment

Lack of staff, poorallowance for healthstaff and ECCcollaborator atcommune levelPoor skills

Poor infrastructureand equipment

Vietnamese abilityof children is poor

Teachers areinsufficient and havepoor skillsPoor knowledge oneducation of childrenDated customs

Poor WATSAN

Causesw" Most local staff just completed secondary school^ Lack of opportunities to participate in management

t raining courses, especially in heal th and educationmanagement

w Limited understanding on ECC

ca" Limited budgetff Skills of health staff do not ensure proper use of

equipmentCcf> No quota for new staff at commune levelw" Limited budget

^ Poorly trained'"" Lack of opportunities for further study*•"' Lack of capital^" The bi l i ty to mobilize from the community is

l imited"•"' Poor management and coordination'<*' Lack local teachersv' Lack environment to practice Vietnamese^ Lack visual aids to teach Vietnameser/r Lack kindergaten teachers'^ Skills of some teachers are unsatisfactory

'<r Lack opportnities to improve knowledgerii* Shortage of information^' Transfer from generations to generationscr' Practice daily, hard to avoid«*' Lack safe water<*' No latrine'•'"" Livestock are free raised

3. SolutionsBased on the priority ECC problems discovered in the district workshop, the survey teamrequest dis t r ic t ins t i tu t ions , wi th the best of their experiences and understanding about thelocal situation, propose solutions for the identified problems. These solutions are presented inTable 6.

17

Table 6: Solutions for ECC problems of Phieng LuongI . Develop education and improve the capacity of local staffPriorityproblemsInfrastructureand equipment

Vietnameseability ofchildren

Kindergartenteachers

Managementskills ofcommune staffand schoolleaders

Solutions

^ Mobilize local contribution to constructthe Infrastructure system

tsr Mobilize resources from differentorganizations to improve infrastructure

^ Strengthen the management andcoordination

^ Establish proper environment to practiceVietnamese

^ Train local teachers^ Design teaching programs for ethnic

children** Supply toys and study tool, which can

enhance the language skillscs" Train teachers for community-based

kindergartens

> Conduct training course on educationknowledge> Conduct training course on managementskills> Participate on management activities atcommune level

Implementing agencies

Communist PartyGovernmentInstitutionsCommunity

- Community- Households- School

- Provincial teachers'training school

- Staff trainng school- Politic school- Governmentalorganization commity- Women's Union- ECD Department- Department of Health

ContributionProvince- Finance- Document

- Trainteachers

- Trainteachers

- Conducttraining

District- Textbooks- Document

-Sendpeople totraining

-Sendpeople totraining

Commune- Labor- Land- Materials- Finance

- Send properpeople totraining- Pay salaryfor teachers- Send peopleto training

External ForcesSupport the

construction ofwater tanks andpipe system

Constructlatrine- Supportteachingequipment andtoys- constructclassrooms,fence- Teachingprogram forethnic children- Toys and studytools

- Support salaryfor teachers inearly stage

- Supporttraining cost

18

2. Improve quality of local health service

Priority problem

Infrastructure andequipment

-Quota for payroll-Allowance forhealth staff andcollaborators atvillage communelevelsProfessional skills

Solutions

- Invest on infrastructure- Supply equipment

- Increase number of staff at communelevel

- Conduct training to improve skills oflocal health staff

Implementing agencies

- Ministry of Health (MoH)- Provincial People's Committee

-Central Government- Provincial People's Committee

District Health Center (DHC)

ContributionProvicne- Funding- TechnicalSupport- Staff

District | Commune- Funding

- Training

- Labor

- Select andsend peoplefor training

External Forces

- Document- Funding

3. Households

Priorit}' problems

LackofECCknowledge

Dated Customs

Sanitation

Solutions

- Conduct communication activities- Traing ECC knowledge-Conduct training on reproductivehealth for those in the reproductive age- Mobilize children go to daycarecenter and kindergarten- Encourage parents take children toCHS for immunization health checkupCommunication on new knowledge ofliving style

- Conduct communication activities- Establish demonstration models- Expand the models

Implementing agencies

- Communist Party- Government- Institutions: Women's Unionand Health staff

- Communist party- Government- Organizations and instituions atcommune level- Health Center- Women's Union- Organizations and institutions atcommune level

ContributionProvince- Policy- Budget-Humanresource

- Funding

District- Dicision- Fuunding- Monitoring

- Traing-Communication- Documents

-Technicaladvice

Commune

Implementalion- Labor- Materials

Conductcommunicalion

- Labor

External Forces- Funding- Documents

- Funding- Documents- Equipment

Source: Workshop at Mac Client district

19

THE MAP OF PHIENG LUONG COMMUNE

20

PART II: PHIENG LUONG COMMUNE

I. BACKGROUND OF THE COMMUNE

1. Natural FeaturesPhieng Luong is about 15 km from Moc Chau to the East. The National road No 6 separatesthe commune and Moc Chau Cooperative in the South. The provincial road No 37 also runsthrough the district and connects Moc Chau and Phu Yen district. Phieng Luong borders withClio Long commune in the West, Him Pang commune in the North and Chieng Khoacommune in the East and Van I lo commune in the South.

The total area of Phieng Luong is 2305 ha, in which forcstland accounts for 1328 ha. The totalcultivation area of the commune is 583 ha, most of the area is covered with maize and othercrops such as canna. The area for f r u i t tree and cash crops is 128 ha. Wet rice and dry riceareas are limited at 35 ha and 25 ha, respectively.

The terrain of the commune consists of low hills and valleys. The land is quite fertile and theweather is moderate, which is suitable for the development of cash crops and f ru i t trees suchas tea and plump.

In short, Phieng Luong has favorable geographical position to contact with socio-economicservices, and the market. The soil conditions of the commune are sui table for cropping withmaize as the main food crop, p lump is the major f ru i t tree and tea is the main type of cashcrop. In addition, the commune has mature conditions to develop dairy production.

2. Economic FeaturesThe economy of Phieng Luong depends main ly on Ttiblc 7: Household Wealth Ri inkingagricul ture. It is better than many areas in the deltaregions. Among 530 households in the commune, therich account for 24.5%, the middle account for 56.6%,the poor account for 12.3% and the hunger poor accountfor 6.5%. Thus, the total number of poor and hungerpoor households in the commune account for only18.8%. Most households in the commune have tiledhouses; some households own trucks. In the threevillages, which have electricity connected, 75% ofhouseholds have TV while the average rate of TVowners in the commune is 50%.

( i roup

RichMiddle

PoorI lunger poorTotal

Number ofhousehold

1303006535

530

%

2557127

100Source: xtiilixlicx of I he commune

According to the assessment of the commune, the average income of a r ich household is VND15 million/household, some rich households gain the annual income of VND 20-25 million.The average income of middle households is VND 10 mi l l ion , income of the poor is VND 5million and income of the hunger poor is VND 2 million.

The hybrid maize with double crop per year is one of the major income sources of PhiengLuong. Most households harvest more than 4 tons of maize per year; some households harvestmore than 10 tons. In addition, plump is also a considerable source of income wi th theproduction of 1.5-2 tons per household. Canna and rice also cont r ibu te s i g n i f i c a n t l y to theeconomy of households. The average food production of Phieng Luong is 850 kg riceequivalent per person per year.

21

Phieng Luong has high potential on forest. Currently, (he Program 747 is supporting PhiengLuong in reforestation and protection. Many households have planted fruit trees and forest inthe Ibrestland allocated to them. It is estimated that forest will be a significant income sourcefor the commune. Additional to forest, the commune has big potential for tea but this potentialhas not been efficiently exploited.

Animal husbandry also develops considerably in Phieng Luong. The most common types ofanimal husbandry in Phieng Luong are buffalo, ealtle, pig, chicken and honeybees. Accordingto officers of the Chamber of Agricul tural and Rural Development (CARD), dairy productionand be developed in Phieng Luong, however, this potential has not been exploited yet.

3. Social Features

a. PopulationThere are 9 village in the commune with the total population of 2530 inhabitants in 530households. Following is the population structure of the commune.• Labor age 905 • 4-5 age 82• 7-10 age 263 • 2-3 age 83• 5-6 age 74 • Under 2 year of age 60There are 4 ethnic groups in the commune, namely Dao (261 households), Thai (186households), Muong (86 households) and Kinh (34 households).

b. HealthThe Commune Health Station (CHS) is under reconstruction. The CHS is staffed with 3persons. Additionally, there are 8 village health workers (VHWs) in 8 villages.

There are 780 people that went to the CHS for health checkup in the first 6 months of 2000;on average more than 100 people went to the CHS each month. There are also 85 childrenunder I year of age brought to the CHS for health checkup with the common diseases such asbronchitis, pneumonia and diarrhea.

The caring of mother and child in Phieng Luong is a crucial problem. There are only 44% ofpregnant women went to the CHS for antenatal care and immunization against tetanus. Mostwomen went for checkup at the district hospital and the hospital of Moc Chau cooperative.

The public sanitation of the commune is considerably good compare to the situations of amountainous commune. Some villages in the commune have safe water tanks; a lot ofhouseholds construct water gutter from creeks to their home. Many households have latrineand most households construct animal shelters. However, in some villages such as Xom Lorn,many households do not have safe water. This situation will be improved in the near futuresince Son La province is implementing the 925 Program, which constructs safe water systemsfor villages in the commune.

c. EducationAt present there are 33 primary classes in Phieng Luong with the total number of 675 children.The completion rale of children in primary school is 98%, only 3 children dropped the class inschool year 1999-2000 due to economic difficult ies. The enrollment rate to primary school forchildren at the school age in 1999-2000 is 97.8%. However, the percentage of children withcredit is not promising with only 2%.

22

The literacy work in Phieng Luong is considerably well. All community members can speakVietnamese fluently. In 2000, the number of illiteracy people from 21 to 35 years of age in thecommune is 26 people, who are member of poor families, newly immigrated people or old agepeople.

The child education of the commune is considerably well. All children in the commune have achance to go lo kindergarten. However, only two villages have kindergarten; in the remainingvillages kindergarten children have to study at primary school. Addi t ional ly , Ihere are twovillages that established childcare groups.

II. VILLAGE CLASSIFICATIONPhieng Luong commune consists of 9 villages with three ethnic minority groups, namely Dao,Thai and Muong. Detailed s ta t is t ics of these villages are presented in the appendices. In orderto identify the differences in caring, education and protection of children in villages and ethnicminority groups the survey team utilizes (he village ranking method. Parlicipanls of theranking mission include local government, ins l i lu l ions such as CHS, primary school, massorganizations, village heads and chairwomen of vi l lage women's union. The rank ing resultsare presented in Box 4.

Box 4: Village RankingVillageranking

..group

Rankingresults Name of Village Features

Ileal lhGroup

Credit Muong, SuoiKhenC 83, FaHoc, Kin 5

Satisfactory Phieng Sang, XoniLoin, PhiengTien, Phieng I la

100% of children is immunized, 80% of those who inreproductive age applied family planning methods, 50% ofpregnant women go for antenata l checkup. V I I V V is available,the incidence of goiter and malaria is rare

EducationGroup

Distinction Muong

100% of children immunized, only 10% of pregnant women gofor antenata l care due to long distance, in three villages theskills of VI IWs are not sufficient. fif)% of people in reproductiveage apply fami ly planning method, the incidence of malaria andgoiter is higher than tha t of the belter communes

Credit Suoi Khem

Daycarc center, kindergarten and primary schools are available.There arc latrine, safe water and play ground in the primaryschool. The kindergarten and daycare center were constructedfrom the contr ibution of villagersThe enrollment rate is high. The Vietnamese a b i l i t y of childrenis very good.In f ra s t ruc tu re such as play ground, safe water source and latrineare availableVietnamese ability of children is limited_______________

Satisfactory Phieng Tien,Phieng Sang, PaHoc

The enrollment rale is not very high.Lack of chairs, desks and lalrine.

NotSatisfactory

Km5, Phieng Ma,Xom Loin, 83

Infrastructure is very l imited. The enrollment rate is low.Local government and the community do not concern abouteducation

Multi-disciplineGroup

Credit Muong, PhiengSang, Suoi Khem,Km 5

All villages have a primary school. The average food productionis 850 kg/person/year. The average income is VND 20-25million/liousehold/year. 97% of households have l i l ed houses.Construction is convenient.50% of households have motorcycle. 70% of households haveTV. 75% of households have safe water.

WomenGroup

Satisfactory

Credit

Satisfactory

Pa Hoc. Km 83.Xom Lorn. PhiengTien. Phieng Ha

Muong, Km83,Km5, Pa Hoc,Phieng Sang, SuoiKhemPhieng Tien.Phieng Ha, XomLorn

Phieng Tien and Phieng Ha villages, which are newly resettledin 1993, have no kindergarten. Km83 village also have nokindergartenThe food production is 700 kg/person/yearAverage family income is VND 10-15 million/year80% of households have tiled roof houses. 30% of householdshave TV, 35% of households connected to electricity, 75% ofhouseholds have safe water.Transport condition is convenient; car and truck can access tothe villages in dry season.100% of mothers gain ECC knowledge from communicationcampaign.Awareness and practice of BCC techniques are considerablywell. 100% of mothers allowed their children immunized.Awareness of mothers is poor. Some women do not participatein women's activities.

Source: commune workshop

In short, Muong and Suoi Khem villages are in the distinction group in terms of economics,education and health. Meanwhile Xom Lorn, Phieng Ha and Phieng Tien villages are classifiedas the worst groups in the commune. Phieng Ila and Phieng Tien villages are newly resettledfrom the reservoir area of Song Da Hydroelectric Scheme, thus, they are facing a lot ofdifficulties. In terms of ethnicity Thai is considered the most advanced group, followed byDao and Muong.

III. ECC ACTIVITIES IN PHIENG LUONG

1. Organization

a. StructureFrom the organization structure of the Action Program for Children (APC) of Moc Chau,which is presented in Part 1 of this report, it can he seen that there are some institutionsspeciali/ed in child development. In education, (lie commune has established the CommuneEducation Council (CEC), where the Commune People's Commit Ice (CPC) plays a crucial role(see Figure 2).

CEC

Secondary School Primary School Kindergarten

Committee of Children's Parents (CCP)

Branch of CCP

Households

Figure 2: The Network of Education Management

24

CEC: The members of CEC include the government, institutions and village head. The head ofthe CEC is chairman of the CPC. Vice-chairman of the CEC is the headmaster of (he primaryschool. Other members of CEC are head of the mass organizations and village heads.

The main duties of this organization are to evaluate the education in all levels. However,according to the headmaster of the primary school this organization is not very efficient due tolack of action plans and programs. Furthermore, the awareness of member institutions isdifferent and operation capital is short. However, it is believed that the major reason for (heinefficiency of the CEC are poor organization and lack of enthusiasm of member institutionssince the economy of Phieng Luong is considerably good.

CCP. The members of CCP include (hose who have children s(udy at primary school andsecondary school. The chairman of CCP at present is the village head of Muong village. TheCCP hus branches at village level. According to the survey results, the CCP does not haveregulations and particular activities although funds are raised every year. This fund, which isabout VND 5 million per year, is spent on education promotion activities such as scholarship,gifts to outstanding students and students with credit from poor family.

b. FinanceThe network of education in the commune is in financial difficulty. In 1999, the communebudget spent VND 400 thousand for students with difficulties. In order to improve (he positionof education network, (he commune should raise a separate fund, which can be mobilized fromcommune budget and production, for education activities.

2. Health

a. PersonnelThe CHS is staffed with 3 person: an assis(ant doctor, a nurse and a midwife. There are 8VHWs in 9 villages of the commune, of whom only live VHWs have the ability to performearly health care activities. The skills of VHWs in Xom Lorn, Phieng Tien and Pliieng Ha arevery poor. There are no VHW in Phieng Sang village.

In short, the quality and quantity of CHS staff and VHWs are facing difficult problems incommunity health care and childcare. In terms of quantity, the commune is lacking medicaldoctor and health staff specialized in nutrition, four villages do not have qualified slaff.

b. Advantages and DifficultiesUased on the survey results on the health problem at the commune, the PKA team identifiesadvantages and disavantage in the commune as follows.

Advantages: The transport from villages to the CHS is very convenient. The villages are nottoo far to the commune center, which is located near the district hospital and the hospital ofMoc Chau cooperative. As a result, most of the community members go to hospital fortreatment. The percentage of households having motorcycle is very high, thus, it is veryconvenient to (ake patient to hospital. The commune has conducted many national healthprograms such as immunization, goiter, Vitamin A intake and polio. The percentage ofchildren immunized is 100%. The CHS is under renovation. The Commune Women's Union(CWU) is very keen on cooperating will: (he CHS ami VHWs in health eaie activities formothers and children.

25

Problems and Reasons: There are a lol of problems related to community health and healthcare for mothers and children. The research results reveal that, the health care activities formothers and children in the commune has problems, in order of priority, as follows:

Nutrition and Child Health CareBefore the second quarter of 1998 the nutr i t ion program was implemented by the Mother andChild Protection Committee (MCPC) and CWU is the implementing agency in communelevel. After the second quarter of 1998 the program is transferred to the Population and FamilyPlanning Committee (PFPC) but the local partner remain the same (i.e., CWU). Since thetransferred the program, nu t r i t i on activities lias not been operated. The major reasons are dueto the short of operational cost. Baby scales of the program were also delivered to the CHS.

The results of the commune workshop revealed thai the most concern problem in health careactivities is lack of nutr i t ion staff and short of nutr i t ion chart.

Due to lack of nu t r i t i on program, nut r i t ion information and influences of dated beliefs , thenutrition knowledge and practice are very poor in Phieng Luong.

Additional to the nu t r i t ion problem, many households stated that immunization campaignssometimes were not informed to households. Thus, parents brought their children to the fieldsand missed the immunization since they did not know the immunization plan.

Quantity and Quality of Health StaffQuantity of Health Staff: As presented in the analysis of health personnel, the CHS lacks amedical doctor and a nutr i t ionis t . There arc four villages that do not have qualified VHWs.There are no qual i f ied people in these villages, which can be trained as VHWs although thetraining courses are available at the district and provincial levels.

Quality of Community Health: The survey results show that in the community, especially invillages that are far or in middle distance from CHS, the beliefs of the community to localhealth service is very low. Most households rarely go to the CHS for antenatal care. Accordingto the statistics of the CHS, only 44% of total 18 pregnant women went to CHS for antenatalcheckup last year. The remaining women went to the District Health Center (DHC) of thehospital of Moc Chau Cooperative. Poor skills of the local health staff and insufficient medicalequipment are the major reasons for the mistrust of community in local health service. Lack ofopportunities to improve skills is the main reason of the poor quality health staff.

Regarding VHWs, in addition to poor skil ls they often go to the fields from 7 AM to 5 or 6PM, thus, it somehow creates negative impacts to the community health care.

The record system of diagnosis and treatment are poorly managed. A lot of information ontreatment of patients were not updated or poorly kept. It took the CHS two days to supply thesurvey team some information on healthcare of mothers and children in 1999. If the recordswere updated and kept systematically, it would take few minutes to get the requiredinformation.

Infrastructure and EquipmentDuring the survey period, the CHS is under construction. The current CHS is an old housewithout functional rooms. However, medical equipment is most sufficient although they arerarely in use. The CHS only lacks of a microsurgery kit . There is no safe water system in theCHS. The CHS does not also have latrine and bathroom. However, the discussions of the

26

health group at the commune workshop show that in f ras t ruc tu re of the CHS wi l l no longer hethe big issue since it is under reconstruction.

DistanceIt can be said that the distance from CHS to residential areas is one of the big issues in localhealth service. The distance from the CHS to the farthest village is X km, which is verydifficult to travel, especially in the rainy season. It is very d i f f i cu l t to control diseases,implement immunization campaigns and inform the community about health activities. Lackof transport equipment is on of the major reasons, which l i m i t s (he coverage area of localhealth service.

DrugsThere is a drug revolving fund named BAMACO operating at the CHS. However, the CHSstaff and the results from household interviews show that drugs are in short quantity. Manypeople could not buy drug at the CHS.

In short, there are many problems regarding primary health care, especially on mother andchildcare in Phieng Luong. The most important problem is the limited q u a n t i t y and poor skillsof the local health staff. Because of this problem the treatment demand of local community isnot fulfilled and thus, the community lose faith in local health service.

Poor performance in operation of medical equipment is also one of the big issues of localhealth service. Observations show that many equipment remain unused or rarely in use. On theone hand, the skills of heath staff are not enough to operate all equipment. On the other hand,the demand of treatment with these equipments is not great.

The third problem in local health service is long distance from CHS to residential areas andlack of transport equipment for CHS staff. This problem has created negative impacts to thepunctual of treatment, the implementation of immunization campaigns and the a b i l i t y ofgetting health information to villages.

Additionally to the three major problems above, there are some other problems such asquantity and quality of drugs and negative influences of dated customs.

3. EducationCompare to other communes in the district, Phieng Luong is one of the four communes andtowns, which have the soundest results in education. The education network in Phieng Luongis completed from Early Childhood Education (ECE) to secondary school. Following is theanalysis of education si tuation in Phieng Luong wi th a t tent ion on ECE and on the first twoyears of primary school.

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

a. PersonnelThe total number of kindergarten teachers in Phieng Luong

, A | ., . 1 , 1 1 - 1 1 1 / 1 Table 7 : Personnel structure of KCEis 14, among whom 4 people completed high school (grade12). The remaining teachers have just completed grade 7. Interms of professional skills, only one teacher graduated fromintermediate college, 1 1 teachers graduated from elementarycollege, and 2 teachers are under ( r a i n i n g al elementary Stmrc<i: Annual rc/mri ofcniitiinttu-college. The headmaster is the sole person who graduates kindergartenfrom intermediate college. All teachers are in the of f i c ia l

27

Qual i f i cat ionInlcnnecliale collegei lemenlary collcucOilier

Quant i tyI

13IT

staff of the school.

Ethnicity: There are only three teachers of ethnic minority groups, Dao, Thai and Muong. It isbelieved that in a commune with many ethnic group like Phieng Luong, ethnic teachers orVietnamese teachers with fluent ethnic tongue play significant roles in the improvement ofVietnamese skills for children before going to school.

Working experiences: Most teachers have solid working experiences. The less experiencedteachers have 6 years at work and the most experienced teacher has been working for 20 years.This is one of the advantages of Phieng Luong in ECE. However, there are differences in ECEleaching knowledge at present and the previous periods. Thus, if the teachers are not updatedwith new knowledge, the teaching qual i ty may suffer from negative impacts.

Salary and allowance': It can be said that kindergarten teachers in Phieng Luong receiveconsiderably high salary and allowance. There are two kindergarten teachers with salary ofVND 700 thousand per month, one teacher gets salary of VND 500 thousand, and theremainders receive more than VND 600 thousand per month (details see appendices). Theabove level of salary guarantees a stable living given the local living cost.

b. Advantages and Difficult iesAdvantages: According to the survey results at the commune level, most of the advantagesthat were identified in the district workshop are relevant with the situations at the commune.Following is the detailed analysis of advantages in the ECC activities in the commune level.

Convenient transportAs mentioned previously, the commune is located near the main road to the district center.Additionally, it is possible to access all villages in the commune by cars or trucks. Residentialareas are not very isolated. These conditions are very convenient for teachers and children totravel back and forth to school.

Socialization of educationMost organizations and ins t i tu t ions from the commune to village levels participate ineducational activities. However, according to the survey results, these activities were poorlyplanned and organized. It is believed that the socialization of education activities will beimproved if the regulations and plans are appropriately set up.

TeachersAs mentioned previously Phieng Luong have sufficient teachers for kindergartens in allvillages. There are some ethnic minority teachers in the commune.

School networkAmong nine villages in the commune there are 8 kindergartens and 2 daycare centers. Thisreveals that kindergarten network is fu l ly covered from commune to village level. However,the number of daycare center is still very limited.

Awareness on the importance of educationThis is one of the very one of the very important condition for the development of education inthe commune. The survey results revealed that local people have adequate awareness about therole of child education. Most families, which have children at five years of age, allow theirchildren to go to kindergartens in order to have belter preparation before entering primaryschool. In Phieng Tien and Muong villages, people contribute labor and money lo constructkindergartens and daycare centers.

28

Resides the above advantages, child education in Phieng Luong also has additionaladvantages. For example Phieng Luong is considered the focused commune of Moc Chaudistrict and Son La province, thus, many priori ty policy will be given to the commune.Moreover, Phieng Luong also maintains and develops the tradit ional cul ture of ethnic groups.It is an ideal solution to combine the culture features in activities to improve educationawareness. On the one hand it maintains the cu l tu re features of ethnic minor i ty groups; on theother hand it improves the awareness of the communi ty about chi ld development. Someculture features of Dao and Thai ethnic groups are presented below.

Dao Ethnic Minority Group"Chuong dance" and folksongs, which oftenperform in new year's eve, weddings andtraditional celebrations.

Thai Ethnic Minority GroupXoe dance, folksongs and ball throwinggames, which often perform in new year eveand t radi t ional celebrations.

ProblemsIn addition to the above advantages, there are some d i f f i c u l t i e s in chi ld development in thecommune. The problems identified at the district workshop are consistent with problemsidentified at the commune. Following is the problems of Phieng Luong in the order of priori ty.

Infrastructure and EquipmentPoor infrastructure and equipment in education are considered the most priority issue in childdevelopment of Phieng Luong. Many schools in Phieng Luong arc in temporary conditionsand poorly equipped; and an inediquated number of chairs, desks and toys ; there are nolatrine and safe water system in schools. The main reasons of this problem were caused bylimited budget. In addition, there are no master plan to improve the infrastructure andequipment in education. Moreover, the management and maintenance of infrastructure arepoorly operated. The ability to mobilize the contribution of local people for infrastructureimprovement is also limited.

The situation of inf ras t ructure and equipment for HCE in Phieng Luong is presented in Table8.

Table 8: Infrastructure and equipment for ECE activities Phicng Liiong

Village

Muong

PhiengSang

SuoiKhem

Daycare center

Solid brickbuilding. onebed, 1 cradle,many toys.

None

One room madeof timberNo chair anddeskOne cradleNo safe waterTemporaryl a t r ine3 sets of toys

KindergartenBuilding

Doubleroom, solidbrickbuilding

Two tha tchrooms

2 roomsmade oflimber

Chairs and desks

Chair and desks arenew and suff ic ientbut they are not inappropriate size.Two beds10 sets of chairsand desks. Si/e isnot appropriate

3 sets of desks andchairs(inappropriate size)

Latrine

Semi-solid la t r ineNo sale water

Thaich l a t r i neSafe water is available

Temporary la t r ineNo safe water system

Toys, teachingequipment3 sets of alphabetletters

3 sets of alphabetletters2 sets of block toys3 sets of pictures3 sets of toys2 sets ofmathemat ica l tools5 sets of toys

29

Village

FliiengTien

XomLoin

Pa Hoc

Km83

PhiengHaKm 5

Daycare center

None

None

None

None

KindergartenBuilding

One roomb u i l t of solidbrickOne roommade oflimberOne roommade oflimberOne roombuil l of solidbrick

Chairs and desks

3 sets of chairs anddesks (inappropriatesize)3 sets of chairs anddesks (inappropriatesize)3 sets of chairs anddesks (inappropriatesize)3 sels of chairs anddesks (inappropriatesize)

Latrine

Temporary latrineNo safe water

Temporary latrineNo safe witter system

Temporary la t r ineNo safe water system

Temporary l a t r ineNo sale water

Toys, teachingequipment4 sets of alphabetletters5 sets of toys4 sets of toys

3 sets of alphabetletters4 sets of toys3 sets of tools4 sets of toys

No daycare center or kindergarten. Children have to go to 1'hicng Tien to study

No daycarc center or kindergarten. Children have to go to Suoi Kheni to studySource: Report on infrastructure and equipment of daycare centers and kindergartens of Phieng Lnong

From Table 8 it can be observed thai:

ClassroomsThere are two daycare centers in Muong and Suoi Khem villages, where the infrastructure inMuong village is better. The total number of kindergartens in the commune is 8; Phieng Haand Km5 villages have no kindergarten. Among the 8 kindergartens, 4 were constructed fromsolid bricks and the remainders were constructed from timber. In some villages kindergartenchildren have to share classes wi th primary school students. Thus, in some villages such asKm83 children have to study in two shifts.

Chairs and .desksMost kindergartens do not have enough chairs and desks, if the equipment is there most of it isbroken. Moreover, rooms are equipped with inappropriate chairs and desks size. The surveyresults reveal that many children have to bring chairs from home to classes. Moreover, manychildren have to stand in classes all day due to lack of chairs. Some accidents and injuryoccurred during the disputes between students for chairs.

Safe water and SanitationThe kindergarten of Phieng Sang is the only one that has a safe water system. Meanwhile, thekindergarten at Muong village is the only one that has an adequate latrine. The remainder havetemporary latrines, which have been constructed from leaves and bamboo.

Study tools and toysStudy tools and toys are available in kindergartens and daycare centers although the quantityis limited. Maintenance is one of the important problems related to toys. At present, manykindergartens do not allow children to play with toys because the classrooms are temporary,which are not safe to leave toys in. Also, it is inconvenient to bring toys in classes for childrenplay and bring them back to safer place for storage.

Child Education Knowledge of ParentsThis problem wil l be discussed in more detai l on the survey results of household level. Thereason for this problem is caused by parents, who are not very keen on studying childeducation knowledge. Moreover, the cooperation among local organizations and institutions inthe promotion of child education activities is not tight.

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Vietnamese abilityTills is ihe third priority problem. According to the survey results at commune level, mostchildren have very limited Vietnamese skills when entering kindergarten; at the starting periodparents have to sit next to their children to interpret. After two months children getaccustomed to start speaking simple Vietnamese sentences. Since children often speak withparents and friends in Vietnamese, they have difficulties with pronunciation of Vietnamese.Meanwhile, most of the teachers are Vietnamese (Kinh) and have very limited vocabulary ofethnic minority language.

According to the headmaster of the primary school, Vietnamese is one of (lie difficult subjectsfor children at school. Children with difficulties in Vietnamese are often (hose who did nothave a chance to go to kindergarten for some reasons. Those who study Vietnamese atkindergarten often have good results in Vietnamese subject at school. The poor performanceof children in Vietnamese creates negative impacts to the ability to study other subjects.

Q;f«/;nV_y m;<Y <y;(«//(y r;/ /f«cAcr^This is considered the fourth priority problem in the development of ECE in the commune. Asmentioned in the personnel part, most teachers have not completed high schools and graduatefrom teachers' training intermediate colleges. This situation creates negative impacts to theskills of teachers. In addition, most of teachers are Vietnamese, who are from other regionsand cannot speak the local language, thus, the teaching efficiency and enthusiasm are limited.The results of household interviews show that teachers often go to class late and leave classearly. Some teachers are impatient and have inappropriate behavior with children due to theirlimited Vietnamese skills and poor study performance.

The number of teachers in Phieng Luong at present is not enough to satisfy the demand. Thereason for this problem is due to limited quota for official kindergarten teachers while thecommune budget is not enough to hire additional teachers. Meanwhile, many villages do nothave daycare centers although there are in high demand. In order to solve (his problem, thePRA team suggests to select the appropriate person, who has a good educational backgroundand is enthusiastic , to train as teachers at daycare centers. External financial supports areneeded to pay for teachers at the early stage. In (he long run, the CPC and local communityshould contribute to pay for these teachers.

PRIMARY EDUCATIONPhieng Luong has considerably number of advantages for the development of primaryeducation. All villages in (he commune are covered by primary classes from grade 1 to grade3. In the 1999-2000 school year (he enrollment rate in (he grade 1 is 97.8%. Most of thosewho did not go to school are disabled children. The completion rate is 98%; (he dropout arestudents from families with economic difficulties. However, the percentage of student withdistinction is still very modest, hi grade 1, there is no student who completed class withdistinction, and 68.9% of students completed class with credit. In grade 2, (here are 2.5% ofstudents completed class with distinction and 36.6% of students completed class with credit.The percentage of students with unsa(isfactory performance in grade I and 2 is 11%;. Theremainders completed class with satisfactory performance.

Local people's awareness of children education is quite high. Most of the families createfavorable conditions for children to study. Moreover, (lie local community has devotedsignificant contribution in (he construction of the infrastructure. The survey results at thecommune level show that in 1999 the school had reconstructed 4 classrooms, made 35 sets of

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chairs and desks, and purchased a considerably amount of teaching equipment for the centralschool.Next to the above advantages, the Phieng Luong primary education system st i l l faces a lot ofdiff icul t ies , especially during the first two years of school. These problems are presentedbelow.

Infrastructure and Equipment: In the commune center many classes have to study in twoshifts due to the shortage of classrooms. The school consists of 3 buildings, of which twobuildings were built from solid bricks and an old building made from timber. Chairs and desksare insuf f ic ien t and in poor qual i ty . There is no botanic garden at school although land isplentiful.

Teachers: Some teachers are not enthusiastic in teaching. Skills of some teachers are veryl imited. Among 39 teachers at primary school, only one graduate from teachers' college, 36teachers graduate from intermediate college, and 2 teachers graduate from elementary college.About three fourth of ihe teachers arc Vietnamese; the remainders include 1 Muong teacher, 2Dao teachers and 6 Thai teachers.

Vietnamese language: Vietnamese is the worst subject of children in grade 1 and grade 2. Thisproblem is mainly caused by poor Vietnamese learning results from kindergarten. Moreover,children do not have a good Vietnamese environment and documentation in order to improvetheir language skills.

Other problems: In addition to the above problems, there are other problems, which havesignif icant impacts to Ihe child education in the commune. These problems are dated customssuch as costly and clumsy funerals, weddings and lap tinh2, and diff icult transport to villages.Furthermore, some households, who are often poor, are not concerned about the education oftheir children. The cooperation among ins t i tu t ions and organizations in the commune isinefficient.

IV. THE CHILD DEVELOPMENT SITUATION AT HOUSEHOLD LEVEL

1. Education level of parentsThe education level of parents is one of the key factors, which have important impacts on theeducation and caring of children. Table 9 presents the relationship between education level ofparents and the teaching of children at home. As can be seen, 100% of parents who completedhigh school teach their children frequently. The percentage of those who teach children amongparents who completed primary and secondary school is 75-86%. Illiterate parents never teachtheir children. It is obvious that the education level of parents have significant influence overtheir child's education. Additionally, it also has impacts on the ability of receiving childcareknowledge.

Table 9: Relat ionship between education level of parents and teaching children at homeEducation level ofparentsIlli terateLiteracy classPrimary school

No of samplesMHs

2136

%6

3818

% of parents teaching children at homeFrequently

08683

Sometimes0

1417

Never100

00

2 The ceremony to rename children at 7 years of age. It often last 2-3 clays and costs a lot of money and time.

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Secondary schoolHigh school

1 12

326

75100

250

00

Source: household interview

However, the efficiency of teaching children at home is not high. The results of householdinterviews show that parents have very limited time to leach children. The teaching, if any, isoften in the form of talking in Vietnamese during the meal or in the evening.

2. Knowledge and practice of mother and child careThe knowledge and practice of mother and chiklcare is a complex system, which include a lotof issues. This survey concentrated on issues such as pregnancy care, child nutrition,immunization against common diseases, and behavior of parents with child diseases.

a. General situation of child healthAccording to the results of the household interview, the health of children has been improvedsignificantly in the last three years. As can be seen in Table 10, among 34 interviewedhouseholds, 64.5% of respondents stated thai the health of their child has improved. Mosthouseholds believed that economic development is the main factor contributed to thisachievement. Some respondents believe that the improvement of the standard ofenvironment and health knowledge of parents lead to the improvement of children's health.There are also 32.5% of interviewed households slated that the health of their children remainsunchanged. The main reason is due to lack of caring knowledge and the interruption of thenutrition program. Only one person stated that the health of his child is worse off. However,this is the abnormal case since the child is suffering from epilepsy

Table 10: The health of childrenLevelBetterUnchangedWorseTotal

No2412

137

%64.532.5

3100

Source: household interview

b. Pregnancy careDiet: The survey results on diets of pregnant women are presented in Table 1 1. As can beseen, 53% of interviewed women slated that they have normal diet during pregnancy, 44% ofwomen eat more during pregnancy, and only 3% of women eat less during the pregnancy.

Table 1.1; Diet of women during pregnancyLevelNormal dietEat moreEat lessTotal

No1815

134

%5344

3100

Wealth also has influence on the diel of pregnant women. The interview resul ts show that72% of women in bet ter off households and 53% women in middle households have a belterdiet during their pregnancy. Meanwhile, 100% of poor households have a normal diel dur ing

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