Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam - Educating Kids on the Earth Day
Consulate volunteers introduced the topic of Earth Day through Shel Siverstein's book, "The Giving Tree."
Children from the orphanages of Dieu Giac Pagoda participated in a craft activity.
On April 22, 2006, over 50 HCMC children, along with American children and parents, joined with the Community Liaison Office (CLO) and the Information Resource Center (IRC) of the Public Affairs Section to celebrate Earth Day. The CLO, IRC staff, and other Consulate volunteers introduced the topic of Earth Day through Shel Siverstein's book, "The Giving Tree" at the HCMC public library. Children from the orphanages of Dieu Giac Pagoda, as well as others, also participated in a craft activity after the reading.
This activity disseminated the environmental message verbally and through posters and bilingual reading materials. It was a fun, educational event not only for the Vietnamese children, but also for the American and local employed staff participants. Several Vietnamese children and parents expressed that this was the first time they had heard about Earth Day and that they had learned a lot from it.
HCMC is facing several critical environmental challenges, and this event helped kids understand what is happening to their living environment and what they can do to contribute to a "greener and cleaner" world.