EFE Festival in Full Swing – Students ham it up for the audience during a stage performance depicting Japanese culture
Wednesday, 14 April – Seven months following the implementation of the ‘English For Everyone’ community development project, the schoolchildren of Ho Chi Minh City showcased their newly-acquired skills at the ‘English For Everyone’ (EFE) Festival today, an event which celebrated the students’ linguistic development.
The festival, which was held at Tran Quoc Tuan Primary School, was graced by Speaker of Parliament and Advisor to Mercy Relief Mr Abdullah Tarmugi, as well as Prof. Dr. Nguyen Cong Nghiep, Vietnam’s Standing Deputy Minister of Finance.
(L – R)Mrs Tarmugi, Deputy Minister Prof Dr Nghiep, MR Advisor Abdullah Tarmugi, UFM Rector Dr My in attendance at the EFE festival
Featuring activities that showcased inter-cultural understanding, leadership and presentation skills, the festival saw 140 students from 14 elementary schools participating in friendly competitions at team level, and provided a preview of how far they have progressed since the EFE programme took off.
MR Chairman T K Udairam (left) and Advisor Abdullah Tarmugi (right) observe as the Vietnamese students showcase their EFE project
The festival was a celebration of the success of the EFE programme, a SGD $80,000 initiative mooted and funded by the people of Singapore through Mercy Relief as part of its ongoing community development efforts in Vietnam. Since its implementation in September 2009, the EFE programme has benefited more than 50 teachers and over 4,000 students from 14 elementary schools.
Mercy Relief’s Chairman Mr T K Udairam believes that programmes like EFE represent the right step forward for the schoolchildren’s development – “Education is the key to a better life for all, equipping the young generation with skills to be productive and therefore contribute to the economy. With English, the students have opened themselves to greater opportunities in gaining better employment in the more economically promising industries. With the success of this pilot project, we are exploring the possibilities of expanding the EFE programme to more schools in the near future with our partners.”
Mr Udairam giving out prizes to the EFE festival winners
University of Finance and Marketing Rector Dr Pham Thi Ngoc My said, “Today’s event marks an important step forward in trans-national collaboration for community services. This project is in line with the remarks made by Singapore’s Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew during his past visit to Vietnam; that young Vietnamese with a good command of English will help the country integrate into the regional and global communities in the globalization process. We believe our partnership with Mercy Relief will help strengthen the friendship relations between Vietnam and Singapore.”
