Hai Phong youth bring knowledge, technology to rural communities

Taking Youthful Energy to Rural Communities

In late July, Nhan Quyen Primary School in Nguyen Luong Bang Commune was filled with children's laughter and the green shirts of student volunteers. Within days, the students had settled into village life, working with local residents and taking part in community projects.

The 2026 summer volunteer campaign organised by the Hai Duong Student Volunteer Team of the National Economics University ran from July 26 to Aug. 2. The programme included activities for children, cultural exchanges with local villages, a health day for people with contributions to the country, and a closing ceremony where gifts were given to disadvantaged households.

During their stay, the students worked with local Youth Union members to clean public areas, improve the surroundings, organise summer activities for children, support disadvantaged families and carry out youth projects. Cleaner roads, tidier school grounds and lively summer sessions were among the visible results.

In Kim Thanh Commune, 31 students from Vietnam Maritime University spent 11 days working with local residents. They held life-skills and English classes for children, improved a martyrs' cemetery, supported families of people who had contributed to the country, and set up learning corners and bookcases for children.

The Digital Volunteers team also provided residents with basic digital skills, helping them become more familiar with digital services and tools.

Nguyen Van Tinh, vice chairman of the Kim Thanh Commune People's Committee and head of the commune's summer activities steering committee, said the student teams quickly adapted to local conditions and focused their efforts on practical needs.

"The activities not only provide immediate help but also improve life skills and digital skills and encourage a stronger sense of community, particularly among children and young people," he said.

Summer volunteer campaigns are changing as students put more of their professional knowledge to use. Alongside environmental clean-ups and youth projects, they are now helping communities with digital skills, education and other practical needs.

Creating Lasting Value

In Tu Ky Commune, volunteers have combined familiar community activities with digital projects, bringing new skills and technology to rural areas.

From the start of the campaign, the Hai Duong Student Volunteer Team at Vietnam National University, Hanoi, worked with the commune's Youth Union on summer activities for children, environmental protection, social welfare and new-style rural development.

One of the main projects was the digitisation of the Tu Ky Commune Martyrs' Cemetery. QR codes were installed to provide information about individual graves, making it easier for local authorities to manage the site and giving relatives, residents and younger people a new way to learn about the fallen.

The team also organised summer activities for children, including games and cultural performances, raised awareness about drowning prevention and offered free haircuts to local residents. The activities brought students and residents together while giving children and older people opportunities to take part.

This year's volunteer teams have increasingly drawn on their areas of expertise to meet local needs. Foreign-language students have taught English, while engineering students have provided digital-skills training and helped residents use online public services.

Bookcases, learning corners and the digitised cemetery are projects designed to remain useful after the summer campaign ends. That longer-term value is giving the volunteer programmes a more lasting impact.

Hai Phong News