About the community

Cát Nê is one of 28 communes in the rural mountainous district of Đại Từ in the southwest of Thái Nguyên province.  When the kindergarten was built in 2009, this was a very poor area. Most local people farmed rice or tea. In 2025, economic conditions have improved remarkably. The average per capita income has increased by more than five times. Local infrastructure has been greatly improved.

Helping the children succeed

There was not a kindergarten building in Cát Nê when the VES kindergarten was built. About 50-60 children began attending the Cát Nê kindergarten in 2009-10.  The idea for the VES lunch program was born here in 2010 when VES noticed that children’s whose parents were unable to pay the lunch fee were sitting to the side while their classmates ate the simple lunch provided. From that point on, VES has paid for lunches for all children at VES kindergartens who need funding. VES paid for Cát Nê children from 2010 – 2018.

Funding & construction

The Cát Nê Kindergarten opened in 2009. VES funded the construction of two large classrooms with washroom facilities. The school has proven so popular that in subsequent years the school received funding for the construction of two additional classrooms. The community worked to build a fence, pave the courtyard, build an outdoor stage and make various other improvements to the facilities. In approximately 2012, the community also built a kitchen to which VES contributed an industrial rice cooker. In 2025, the original VES classrooms remain in use for two and three year olds while a two story classroom building houses the rest of the 250 children who now attend Cát Nê kindergarten.