Students hope for new bridge

Hundreds of students in Ben Tre Province are hoping for a better bridge to replace the old makeshift one which has been the cause for a number of accidents.

Children often cross the damaged bridge

My An is a commune in a remote area of about 2,224 households, with 24% living in poverty. Surrounded by water, local people have trouble traveling from place to place. For the last 10 years, local authorities managed to ask for donations to build about 90 bridges. However, many of these bridges are weak and in need of repair.

Rach Bun Bridge, crossed by hundreds of people daily, is one of those bridges. Located nearby schools, a number of children have fallen off the damaged bridge. Fortunately, so far, they have all been saved. The wood planks on the 20-metre bridge are rotting and falling apart, and the bridge itself is very shaky.

Rach Bun Bridge connects two hamlets An Hoa and An Hoa B

Mai Thi Cam Dao, a fourth grader at My An Primary School, said, "I and my friends are scared of crossing this bridge because there's no railing, only rotten wood. We hope we get a concrete bridge."

Nguyen Thanh Danh, another resident of An Hoa B Hamlet, said, "I'm worried before and after school hours, especially during the rainy season. There are times I have heard someone fall when I was feeding my chickens, so I just threw everything away and ran to save them. I'd feel restless whenever I'm away from home, thinking about dangers for the children."

The bridge made of decaying wood planks

Rach Bun Bridge can only accommodate pedestrians, so people have to find places to keep vehicles before they cross the bridge.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lin, Vice Chairwoman of My An Commune People's Committee, said My An is the poorest commune in Thanh Phu District and has around 30 canals. "We really need help from kind people to build sturdier bridges for our children," she said.

If you want to help them, please donate through

1. Code 1331: Helping people in My An Commune, Thanh Phu District, Ben Tre Province build a new bridge