Mattel, a leading manufacturer of toys and family entertainment and owner of one of the world’s best-known brands, is supporting the Austrian non-profit organization SAO BIEN to expand a school in Dien Bien, one of the poorest provinces in Vietnam, to accommodate an additional 100 students.
SAO BIEN is committed to promoting education by building schools in poor and remote regions of the country. The NGO sees education as the key to breaking the vicious circle of poverty and giving children, especially from ethnic minorities, a better future. With the support of Mattel, a school is now being built in the Nam Po district of Dien Bien province. Over 100 students, mostly from ethnic minorities, will have better access to education here. Although the Nam Khan Boarding Primary and Secondary School already offers temporary space for 450 students from neighboring villages, due to the unpredictable weather conditions, not all classrooms are safe all year round.
Construction of the new classrooms
Now four temporary classrooms, currently built directly on the ground and therefore vulnerable to water ingress, will be replaced with professional structures. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on July 5th and completion is scheduled for fall 2024.
Ka Leung Chang, Mattel Vietnam, about the joint project: “We are impressed by the work of SAO BIEN. Like us, SAO BIEN aims to contribute to greater diversity, equal opportunities, inclusion and a sustainable future. Vietnam is an important location for Mattel: We manufacture a wide range of products locally and employ up to 14,000 people directly and indirectly in the country. This important partnership fits into Mattel’s mission to enable future generations to explore the world and all its magic and give children the opportunity to reach their full potential.”
Hans-Peter Glanzer, Austrian Ambassador to Vietnam, was also pleased: “SAO BIEN is an inspiring organization that impressed me both with the passion with which SAO BIEN’s team works and with their competence in project implementation.”
The project is funded in part by a grant from the Mattel Children Foundation International Play it Forward.
“Inspirational projects like these embody the core of our Play it Forward mission,” said Nancy Molenda, Vice President, Global Corporate Events and Philanthropy. “Together with our partners and dedicated employees who support these charitable causes, we can provide better education and opportunities in the communities where we live, work and spend our time.”
“The collaboration between Mattel and SAO BIEN opens up new opportunities for children in Vietnam by giving them the opportunity to learn and grow,” said Jim Ward, SVP Procurement & Contract Manufacturing at Mattel. “We are very pleased to be able to support them on their way to a better future.”
Sustainability, economic efficiency and creating added value for the local population are the basic principles on which the new project is based. With so-called “compressed earth blocks” (CEB) for the walls and recycled metal for an air-permeable, noise-absorbing roof construction, creating a sustainable building that offers a safe, child-friendly and friendly learning environment. This construction method is modular and can be easily adapted to the specific needs of each village.
“We are very pleased to announce our partnership with Mattel,” said Rüdiger Rücker, CEO of SAO BIEN. “This cooperation is a great opportunity for us to make a big impact in one of the poorest regions in the world and to open up new horizons for many children. But there is still a lot to do and we are constantly looking for new project locations, more volunteers who want to strengthen our teams in Vietnam and Vienna, and of course for other companies who want to realize their CSR plans with us.”
Images for the press release here to download.
About SAO BIEN
The Austrian NPO, led by Rüdiger Rücker, was founded in 2016. In the same year, the first school project in the Vietnamese province of Son La was completed. Since 2022, SAO BIEN has also been registered as an international NGO in Vietnam. The aim of SAO BIEN is to positively change the lives of students by building schools primarily for children from ethnic minorities. The NPO sees education as an opportunity to promote sustainable development in remote and poverty-stricken regions of Southeast Asia.