Singapore International Foundation, in partnership with Keppel Land and the General Sciences Library of Ho Chi Minh City, launches Phase Two of the Ho Chi Minh City edition of Words on Wheels - a signature programme to promote reading and learning among children in local communities via a mobile library.

The Singapore International Foundation (SIF), in partnership with Keppel Land Limited (Keppel Land) and the General Sciences Library of Ho Chi Minh City (GSL), are extending their efforts to bring the joy of reading and cross-cultural learning to Vietnamese children and youths. Announced today at the Words on Wheels (Ho Chi Minh) Phase Two launch event, the collaboration, which has been renewed for three years, is expected to positively impact over 7,000 Vietnamese students by 2020. Keppel Land will continue to support as the main sponsor of Phase Two, and will have staff volunteers from across the Keppel Group participate in the programme.

Words on Wheels (WoW) is an SIF signature programme which provides students better access to educational materials including books, the internet and multimedia facilities via a mobile library which visits participating schools on a rotational basis. Apart from promoting a culture of reading and learning, the WoW programme provides a platform for Singapore International Volunteers (SIVs) to forge cross-border friendships with the local community through knowledge-sharing and cross-cultural exchanges. Following its first edition in Hanoi in 2011, which was also supported by Keppel Land, the WoW programme has since been introduced to schools in Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, Bandung and Yogyakarta in Indonesia, and Jaffna in Sri Lanka.

The inaugural edition of WoW (Ho Chi Minh) in 2014 had successfully brought the joy of reading and lifelong learning to over 3,000 students. Close to 250 SIVs had volunteered their time and resources over the course of four years which also resulted in the refurbishment of library and IT facilities of six schools. As part of a training-of-trainers (ToT) component, Phase One also saw specialist SIVs, librarians from Singapore's National Library Board, share library management and Information Technology (IT) skills with their Vietnamese counterparts. Both communities continued further peer learnings and sharings through a series of workshops and a study visit to Singapore. The Vietnamese trainees have since been equipped to cascade their newfound knowledge and skills by training their peers in the field.

Under Phase Two, the mobile library will travel to seven government schools to positively impact over 7,000 Vietnamese students aged six to 15 (Grades 1-9). It will be fitted with internet-enabled laptops and tablets equipped with learning applications. In addition, five schools identified by GSL, will see their libraries and/or computer labs undergo refurbishment to create a more conducive learning environment. Over the next four years, approximately 120 SIVs will travel to conduct English language and IT literacy workshops at the schools. The curriculum will be specially designed to cultivate students' interest in reading and learning, while facilitating cross-cultural exchanges. In addition, staff volunteers from Keppel Land have developed English lessons on green living and financial literacy with the aim to inculcate values on sustainability among the local community, particularly the youths.

Mr Lian Wee Chow, Governor, SIF said: "The SIF, like its partners GSL and Keppel Land, believes that access to education is a key enabler of community empowerment. The successful first run exemplifies the good that can happen when we work together to solve common challenges for positive impact. The launch of Phase Two reaffirms our joint commitment towards this meaningful cause and serves as a further testament to 45 years of longstanding relations and friendship between the people of Singapore and Vietnam."

Mr Bui Xuan Duc, Director, GSL said: "Words on Wheels carries out the good and basic function of the public library - where ‘books find the readers' - by organising mobile library trips to provide books and newspapers across the country. Books are everywhere and we see the significance of these trips as they meet the community's needs for leisure, research and lifelong learning. During the first phase of the project, books were cherished and shared passionately among readers. The children did not want to leave the mobile library van nor say goodbye to the volunteer librarians during these trips. Words on Wheels not only feeds the hunger for information and technology, it contributes to improving the skills and inspiring the passion to build a reading culture, particularly in developing good reading habits for children at a young age."

This is Keppel Land and the SIF's fourth collaboration following their partnership for earlier editions of WoW in Vietnam and the SIF's clean water programme Water for Life in Yangon, Myanmar.

Mr Linson Lim, President, Keppel Land (Vietnam), said: "At Keppel Land, we adopt a multi-faceted approach towards corporate social responsibility and align our community outreach efforts with our focus areas of environment and education. As one of Vietnam's pioneer and largest foreign real estate developers, we are glad to continue this meaningful partnership with the SIF for this next phase of WoW (Ho Chi Minh) to positively impact the lives of the local communities. Over the next three years, the Words on Wheels project will be a regular volunteer programme for Keppel staff. Believing in empowering through education, our volunteers have also developed a sustainability-themed curriculum to cultivate a green mindset in the students and spur them towards adopting a sustainable lifestyle."

WoW (Ho Chi Minh) is part of the SIF's efforts to strengthen cross-cultural friendships and contribute to positive and sustainable development in Asia. Bilaterally, this programme realises the Memorandum of Understanding the SIF signed with the Vietnam-Singapore Friendship Association in 2017 to promote greater people-to-people collaboration via social entrepreneurship, cultural exchange, and volunteer cooperation between Singaporeans and the Vietnamese. On a global scale, the WoW programme supports the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), specifically SDG 4 which advocates for the value of quality education and SDG 17 for global partnership and cooperation.

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About the Singapore International Foundation

The Singapore International Foundation makes friends for a better world. We build enduring relationships between Singaporeans and world communities, and harness these friendships to enrich lives and effect positive change. Our work is anchored in the belief that cross-cultural interactions provide insights that strengthen understanding. These exchanges inspire action and enable collaborations for good. Our programmes bring people together to share ideas, skills and experiences in areas such as healthcare, education, the environment, arts and culture, as well as livelihood and business. We do this because we all can, and should do our part to build a better world, one we envision as peaceful, inclusive and offering opportunities for all. Find out more at www.sif.org.sg

About General Sciences Library of Ho Chi Minh City

General Sciences Library of Ho Chi Minh City (GSL), the central library of Southern Vietnam's public libraries network connected to 24 public libraries in various districts and wards. It has over 100 staff and is the second biggest public library in Vietnam that supports other libraries in Southern Vietnam, attracting over 900,000 users. 80% of its users are college and university students, the rest being educators, researchers and businessmen.

GSL's mission is developing a culture of public reading and being a core resource center of information, culture, recreation and education for Ho Chi Minh City residents. GSL is supported by the Department of Culture and Sports, and funded by the local government. It has experience working with NGOs, conducting community activities for children and the blind.

About Keppel Land

Keppel Land, a subsidiary of Keppel Corporation, is recognised for its sterling portfolio of award-winning residential developments and investment-grade commercial properties, as well as high standards of corporate governance and transparency.

The Company is geographically diversified in Asia, with Singapore and China as its core markets, as well as Vietnam and Indonesia as its growth markets.

Keppel Land is Asia's premier home developer, with a pipeline of more than 60,000 homes in Singapore and overseas. The Company is also a leading prime office developer in Singapore, contributing to enhancing the city's skyline with landmark developments such as Marina Bay Financial Centre, Ocean Financial Centre and One Raffles Quay. Keppel Land is committed to grow its commercial portfolio in key Asian cities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin in China, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Jakarta in Indonesia, Yangon in Myanmar and Manila in the Philippines.

For further information, please contact:

Ms. Le Trang
Marketing Communications Manager
Keppel Land Vietnam
Email: tranglt@kepland.com.vn
Mobile: 0903 918 929