Press release For immediate use

Quang Ngai, July 21^st, 2011 –  East Meets West Foundation (EMW), in cooperation with Intel Foundation and local authorities, organized a handover event for a school hygiene and sanitation project in Quang Ngai province. With a contribution of $12,655 from Intel Foundation, EMW constructed latrines and hand-washing stations in two secondary schools that were damaged during severe tropical storms and flooding in recent years --  Binh Chanh Secondary School in Binh Chanh commune, Binh Son district; and Tinh Binh Secondary School in Tinh Binh commune, Son Tinh district. The financial donation was donated by the Intel Foundation resulted from the volunteered matching hours contributed by Intel Products Vietnam employees.

The purpose of the EMW-Intel project is to reduce the lack of access to clean water and sanitary latrines in schools, which can lead to difficult learning conditions as well as the potential onset of serious waterborne illnesses among students.  At each school, EMW built a latrine that includes one restroom for girls and one for boys. Each restroom has brick ventilated walls, a corrugated iron roof for privacy and rain cover, two (2) pour flush toilets  (double vault septic tank), a separate area for urination, and a hand-washing station with multiple taps.

The project will benefit more than 1,640 students, 107 teachers and staff at the two schools.  Previously, Binh Chanh High School had a latrine that was built in 2001,  but it was completely destroyed by Typhoon Ketsana in September 2009. Meanwhile, at Tinh Binh Highschool, a latrine was built 25 years ago and due to its location in a lowland area, has degraded through years of flooding from the annual monsoon season.   

Ms. Uyen Ho, Director of Corporate Affairs from Intel Products Vietnam remarked: “We are proud to support these schools with disaster relief efforts, rebuilding and renovating pro-actively to make the schools more storm-resistant.” She added, “We hope that our project provides a sustainable solution for local communities as well as a better learning environment for the young generation in Quang Ngai”.

Schools in certain flood-prone areas of central Vietnam and the Central Highlands have long suffered damage from the monsoons, but in recent years, as a result of the impacts of climate change, the intensity and frequency of severe storms and flooding have increased. There are dozens of schools in Quang Ngai that suffered large-scale damage during Typhoon Ketsana in 2009 and then again during the floods in 2010 and 2011, but do not have the funds for repairs. 

Ms. Van Ly, Development Officer at East Meets West reflected on the value of the EMW-Intel partnership:  “Intel and EMW share a dedication to sustainable solutions for improving access to education and removing the obstacles that stand in the path to success for the young people in rural areas in Vietnam.”

EMW has been working to improve access to education in disadvantaged communities in Vietnam for over 22 years through programs in school construction, clean water in schools, and an innovative scholarship program called SPELL that supports scholarship recipients long-term from 6^th grade to high school graduation. 

“We thank Intel for its generous contribution and look forward to a cleaner safer place to teach our youth,” stated  Mr. Lam Quang Trung , Principal of Tinh Binh Secondary School.  

For further information, please contact:

Ms. Phuong Thuy

East Meets West Foundation

Tel: +84 8 39118584

Mobile: 0909 243 307

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

About Intel

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.  Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries

About East Meets West

East Meets West Foundation (EMW) has worked in Vietnam for over 23 years and is one of the largest non-governmental organizations in Vietnam. EMW has many high-impact programs and projects in the fields of health, clean water, education and infrastructure for communities throughout Vietnam- all of which has helped to transform lives for hundreds of thousands of children and families living in poverty. To date, EMW has invested over US$80 million in Vietnam.  

For more information, please visit www.eastmeetswest.org