Live updates from Le Xa commune - Join CapitaLand on our 25th International Volunteer Expedition!

Today is the day! After all the hard work, it's time for a celebration. The volunteers and students put up performances during the official inauguration ceremony of CapitaLand Le Xa Hope Kindergarten.

A flurry of coordinated movement, smiling faces and melodic tunes. Cheerful Vietnamese songs fill the air. Our volunteers are interacting and playing with the students this morning. Even though our volunteers don't speak much Vietnamese,  music transcends all language barriers.

We check in with our volunteers who are building the sensory wall at CapitaLand Le Xa Hope Kindergarten. When completed, the sensory wall will be the first of its kind at a Hope School.

As the name suggests, sensory walls engage the senses, encouraging the students to interact with the wall and each another; promoting the development of their senses and psychomotor skills. The tactile and auditory elements also motivate the students’ innate sense of curiosity and exploration. 

We say a big thank you and bid farewell to Team 1. It is now time for Team 2 to shine! 
Do you spot any familiar faces? 

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Even with simple materials, when you combine it with great design, you'll end up with thoughtful products. When designing and constructing for a specific target audience, it is always important to stress test your work and seek user feedback.

From the smile on the student's face, we've done a good job! :)

Saturday morning cartoons are great, but what if you can have them even on a weekday? These lively murals will certainly bring a wide grin to the students' faces. 

See the similarities? Even the students of CapitaLand Le Xa Hope Kindergarten are getting inspired by our volunteers and trying to get in on the action!

What is a 'non la'? Our volunteers are donning the iconic 'non la' - the conical leaf hat from Vietnam - to provide some respite from the heat.

Our volunteers remain undeterred and continue making good progress on their respective projects. From simple tyres to a complete playscape, our volunteers are definitely enhancing the school, providing a fun and interactive environment for the students. 

Our volunteers are channeling their best artistic talent to add colour to the walls of CapitaLand Le Xa Hope Kindergarten.

Our volunteers will be painting two murals at the kindergarten. The two masterpieces will depict the tale of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and a local Vietnamese fable, ‘Thousand Bamboo Knots’.

These illustrations not only provide a colourful learning environment, but to aid the teachers’ efforts in storytelling and engage the young students :)

CapitaLand Le Xa Hope Kindergarten is our first kindergarten. The school is currently the largest school in Le Xa commune, playing a significant role in the holistic development and education for about 350 students aged five and below, providing a safe and child-friendly environment for learning.

We’re going into the classroom today. Some of our volunteers and students are getting crafty! For today’s art project, the students are making photo frames. Using just paper, glue, crayons and colour pencils, the students are getting their hands dirty and their creative minds active!

It's a brand new day at CapitaLand Le Xa Hope Kindergarten. Our volunteers are warming up, stretching and getting ready for another great day of volunteering. Let's go!

We are finally here! We were given a warm welcome by the teachers and Principal Ms. Vu Thi Thu Thuy. 

CapitaLand Le Xa Hope Kindergarten is currently the largest school in Le Xa commune, playing a significant role in the holistic development and education for about 350 students aged five and below.

The kindergarten has 10 well-equipped classrooms, a teachers' room, meeting room and toilets. 

Before you get any wrong ideas, our volunteers are not here for a leisure trip. There is real work to be done. Throughout the expedition, they will be working on several key projects. One of the important projects – a playscape for the students.

The design of the playscape wasn’t hatched overnight. The students of Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Vietnam’s National University of Civil Engineering (NUCE) codesigned it with the local officials, teachers and more, through a participatory design workshop earlier in the year.

It’s up the bus and away we go. From Somerset Grand Hanoi, the team will take the 75km and two-hour journey to Le Xa commune.

The bustle and beeps of the motorcycles of Hanoi gradually give way to the green and open spaces of the countryside. Le Xa commune is an agricultural district where over 90% of the community’s livelihood is based on farming.

Taking in the sights and sounds of the journey, join our volunteers on the bus ride!

For our 25th edition of CapitaLand's International Volunteer Expedition, the team is headed to Le Xa commune.  Located about 75km from Hanoi, Vietnam and Le Xa commune is one of the 10 districts in Hung Yen Province. The exact location? CapitaLand Le Xa Hope Kindergarten. 

CapitaLand Le Xa Hope Kindergarten is CapitaLand Hope Foundation's (CHF) first Hope Kindergarten and the 28th Hope School in our network of schools in China and Vietnam. It is also our third school in Vietnam. From now till 8th May, CapitaLand volunteers and our partners will be creating a more inclusive school environment and improving the quality of education for over 350 students of CapitaLand Le Xa Hope Kindergarten.