Our Project

Education is often taken for granted. But in Southeast Asia, Access to education is often difficult. Children in Vietnam attend school for an average of only 5 years. Access to primary school education has progressed considerably, but enrollment in secondary education level is not as strong. The number of out-of-school children in rural areas is almost as twice as high as in urban areas.

Riding to school on bikes

Secondary schools are often located too far from home or the children must often help contribute to the household income. Education is valuable as our most effective tool for personal empowerment For this reason, we have combined our efforts to see that the children of the remote island of Duy Vinh Vietnam.

The aim of our project is to raise money to help the children in the remote village of Duy Vinh to continue their education, and under better circumstances.

Duy Vinh is an island located about 5 kilometers from the town of Hoi An in Central Vietnam. Almost 300 impoverished families live on this island, and 72 children currently attend the elementary school. The families on the island live from minimum revenue made mostly from weaving mats, and recently they have less work due to the less expensive machine made mats. They do not have the means to provide a decent education for their children. School uniforms and supplies are costly and oftern the parents need their children to help with work to support the family.

There are few children on the island that are able to continue their schooling beyond elementary school. Most parents cannot afford to purchase a bicycle so their child may travel to school, which can often be located many kilometers from their villages.

Who Are We?

Outback Riviera members, Heaven & Earth Bicycle with Duy Vinh teachers

The Duy Vinh Project is a joint project run by the association Outback Riviera in the South of France and Heaven & Earth Bicycle located in the town of Hoi An in Central Vietnam. In Vietnam, Heaven & Earth Bicycle helps support the people of the village through equitable tourism, hiring local guides, charity tours, and offering the remote island of Duy Vinh an opportunity to benefit from small groups of tourists visiting the island on bicycle. Heaven & Earth Bicycle had been purchasing school supplies and uniforms for the school children for several years before Outback Riviera’s involvement in 2014 and efforts to raise funding for the children to continue their education.

The Team

Cindy Bearce-Maffini, Project Coordinator in France. Founder of Outback Riviera and adoptive parent with children from Vietnam.

Pascal Rousseau, Project Coordinator in Vietnam. Co-owner of Heaven & Earth Bicycle in Hoi An Vietnam and originator of the Duy Vinh School project

Lou Adele Diter, Responsible for Communication. Student in the final year of high school at Lycée Fenelon, Grasse

Alexandre Maffini, Liaison with Universities. Born in Phu Tho, Vietnam, Currently a Language student at University of Avignon

Emily Maffini, Liaison with Institute Fenelon. Born in Da Nang, Vietnam, currently in the 9th grade at Lycée Fenelon Grasse

The Duy Vinh Village Project, Vietnam - Le Projet Duy Vinh, Vietnam