VRE has built and upgraded a dozen classrooms in 2009.

In August, VRE Board Member Truc To, VRE scholarship manager Kim Hastie and VRE's Vietnam Program Director Toan Lam had the privilege of opening up three classrooms at the Don Xuan school in Tra Vinh, along the Mekong Delta. VRE members were greeted during the school-opening ceremony by many of the 240 children who will be learning in the classrooms. The school, in the next 10 or so years, is expected to serve as many as 4,000 children.

VRE also opened up the Tuong Loc school in Vinh Long province in southern Vietnam. The three classrooms will give the students in this area -- where only a quarter of the residents have access to clean water -- hope and stability. The new building will also keep the children safe and healthy. Previously, the school's 150 kids were attending school in a structure that had cracks in the foundation and holes in the roof that allowed rain to pour in during the monsoon season.

And VRE will soon be completing the "Deloitte school'' in Quang Nam. This six-room school (three classrooms are newly built, 3 upgraded) was generously funded by Deloitte LLP, its partners and employees through VRE's ''Sponsor A School'' initiative. The charity's board members and Deloitte employees will be traveling to Vietnam to open up the school (we'll keep you updated and bring you pictures in the next newsletter).