The
Thang Long English and Vocational School in HCM City, which benefits
disadvantaged children, held its first creative courses introductory session on
Saturday to develop children’s interests in photography and visual communications.

Teachers, students and
sponsors decorated classrooms and showed visual presentations to interested
children and parents.

The first visual
communications course started last September, with three out of the first four
students finishing the first semester after six months, according to Peter
Cameron, who laid the foundation for the course and now serves as a consultant
of the project.

The idea of a visual
communication class was conceived after an extensive survey with most players in
the advertising industry last year, which demonstrated “an immediate need of
staff trained in artwork and production skills at international standards,” he
said.

Students are trained
in graphic design at the Colour Club, a Danish production house of digital
imaging and graphic design in the city, and work with industry professionals
from various agencies in workshops.

“In that way, students
have good prospects of getting jobs after graduation,” he said, noting that the
students are trained to become digital-imaging artists.

Even though
first-course students still have two more semesters to go, they are qualified
enough to work in most advertising and design companies, he added.

One of the first four
students of the class, Van Cong Dao, 23, said his acquired skills allowed “his
imagination to fly free”.

“I can develop lots of
ideas to optimise images,” explained Dao, who also attended photography classes
as a teenager, adding that he is now employed at The Colour Club with a
satisfying income.

Photography classes
were first organised nine years ago, said photographer Nguyen Ngoc Dung, who is
in charge of the classes.

It takes impoverished
children between 12-16 years of age two years to learn the craft, he noted,
adding that the school now has only 10 digital cameras for practice.

The school organises
from three to four trips to provinces each year during which children can take
photos of people and life. Some of the photos went on to bag prestigious
photography prizes.

“Photography helps the
disadvantaged have a more friendly look at culture, eradicate an inferiority
complex, express their outlook and dreams, and become more confident in
interacting with society,” he said.

“Photos children have
taken during the course testify to their dynamic feel of life with subtle
perspectives,” he added.

Photographer Guy Gonja,
who also works for the project, remarked that “once children learn to see the
world through cameras’ lens, their visions of the world will change forever”.

“Photography enables
children to share their own stories, appreciate the world a lot more, and their
vision will change day after day,” he said.

The Thang Long school
is run by Sai Gon Children Charity, a nongovernmental organisation which aims to
help disadvantaged children get access to education and better lives.

The school currently
trains more than 300 impoverished students from District 4 and neighbouring
districts in a range of courses, including English, computer skills, make-up,
hair-dressing and hospitality skills, among others.

“Many students got
stable jobs to support themselves as well as their families,” said rector Pham
Kim Oanh. “Some of them were able to open their own hairdressing shops.”

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News