A Switzerland-based NGO has recently helped turn a shipping container into a library, serving students in a countryside region in southern Vietnam.

The special library, located in Cho Gao District in the southern province of Tien Giang, is the first container library in the country.

It was built by the Darius Foundation, a Swiss non-governmental organization, in collaboration with Maersk Vietnam Ltd. for Long Binh Dien Middle School as part of a project to build libraries for children in rural areas.

The library, built at a cost of VND250 million (US$11,651), has six computers and 1,000 book titles.

“The library has a diversity of books, I and my friends usually gather here to read books at break time,” Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhi, from Class 8/5, said. “Compared with the old library, this library has more new books, helping us obtain more knowledge besides what we have learned in class.”

Huynh Thi Phuong, principal of Long Binh Dien Middle School, said the old library had 3,000 book titles but they were mostly comics.

The new library is equipped with many good books offering more social knowledge for students.

“Since it was established, the library has been an attractive place for students. Every day they usually come right after it’s opened,” Phuong said.

“After just a week of operation, we have had more than 100 students come to the library every day,” she added.

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