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You are watching UNICEF Television.

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Students take an exercise break at An Thien Quan Primary School

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in the northern mountainous region of Vietnam.

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Drumbeats keep the stretching in step and on time,

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ensuring it fits its appointed slot

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in a highly ritualized school schedule.

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This is another ritual students are asked to perform,

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a habit the teachers hope they will take home with them.

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Clean water and proper sanitation are rare luxuries

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in remote, rural regions of Vietnam,

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and knowledge of basic hygiene is poor.

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UNICEF is working with the Vietnamese government

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to provide these rural communities greater access to safe water.

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First, by building the infrastructure,

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such as latrines and sanitation systems,

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in kindergartens and schools.

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Then, teaching children good hygiene,

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so they can learn to stay healthy.

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At An Thien Primary School,

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students take part in regular hygiene promotion classes

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and take turns each week cleaning the toilets and water taps.

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This class is very useful because we know now

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we shouldn't throw our garbage into the river,

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and we should always wash our hands with soap

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to keep clean and prevent disease.

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UNICEF is also helping build water systems outside the classroom,

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like this one in nearby Dai Phac Commune.

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It purifies and pumps clean water directly to villagers' homes,

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making a dramatic improvement in the lives of people like Bui Thi Binh.

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Until recently, she had to fetch water from a well down the road.

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Now she has more time to focus on the needs of her two children.

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The water is cleaner than using the well.

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Before, I had to go three or four times a day to fetch water.

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Now it's easier because it's in my home.

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Giving a basic but vital resource that makes lives healthier

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and offers the disadvantaged a better chance

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to break out of a cycle of poverty.

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In Yen Bai Province, Vietnam,

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this is Steve Nettleton reporting for UNICEF Television.

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Unite for Children.