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In the present contamination of the underground water and surface water in many regions in Vietnam, a WHO quality clean water station is just like “a jewel” to the communities. Consequently, members in the communities have volunteered time, contributed money to maintain and keep the water stations in working conditions for many years to come. In fact, some of the systems we built have still been around for 10 years and yet are still providing high quality water to the communities.
With the whole funding from The Union of North American Vietnamese Student Associations (UNAVSA ), Ecosolar International (ESI) had worked with Water Filtration Project (WFP) and FoodAid to bring the project to a successful completion. We have provided nine purified water stations in the provinces of Tay Ninh, Dong Thap , An Giang , Long An, using ESI technologies. Our technical staff have worked closely with water station owners on different facets of the projects, ranging from site selection, infrastructure , water testing to station maintenance. Water samples were sent to the Institute of Pasteur in Ho Chi Minh City for their analyses. Results indicate that water quality of our newly built water stations has exceeded WHO standards, with the arsenic content being below the detection limit (less than 1 ppb- part per billion). For reference, WHO standards require an arsenic content of less than 10 ppb as a safe level for drinking water. Preliminary results indicate that since the water stations have been in operation since 2016, life quality and health conditions of the children have improved: our preliminary study shows a 80% reduction in the number of children missing classes due to red eyes and diarrhea as compared with the same period a year before.
Built in 2003 in Dương Minh Châu District, Tây Ninh Province. As the name “Biên Giới” is alluded to, the school is located just 1-2 miles from the Vietnam-Cambodia border. This school has 8 classes with a total of 305 children which can be grouped into 105 children of the ages of 5-6 and 125 of the age of 4-5 and 75 three-year-old children. The school has 15 teachers and staff members This is a low income community with an average annual income of $700//person.. About 30 % of the parents are either Vietnamese of Cambodian ancestry or Cambodians. We tested the water sample and have found that water from tube well in this location has a pH of 4.1- 5.1 and is contaminated with considerable amount of Fe (8-53 mg/L) , Mn (0.58-1.2 mg/L) , .CaCO3 (50-385 mg/L), a considerable amount of NO2 -, NH4+ and particularly a high content of arsenic (0.03- 0.08 mg/L ) which could have an impact on the development of the brain and health of the children. Due to the economical reasons with a tuition of $1.15/month/child, after one month of purchasing bottled water from the market, the school stopped using this type of clean water and has been using water from well tube in all daily activities since then. The newly built station will provide 6,600 L of water /day of which 2,100 L of WHO quality water/ day for drinking and cooking and the remaining water will be used for other daily activities.
The school was built in 2,000 and is located in Dương Minh Châu District, Tây Ninh Province. This school has 12 classes with a total of 400 children; among them 350 children are of the ages of 3-5 and 50 of the age of 2 years old. The school has 40 staff members. This is a low income community with an average annual income of $600-800/person. A large portion of parents work in the rubber plantation nearby.. We tested the water sample and have found that water from tube well in this location has a pH of 4.5- 5.3 and is contaminated with a considerable amount of Fe (8-49 mg/L) , Mn (0.58-1.2 mg/L) , .CaCO3 (50-380 mg/L), a considerable amount of NO2- , NH4+ and particularly a high content of arsenic (0.03- 0.09 mg/L) which could have an impact on the development of the brain and health of the children. In the past, the school had bought the bottled water at a cost of 92 cents/month /child, costing a total of $ 367 /month/400 children. Since the tuition is $1.15/month/child, the school was not able to continue purchasing bottled water after a couple of months and has used water from well tube in all of their daily activities. The newly built station will provide 9,600 L of water /day of which 2,250 L of WHO quality water/ day for drinking and cooking. Keep in mind that although the water for daily uses from our newly built water station is not WHO quality, it is still far better than the tube well water which has been known to cause skin diseases to the school children.
Built in 1989 in Tân Hồng District, Đồng Tháp Province . The hospital has 14 departments with a staff of 137 persons and serves four districts (Tân Hồng, Hồng Ngự, Tân Nông , Long An) and a Cambodian village nearby. The average annual income in 2010 was $765/person. Water is needed for 937 persons which includes 600 patients, 200 outpatients, visitors, family members, health providers and staff members. We tested the water sample and have found that water from tube well in this location has not met the criteria set forth by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health : a pH of 4.5 Fe (10- 45 mg/L) , Mn (0.5-0.92 mg/L) , .CaCO3 (315- 362 mg/L), a considerable amount of NO2- , NH4+ and particularly a possible high content of arsenic. Similar to the case of Cầu Khởi Kindergarten School and Biên Giới Kindergarten School, due to the economical reasons , the school has been using water from well tube in all of their daily activities . The station will provide 15,514 L of water /day in which 4,774 L of WHO quality water/ day for drinking , cooking and medical services.
The school was built in 1968 and is located in Sa Đéc District, Đồng Tháp Province. The school has 25 classes with a total of 769 children of the ages of 6-12 years-old which includes 350 children of the ages of 3-5 and 50 of the age of 2. The school has 40 teachers and staff members This is a low income community of a population of 152,646 with an average annual income of $1,000 /person. The water source at this location is contaminated: a pH 6.0-6.2 Fe (5.9-7.5 mg/L, depending on the rainy season or dry season ) , Mn (0.68-0.72 mg/L) , CaCO3 (193- 227 mg/L), NO2 - (1.12- 1.38) , NO3 - (53-55.8) , NH4+ (1.05- 1.14 ) and As (> 0.01) a high content of Cl- (68.9- 71.8) . The station will provide 8,945 L of water /day in which 4,445 L of WHO quality water/ day for drinking and cooking.
Built in 1994 in Cai Lậy District, Tiền Giang Province . The hospital has 20 departments with a staff of 430 persons and 550 beds.for in patients. The number of outpatients is 1,250 persons/a day. The average annual income in 2010 was $1,060/person. We tested the water sample and have found that water from tube well in this location is contaminated with Fe (15- 65 mg/L) , Mn (0.9-1.5 mg/L) , .CaCO3 (350- 630 mg/L), oxidation degree of 3.8 mg/L, a considerable amount of NO2 - (4- 6 mg/L) , NO3 - 65- 90 mg/L) , high Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), a high number of microorganism and a possible high content of arsenic. Since its formation, the hospital has been using water from wells for cooking, drinking, medical services and daily uses. The newly built station will provide 15,000 L of water /day in which 4,560 L of WHO quality water/ day for drinking , cooking and medically related services.
Located in Thoại Sơn District, An Giang Province . The hospital has 11 departments, 150 beds with a staff of 213 persons Number of patients (inpatients and outpatients) and number of visitors per day is 550-600 and 150, respectively. The hospital has a small water filtration unit which is used in the surgically related services. The water source at this location is contaminated: a pH 6.1-6.2, Fe (7.3- 8.4 mg/L, depending on the rainy season or dry season ) , Mn (0.68-0.72 mg/L) , CaCO3 (216-235 mg/L), NO2- (1.05- 1.25) , NO3- (54-55) , NH4+ (0.74-0.89); particularly a high content of Cl- (64.2- 119.6; in 2014, the level of this chemical at one time in the dry season went up to 738 mg/L) and a possible high content of arsenic far above 0.01 mg/L. The newly built station will provide 15,000 L of water /day in which 7,500 L of WHO quality water/ day for drinking , cooking and medical services.
The school was built in 2,005 and is located in Thủ Thừa District, Long An Province. This school has 10 classes with a total of 340 students and 27 teachers and staff members. It is expected that 150 students and 5 teachers and staff members will be added to the personnel list in 2016. The district is a low income community with an average annual income of $780 /person. We tested the water sample and have found that water from tube well in this location is contaminated with a considerable amount of Fe (10- 55 mg/L) , Mn (0.5- 1.4 mg/L) , .CaCO3 (185-280 mg/L), oxidation degree (3.6 mg/L), a considerable amount of NO2 - (3.5- 25) , NO3- (65- 95), a high turbidity (65-550 NTU), arsenic (> 0.01 mg/L) , high TDS and a high level of microorganism. The school has bought bottled water at the cost of 50 cents/a container of 20 L for cooking and drinking and uses water from well tube for daily activities. The newly built station will provide 8,900 L of water /day in which about 1,450 of WHO quality water/ day for drinking and cooking .
Built in 2000 in Dương Minh Châu District, Tây Ninh Province. This school has 450 children of the ages ranging from 3 to 5 years-old and 17 teachers and staff members. This is a low income community with an average annual income of $750 /person. We tested the water sample and have found that water from tube well has a pH of 4.5- 5.8 and is contaminated with considerable amount of Fe (15-45 mg/L) , Mn (0.5- 1.4 mg/L) , .CaCO3 (92- 335 mg/L), a considerable amount of NO2 - (2.2- 30) , NO3 - (55-105) , high TDS, arsenic (0.02- 0.1 mg/L) and a high level of microorganism. The newly built station will provide 9,000 L of water /day in which about 1,500 L of WHO quality water/ day for drinking and cooking.
Built in 1991 in Trảng Bàng District, Tây Ninh Province. This school has 16 classes with a total of 807 students and 50 teachers and staff members. It is expected that 100 new students and 5 teachers and staff members will be added to the personnel list in 2016. This district is a low income community with an average annual income of $1,000 /person. We tested the water sample and have found that water from tube well has a pH of 4.3- 5.4 and is contaminated with a considerable amount of Fe (20- 60 mg/L) , Mn (0.5- 1.7 mg/L) , .CaCO3 (120- 375 mg/L), a large amount of NO2- (2.5- 35) , NO3- (55-90) , an arsenic content . of 0.05- 0.09 mg/L, high TDS , and a high level of microorganism. The school had bought bottled water at the price of 50 cents/a container of 20 L for cooking and drinking and uses water from well tube for their daily activities. The station will provide 10,700 L of water /day in which about 2,000 L of WHO quality water/ day for drinking and cooking .
The project was wholly funded by Water Filtration Project (WFP) for one WHO quality water station which was built by EcoSolar Interbnational. The station has provided 11,859 L of water /day in which about 2,250 L of WHO quality water/ day is for drinking and cooking and remaining water for other daily uses. Built in 1991 in CHâu Thành District, Tây Ninh Province. This school has 400 students of the ages of 3- 5 years-old and 35 teachers and staff members. This district is a low income community with an average annual income of $1,000 /person. We tested the water sample and have found that water from tube well has a pH of 4.8-5.3 and is contaminated with a considerable amount of Fe (8-49 mg/L) , Mn (0.58- 1.2 mg/L) , and an arsenic content . of 0.05- 0.09 mg/L.
As of the end of 2016, we have donated a total of 1,000 computerized microscopes to
hospitals and schools in Vietnam. Together with these sets of microscopes, we have
also provided softwares on image acquisition /manipulation and patients related
data handling. Teleradiography has also been studied to transfer radiological
patient images on line from one hospital to another for the purposes of sharing data
with other radiologists and physicians.
(For more information, please contact Mr. Viet Huong Nguyen at
vietnguyenhuong@yahoo.com)
We have linked one of our open laboratories with Department of Gynecology of Medical Center of Hue and Medical Center of Phu Vang District, Hue Province to study the immune cells in women. More than 200 pregnant women had participated in this study. Cell images in the uterus of women were taken, recorded and transmitted on line through our telemedicine systems. X-rays images of the chess and bones of a patient were also taken.
Since 2014, Prof. Nang Tran has conducted every year a three-day workshop on “MEMS Technology and Thin Films” at the Vietnam National University , HCMC under the sponsorship of University of Sciences, Integrated Circuit Design Research and Education Center, HCMC Semiconductor Industry Association and Saigon High-Tech Park.
With partial funding from University of Science, members of the group had worked with other students and faculty , organizing E-LABS contest in May 2010 . Students from many colleges and universities in HCMC had participated in the event (see the clips) .