According to official statistics on Vietnam in 2018, the average Vietnamese person reads only four books per year, with textbooks accounting for 2.8 of those. This low reading rate leads to a lack of depth in knowledge among the populace, hindering societal development. However, according to Zhi-Shan Foundation Vietnam's survey of the Thua Thien Hue province, children in Vietnam do not dislike reading; rather, they lack opportunities and money to purchase books. Additionally, rural schools lack reading spaces and materials, depriving children of reading opportunities. 

In 2008,  Zhi-Shan initiated a program to promote reading in Quảng Điền in the rural district of Thừa Thiên Huế province to help children in Vietnam absorb new knowledge, develop skills and confidence through reading, and broaden their horizons to pursue and achieve their dreams. The Reading Plan includes the establishment of friendly reading rooms, providing boxes of books  and various reading materials, training “reading program seed teachers”, distributing reading record booklets, and organizing award ceremonies for children. The foundation continuously absorbs and learns from domestic and international model programs which promote and organize reading activities in partner schools. Over the past 15 years, the project has expanded to six provinces in central Vietnam, including Thua Thien Hue, Quang Tri, Quang Binh, Ha Tinh, Nghe An, and Quang Nam, creating "friendly reading spaces" and "cultivating interest and good reading habits" for students in over 500 schools. We have provided equipment for 303 friendly reading rooms and established 3,785 classroom bookshelves. The average number of books read by students per academic year is 60, and the program  benefits over 200,000 students. Schools have also incorporated reading classes into their regular curriculum, where children actively read books and even tell stories, significantly improving their expressive abilities and confidence, contributing to the realization of Goal 4  of UN Sustainable Development - "Quality Education." 

Community Voice 

"Regular reading can improve my language vocabulary, cultivate my expression ability, and contribute to my writing ability. With the sponsorship of Zhi-shan, our school has a loving reading space. In addition to every reading class, I also go to the reading room to read books when I have free time. Reading can help me reduce study pressure and relax. This academic year, I have read 145 meaningful books and I am very satisfied with my reading performance. I have also learned how to write a reading diary and reflections after reading. The reading manual gifted by Zhi-shan is very meaningful to me, not only teaching me effective reading methods, but also helping me leave new knowledge and improve my memory. " (Fifth grade student of Qinan Elementary and Secondary School in Qiying City, Hejing Province) 

"It's a great honor to participate in the" Experience and Creativity Sharing Competition of Reading Activities "held by Zhi-shan for school librarians for the first time as a librarian. Since I worked as a school librarian, I have never participated in such a large and meaningful competition, and I am worried about whether I can do it, but I think that since I participate in the competition, I should go all out to learn from other schools and aim at the rights and interests of our students, so that the reading activities in our school can develop day by day. I showed my enthusiasm for reading activities in my works. When Zhi-shan announced that our works won the third prize, I was very moved and shed tears. The sharing competition of experience and creativity in promoting reading activities is an innovative and meaningful activity, which gives us the opportunity to show our abilities and learn a lot of useful experience and knowledge. This makes us, as school librarians, love this job more and have more motivation to promote reading activities! " (Librarian of Fuji Elementary School, Hue City, Hue Province)