VietNamNet Bridge – Joyous smiles spread across the face of nine-year-old Pham Thi Ngoc Diem and her friends as they washed their hands in fresh, clean water at Phuong Cuu 3 Primary School in central Ninh Thuan Province.

Pupils wash their hands with comedian Nguyen Xuan Bac, goodwill ambassador for Rural Water Suppy and Environment Sanitation, in a new washbasin at Phuong Cuu 3 Primary School in Ninh Thuan. — Photo UNICEF Viet Nam Truong Viet Hung

"They are clean and bright and I no longer hold back urine and wait until I get home before I go to the toilet," said Thai Thi Nhi, another nine-year-old.

Learning in spacious schools with good sanitation facilities is normal for children in urban areas or in big cities, but it is a rare for many children living in rural areas.

Nguyen Thi Be, principal of the Phuong Cuu school said: "Students relieve themselves and wash their hand more diligently than before."

Although the school has been open since 2009, teachers and about 400 students had to share one toilet due to lack of money for standard facilities.

"It was very inconvenient," Be said, adding that the new facilities cost about VND200 million (US$9,700) and have a special area with handrails for disabled students.

The new facility was built with a donation from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Le Hong Son, from the provincial Agriculture and Rural Development Department's Rural Water Supply Centre, said it was the first time toilets had been adapted for disabled children in the province.

Huynh Thi My Huong, 31, a mother of a seven-year-old boy said: "Sending my son to a school with standard sanitation facilities makes me feel secure."

"I think it is ridiculous that primary students have to hold back urine because the toilets at school are dirty and stink," Huong said.

She said children afraid of going to the toilet become restless, nervous, easily distracted and this affected their learning.

Dang Anh Ngoc, from the National Institute of Occupation and Environment Health's School Health Department, said that holding back urine was one of reasons kidney stones and cystitis developed.

The hard truth is that only 73 per cent of schools in many rural areas have sanitation facilities – and if they do, only 11 per cent meet national health standards, according to a recent survey conducted at 11,000 schools in 14 provinces and cities by the Ministry of Education and Training.

UNICEF's Viet Nam representative, Lotta Sylwander, said children spent long hours at school and therefore toilets had an important role to play in protecting children from disease and illness.

Since the giant phamaceutical company Procter&Gamble decided to back UNICEF's school sanitation campaign, about 12,000 children in more than 30 schools have benefited in the provinces of An Giang, Dien Bien, Dong Thap and Ninh Thuan during the past three years.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News