Tran Phuong

Vietnamese social entrepreneur who transformed rural education through mobile libraries

Tran Phuong (born 1972) is a Vietnamese educator and founder of Books for Children, an initiative that delivers mobile libraries to remote mountainous regions. Growing up in a poor rural village, Phuong recognized the lack of educational resources for ethnic minority children, where 40% of students dropped out before completing primary school. Her solution involved converting donated shipping containers into mobile libraries, equipped with solar-powered lighting and over 5,000 books in multiple languages. By 2018, her project had established 30 permanent libraries and conducted 150 mobile visits annually, reaching 15,000 children in 12 provinces. The program also trains local youth as library assistants, creating part-time jobs and fostering community ownership.

Innovatively combining technology and tradition, Phuong's libraries feature bilingual books in Vietnamese and minority languages like Hmong and Tay. She developed a curriculum integrating folklore storytelling with STEM concepts, making learning culturally relevant. Her partnership with UNICEF expanded the initiative to include teacher training programs and digital literacy workshops. The project's success inspired similar models in Laos and Cambodia, addressing UNESCO's Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education). Phuong's TEDx talk "Books as Bridges" highlights how literacy initiatives can preserve cultural heritage while preparing children for global opportunities. Her work has been recognized by the Asian Heroes Foundation and the Vietnamese Ministry of Education.