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Operators that give back.
Here at TrovaTrip, we are big fans of our friends at Discova, a global destination management company we’ve partnered with since 2019. Discova specializes in tailor-made, group and specialized travel across the world. With their focus on connecting people through travel and delivering unique and impactful experiences, Discova is one of our top global partners.
Aside from being an excellent Operator, Discova does amazing charitable work in other countries. They support the communities they work with as part of an ongoing reciprocal relationship. Discova works with local village groups to assess needs, establish priorities and allocate funds to provide support where it will help the most.
Several villages in Vietnam’s Mai Chau district, which is about 4 hours from Hanoi, have talked to Discova about their lack of books. The nearest (and only) bookstore in Mai Chau is about 18 miles from the nearest village. But even if books were more accessible to the villagers, they probably couldn’t afford them. Mai Chau is full of small farming villages and the average household income is around $60 per month. Local families can’t afford much beyond their basic needs.
For this reason, Discova started an initiative to build “Happy Libraries” in Vietnam. This project raises funds to provide books for schoolchildren of remote communities in Mai Chau.
To date, Discova has donated books to more than 5,000 villages in Mai Chao. The first library was set up in 2016. In the years following, Discova has installed 9 additional libraries throughout the area. The libraries are open 2 to 3 times a week and give more than 500 children access to educational and entertaining books.
Recently Discova made a donation on behalf of TrovaTrip to install the 10th library on December 25, 2021. While Christmas is not typically a significant day for locals, the spirit of sharing and gift-giving is universal, and the villagers of the Pu Bin community celebrated the day with new books.
"The donation we’ve made on TrovaTrip’s behalf will help to not only cover furniture for the community library, but also purchase 28 books that will help students in this remote village,” says Nick Shuttleworth, General Manager at Discova. “It will advance their learning opportunities, which can be a challenge for remote communities.”
This 10th library in Na Phat village within Pu Bin has more than $1,000 worth of books, including the bookshelves and other set-up costs.
“We could not have achieved this 10th library without the ongoing support of our partners who continue to contribute funding to the project,” says Shuttleworth.
Vocal about their desire to read, the children in Na Phat now have access to books for all ages, in both Vietnamese and English. The books include learning materials related to their school subjects, comics, cartoons and other imaginative fictional stories. Too often, for a variety of reasons, children from low-income families in northern Vietnam are educationally disadvantaged because of their limited access to materials and facilities. Discova is helping to reverse this.
Library 11 is coming soon
Discova’s next library location will be built in Quyet Thang, an idyllic village in Bao La commune. This area is home to over 50 school-age students, all of whom share a small group of books within the local school. For further reading, they have to travel to the single bookstore in Mai Chau miles away or go on lengthy bike rides to other villages in which we have installed libraries.
How you can help
Discova welcomes support and donations for community projects. You can sponsor the creation of a new library, either in your name or on behalf of a client, or contribute in other ways to their work in Mai Chau.
Thank you Discova, for bringing books and happiness to remote corners of the world. We applaud the great work you are doing and are honored to be part of it.
Want to get involved?
Email educationaltravel@discova.com to find out how you can help. Or, click here to learn more about the Happy Library project in Mai Chau.