Ajinomoto Vietnam - 20 years of 'Bringing children to school'

On March 23, the 20th "Bringing Student to School" scholarship awarding ceremony for the 2023 - 2024 school year was held in Dong Nai province, Vietnam, awarding 400 scholarships, with a total value of VND 540 million.

The ceremony had the presence of Mr Vo Van Phi - Vice Chairman of Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee, Ms Le Thi My Phuong - Chairman of Dong Nai Provincial Study Promotion Association and leaders of many departments, branches and branches in the province. On the side of the scholarship awarding businesses, there was the attendance of Mr. Tsutomu Nara - General Director of Ajinomoto Vietnam Company, Ms Do Mai Dung - General Director of Nippon Sanso Vietnam Joint Stock Company, Mr. Koki Ikenoue - Chairman of Kureha Vietnam Co., Ltd., and the presence of nearly 400 middle and high school students in Dong Nai with difficult circumstances, striving to excel in their studies.

The scholarship fund is funded by 3 Japanese businesses operating in Dong Nai, including Ajinomoto Vietnam Company Nippon Sanso Vietnam Joint Stock Company and Kureha Vietnam Co., Ltd. jointly donated to middle and high school students in their home province. For two decades, the Scholarship Fund has become an annual activity with profound humanitarian meaning. To date, there have been 6,200 scholarships awarded, with a total value of more than VND 6 billion, helping students continue on their path of seeking knowledge.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Vo Van Phi - Vice Chairman of Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee said that Dong Nai province has more than 600,000 high school students studying at all levels. Some of them come from difficult circumstances and have sick family members, so the risk of dropping out of school to make ends meet is very high. He highly appreciated the support of Ajinomoto Vietnam Company - an enterprise with a long period of investment and development in Dong Nai province, to create jobs and contribute to the state budget. "This is a very noble and humane gesture, contributing to the educational development of Vietnam in general and Dong Nai province in particular during the past 20 years", Mr Phi emphasized.

According to Mr Tsutomu Nara - General Director of Ajinomoto Vietnam Company, Ajinomoto Vietnam pursues a business philosophy with the purpose of existence being "Contribute to bringing health and happiness to Vietnamese people and society through providing quality products and valuable innovations. Accordingly, we believe that health and happiness are the foundation for creating a better society. Facilitating education and improving nutrition is practical work to bring happiness and health to help develop future generations, thereby contributing to the development of Vietnam. This is also the inspiration and motivation for Ajinomoto Vietnam to maintain the "Bringing Student to School" scholarship program over the past 20 years. At the same time, there are new initiatives to improve nutrition and health for students, such as the School Meals Project since 2012.

Initiated in 2012, Ajinomoto Vietnam has coordinated with the Ministry of Education and Training and the National Institute of Nutrition - Ministry of Health to deploy the National School Meals Project. Currently, students at more than 4,200 primary boarding schools nationwide are enjoying meals from the Project's nutritionally balanced menu and being educated on food nutrition knowledge.

"Through the Project, we also continue to promote so that students can maintain a healthy, balanced diet not only at school but also at home. For example, in addition to the Aji-mayo® Mayonnaise product launched in 2006, We have just launched the product "Aji-Xot" roasted sesame sauce as a solution to make vegetable dishes more delicious and attractive, so that students can eat more green vegetables, maintain a healthy diet both at school and at home", Mr. Tsutomu Nara shared.