An article from Rhys Williams, Rotary Central Melbourne
Through her 2025 scholarship, Vietnamese high school teacher Ms Doan Thanh Thu successfully strengthened her professional capability in modern English as a Second Language (ESL) pedagogy. 
Scholar Doan Thanh Thu, back row far left, in her CELTA class
Thanh Thu is now bringing new energy and impact to her teaching and learning at Quoc Hoc High School for Gifted Students in Hue City and for the Vietnam Foundation.During her stay, Thanh Thu completed the internationally recognised Cambridge University Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA) course, and extra placement experience at Victoria University and Melbourne Polytechnic. She was sponsored and supported by the Rotary Clubs of Central Melbourne and Saigon.
According to Thanh Thu, she "developed new strengths in creating positive rapport with learners using a more interactive and student-centred approach. This is very different to the Vietnamese approach. I have new energy! I will now help my department to adopt what I have learned and improve our impact.’
Central Melbourne and Saigon Rotary Clubs are partners in the Vietnam Foundation’s Build a Future (BAF) Scholarship Program. Quoc Hoc is one of three school partners where 30 students receive scholarship support and an education support program. It includes a weekly hour of online English speaking and listening practice and a three-day academic summer camp. Thanh Thu’s new expertise is already benefiting the program. Read about BAF at: https://vietnamfoundation.org.au/news/.
Rhys Williams, Foundation Director at Central Melbourne and VNF Director said: “The Royce and Jean Abbey scholarship is a brilliant way of cost-effectively building capability sustainably and enhancing Rotary’s impact. It directly connects Rotarians with impactful projects. I encourage all Clubs to learn more about it.”
VNF Summer Camp a significant beneficiary of the scholarship! Thanh Thu front row third left. Central Melbourne’s Ken Ho-le and Rhys Williams front row fifth and fourth from right. Saigon Charter President Kieu Vuong Nguyen front row sixth from left. Also included are Quoc Hoc HS students are Rotaractors from One Million Lives Rotaract Club.