The Lang Len overflow bridge in Thanh Hoa has been inaugurated by Bridgestone Vietnam on December 2, to help the community realize the dream of having a new bridge and local children to have a new safe road to school. The bridge has been co-created with support from Bridgestone Vietnam dealer, partner, local authorities, and the community in Lang Len.
THANH HOA (08 December 2022) — Lang Len overflow bridge (Chieng Nang village, Giao An commune, Lang Chanh district) was inaugurated by Bridgestone Tire Sales Vietnam Limited Liability (Bridgestone Vietnam) on December 2, realizing its commitment of "Empowerment: Committed to contributing to a society in which access and dignity are guaranteed to everyone”, one of the values announced in “Bridgestone E8 Commitment” this March 2022.
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Lang Len Bridge will bring a safe route to school for students in Chieng Nang province
Lang Chanh is a mountainous district in the West-Northwest of Thanh Hoa, with the Thai and Muong ethnic group in the majority. The scenery here is pristine and magnificent with a system of primeval forests, waterfalls, and rivers cutting across the village. It is nevertheless difficult and strenuous for travelling around the areas, as the infrastructure has not been invested. The electric grids have also not reached the people here, especially in remote villages like Chieng Nang village.
Nearly 100 households in the area of Len Village (Chieng Nang village, Giao An commune, Lang Chanh district) have built a temporary bridge across the stream with each bamboo tree to allow people to travel for many years. The bridge is the road to school for 18 children living in this village. It is also the main road to transport agricultural products, the only source of income for the ethnic minorities here. The path to school for the children is always full of dangers when floods come. In the past years, the makeshift bamboo bridge used to be wept away by severe flood, causing great dangers for the local children and villagers. In such case, the production activities of the small village all come to an abrupt halt, when the community of 500 residents is totally isolated from the outside world by the flooding river.
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Chieng Nang villagers performed a traditional dance on the new bridge in the event
Linh Dan, a 3rd grader at the primary and secondary school in Giao An, timidly said: “I hope the village has a new bridge for me to go to school. In the small flood season, I can still make rafts to cross the stream, but in the big flood days, I have to miss school.” Linh Dan's story is also a common situation for many highland students. Going to school regularly seems to be easy, but there are many obstacles for highland children.
Understanding the hindrances that still exist in difficult areas, Bridgestone Vietnam always commits to serving society and putting future generations first, and has always struggled to bring the community the most practical solutions. The Lang Len overflow bridge was inaugurated also to realize that mission to provide access to knowledge and provide a safe and joyful path to disadvantaged children.
Lang Len spillway bridge was newly built with a size of 16m, a width of 4m, and a load of 5 tons, replacing the old Luong bridge which was only 6m long before. The criteria of grade and location of drains are also carefully considered in the design and construction, to increase the durability and life of the bridge, especially the drainage feature of the overflow bridge in the flooding rain.
Representatives of Bridgestone Vietnam, partner and local government cut ribbon to welcome the new bridge
The Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Giao An Commune, Lang Chanh, Ms. Dinh Thi Huong, touched and voiced her excitement on the day of the opening: "We are thrilled; this is the anticipation and dream of the locals. The constructed spillway offers the villagers several advantages by guaranteeing the protection of people's lives and property while passing through, particularly during the rainy season.” Above all, Ms. Huong continued, the bridge increases income for households by lowering various expenses and promoting stability in daily life.
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Local people crossed the bridge together as part of the ceremony
For every Muong child in the highlands here, the bridge helps them feel secure to move on every journey, reaching for the good things ahead. “I am very happy when the village has a new bridge. From now on, I don't have to drive the car across the bridge and have to miss school every time there is a flood," Linh Dan eagerly shared on the inauguration day.
Joining hands in Bridgestone Vietnam's journey to bring a knowledge bridge to Thanh Hoa highland, there is also the support of An Phuc Thinh Company, E-XPRO Creative Strategic Communication and Event Company in co-financing the construction of the project. In addition, the local government also contributed to installing more electric grids in the bridge area, helping to light up the movement of people and children at night. Moreover, sympathizing with that value, the people of Len Village also made a small contribution, donating a few pieces of land to widen the road surface around the bridge, making the road more spacious and airier. It is this consensus that makes a great impact on society with each journey Bridgestone Vietnam passes through.
Mr. Naoki Inutsuka, shared his joy when attending the event, “We Bridgestone group hold our vision for 2050 to be a sustainable solution company through providing social and customer value. Toward it, we always think about BRIDGESTONE E8 Commitment, 8 values started with “E”, both in our process and purpose of our business. Through this bridge, we are proud that we contribute to the “Empowerment” of local society, and “Ease” of community life, as 2 of those “E”s. We would like to keep on contributing through our product, service and CSR activities, to be a sustainable solution partner for Vietnamese society and customers.
About Bridgestone Corporation
Bridgestone is a global leader in tires and rubber building on its expertise to provide solutions for safe and sustainable mobility. Headquartered in Tokyo, the company employs approximately 130,000 people globally and conducts business in more than 150 countries and territories worldwide. Bridgestone offers a diverse product portfolio of premium tires and advanced solutions backed by innovative technologies, improving the way people around the world move, live, work and play.
About Bridgestone Tire Sales Vietnam LLC.
In Vietnam, Bridgestone Tire Sales Vietnam LLC. (BSTVN) is a leading tire brand in Vietnam's automotive industry. Together with Bridgestone Tire Manufacturing Vietnam LLC., (BTMV), Bridgestone provides an extensive range of quality tires for passenger cars and commercial vehicles in Vietnam. Staying committed to the global mission of "Serving society with superior quality" for more than 90 years, Bridgestone Vietnam work closely with its partners to deliver social values and customer values.
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The Bridgestone Group newly established its corporate commitment, the “Bridgestone E8 Commitment” to realize its vision: “Toward 2050, Bridgestone continues to provide social value and customer value as a sustainable solutions company.” This commitment will serve as the Group’s axis to drive management while earning the trust of future generations. The “Bridgestone E8 Commitment” consists of 8 Bridgestone-like values starting with the letter “E” (Energy, Ecology, Efficiency, Extension, Economy, Emotion, Ease, and Empowerment) that the Group will commit to creating through Bridgestone-like “purpose“ and “process“, together with employees, society, its partners and customers to realize a sustainable society.