On October 16, 2007, Canon Vietnam held a ceremony to handover the schoolhouse for Canon-Bet Tray Elementary School in the village of CamThach in ThanhHoa Province. As a part of the “Canon Friendship School Chain Project,” Canon Vietnam provides assistance to construct new schoolhouses or enlarge or renovate existing schoolhouses in poverty-stricken areas in the northern region of Vietnam. The schoolhouse concerned is the first completed under the auspices of this project.

Officials from the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training and the regional government, as well as representatives from a number of other schools and the media attended the ceremony to present the schoolhouse. In his speech at the event, Canon Vietnam’s President Kageyama told the schoolchildren that “Hereafter, please don’t forget what it was like studying in your former school building, work hard in your studies in this new schoolhouse and enjoy going to school.” Furthermore, each child was presented with school supplies with the Canon logo as a commemorative gift.

Several days prior to the presentation ceremony, a typhoon hit ThanhHoa Province, where the schoolhouse was built, and neighboring areas, causing great damage. At the ceremony, Canon Vietnam also presented approximately 200 million dong (equivalent to US$12,000) in clothing and food aid to the victims in these areas.