Highland children react with joy upon receiving their yearbook photos. — Photo courtesy of Kỷ Yếu Trên Bản project

Holding her first-ever photograph, taken in traditional Mông dress in a quiet schoolyard, Hoàng Thị Phương — an eighth-grade student at Sơn Lập School in the northern province of Cao Bằng — burst into tears.

“My family doesn’t have a phone to take pictures,” she said. “I will keep this photo — it’s the first time I have ever been photographed.”

To Phương and many children in remote highland villages, where even enough food and clothing can still be a daily challenge, the idea of preserving school memories in printed form feels distant.

A group of young people have crossed the high mountains and deep forests with cameras in hand to turn that idea into reality. They are members of Kỷ Yếu Trên Bản (Village Yearbook), a humanitarian project led by photographer Lưu Minh Khương and his friends.

Since its official launch in 2023, the project has captured and presented over 7,500 framed photographs to more than 3,000 children in the mountainous areas of Điện Biên, Cao Bằng, Bắc Kạn (now Thái Nguyên) and Hà Giang (now Tuyên Quang) provinces.

Khương, the initiator of Village Yearbook, was also born in a mountainous area of what is now Bắc Ninh. His childhood experiences helped him understand the challenges that many highland students still face today.

Khương, the initiator of Village Yearbook. — Photo courtesy of Lưu Minh Khương

A simple gift

During a trip to Y Tý in Lào Cai while working on the photography project 99 Impressive Moments of Việt Nam, he realised that many children there had never had the opportunity to keep a photo as a memory of their school years.

From that realisation, the Village Yearbook project was born, with the hope of bringing free yearbook photos to highland students as a meaningful gift that allows them to preserve the most beautiful moments of their school days.

“Kỷ Yếu Trên Bản was created with the desire to bring yearbook photo sets to students in remote areas, giving them the opportunity to preserve their school memories just like their peers,” Khương said.

More than just commemorative photos, the project also aims to spread community awareness, provide additional motivation for the children to continue going to school, and nurture their dreams.

“Through this journey, Kỷ Yếu Trên Bản also helps connect communities and share beautiful stories about people, culture and life in mountainous regions,” Khương added.

The project aims to preserve childhood memories and encourage young people to nurture their dreams. — Photo courtesy of Kỷ Yếu Trên Bản project

Roads to the hills

The project team consists of 60 young people, including professional photographers, videographers, and content creators with a strong presence on digital platforms. What they share is a passion for photography and a desire to give back.

The journey of Kỷ Yếu Trên Bản is made up of long days travelling together along winding mountain roads and steep slopes.

Each time they arrive at a school, the team sets up the backdrop, installs the camera, and adjusts the lighting right in the small yard in front of the classroom. There are also times when they have to stop midway because of heavy rain, with slippery roads making it impossible to continue. Yet all those hardships seem to fade away when they see the eager eyes of the children waiting for them in the schoolyard.

“Travelling to school sites in remote mountainous areas, we encounter countless challenges," Khương noted. "The first difficulty is the distance, as getting from Hà Nội to these locations means going through many risky roads. Moreover, as far as I know, no one in Việt Nam has organised a programme like this before, so I had no reference or experience to draw from."

The weather can inevitably be another problem. But the biggest challenge, he added, is that children in mountainous areas are not used to cameras. Many of them run away when they see a camera. To approach them, the team organises activities like making milk tea and setting up small snack stalls. Only when the children start playing do the cameras begin to come out.

“We don’t ask the children to pose; we even keep the smudges of dirt on their hands or the chapped skin on their cheeks. That is their true beauty,” Khương said.

The photos are edited, printed and framed on the spot.

Since its launch in 2023, the project has captured and presented more than 7,500 framed photographs to over 3,000 children. — Photo courtesy of Kỷ Yếu Trên Bản project

Smiles that stay

What impressed him most was how well-behaved the students are. They would run up to hug the team, cry and say thank you after receiving their photos.

“At that moment, we truly felt that our work was meaningful. When we returned, we immediately started working on the next location because after completing one, everyone felt genuinely positive – we all loved our work more, loved life more, and appreciated everything in life more,” he added.

The photographer said every trip left him with unforgettable memories. What he remembered most was when he photographed three Mông children in Ngải Thầu Thượng Village in Lào Cai. Despite the freezing weather, with temperatures below zero, the children still played happily, their cheeks rosy and their voices lively as they chatted with him.

They promised to study hard so that one day they could go to Hà Nội to meet "Uncle Khương". Those moments are what motivate him to continue his journey.

A student prepares to have her school photo taken.— Photo courtesy of Kỷ Yếu Trên Bản project

Phạm Tuấn Hùng, 27, a member of Kỷ Yếu Trên Bản, believes that each photograph is a simple yet beautiful way to preserve youth. For him, bringing a camera to the villages is about telling the story of childhood that they can carry with them for a lifetime.

“Their smiles are proof of the project’s meaning. For me, it is a joy to be able to spread love,” he said.

For Khương, the journey has only just begun, because there are still countless children across remote villages who have never had yearbook photos.

“I realise that each trip allows us to do only a small part, while there are still so many places that need us,” he said.

“Therefore, I hope that in the future we can inspire more photographers across Việt Nam, as well as international friends, to join hands in carrying out this project."

And for Phương, that single photograph — her first — may be the beginning of a memory she will carry for a lifetime. VNS

Khương chats with young students. He hopes the project will reach more children. — Photo courtesy of Kỷ Yếu Trên Bản project