Sir Roger visits Vietnam, Oct. 27, 2003

Sir Roger Moore has arrived in Vietnam with his wife Christina for a six-day trip to visit UNICEF-supported projects in the central provinces of Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Tri.

Roger Moore, center, and his wife Kristina, right, clap hands with children at Ha Trung primary school, Vinh Ha district, 40 kilometers from Hue, Vietnam, on Monday, Oct. 27, 2003. Sir Roger visit to the school to observe the Child-Friendly Primary School with integrated water and sanitation support and talk to children about their safety curriculum. - © AP Photo/Doan Bao Chau

Sir Roger was at the Ha Trung school to see water, sanitation and safety projects funded by the U.N. children's agency at schools where most kids do not have access to running water, let alone cable TV or movies. Standing outside a classroom in this poor village, Roger Moore complimented the Ha Trung school on its success rate of achieving a 100 percent attendance for the community's 850 children. "That's much better than the inner cities in England and in Europe," he said. "If my education had been as good as yours ... I would be able to say all of this in Vietnamese." Sir Roger Moore and his wife Kristina Tholstrup look at students from Ha Trung Primary School as they wash their hands at a well supported by UNICEF, in Vietnam's central province of Thua Thien Hue, 680 km from the capital Hanoi, October 27, 2003 - © Reuters/Kham

UNICEF has provided $2,320 for clean water and bathrooms at the school, 430 miles south of the national capital, Hanoi. The organization has also provided education about safety in a country where accidents such as drowning, land mines, poisoning and falls are the leading cause of death among children 1 to 16 years old.

Sir Roger Moore says goodbye to children in Ha Trung primary school, Vinh Ha district 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Hue, Vietnam, on Monday, Oct. 27, 2003. - © AP Photo/Doan Bao Chau

Wearing a white T-shirt with UNICEF's logo, Roger Moore says he plans to continue circling the globe to promote better lives for children. "If you're employed by UNICEF, you have to retire at 60," he said, smiling. "If you're a volunteer, you go on until you drop." More than 200 children danced for Sir Roger and sang the theme for the upcoming Southeast Asian Games, which Vietnam will host for the first time in December. Si Roger and his wife later sat in on a class about safety when crossing rivers, which claim the lives of many people each year throughout the country. Only 10 out of 32 students said they could swim.

He said the visit to Vietnam gave him hope that children's lives can be improved with a little help, but he said more people from richer countries need to donate. "The world will never improve until it's a better world for children," he said. "Maybe that's utopia, but it's our idea of what will make a better world."

Source: Yahoo!.com, Melbourne Herald Sun - Visit UNICEF/Vietnam.org