Ms. Tran Thi Kim Thia: An inspirational woman

Ms. Tran Thi Kim Thia (63 years old; residing in Hung Thanh commune, Thap Muoi district, Dong Thap province) participates in teaching free swimming to thousands of children in the river areas in the West and has just been voted by Forbes Vietnam Magazine as one of the 20 inspirational women of 2021.

Mrs. Tran Thi Kim Thia is affectionately called "Mrs. Sau Thia" (because she is the sixth in the family) by the people because she has a generous heart and is helpful to society.

Every day, she sells lottery tickets to make a living and has enthusiastically taught free swimming lessons to nearly 4,000 children in the Mekong Delta for the past 19 years.

Mrs. Sau Thia made a makeshift swimming pool in the river to teach children to swim.

At first, Mrs. Sau Thia herself built stakes and nets along the riverbank to create a makeshift swimming pool to teach children how to swim. She absolutely did not accept any money from parents and regardless of rich or poor, all could send their children to learn.

Ms. Sau Thia was voted by Forbes Vietnam Magazine as one of the 20 inspirational women of 2021.

The silent dedication of a lottery ticket seller with a social spirit is well rewarded.

In 2017, Ms. Sau Thia won the KOVA Award - KOVA Paint Group, category of beautiful living, typical example in society. She was also honored to become the representative of Vietnam in the list of 100 outstanding women in the world voted by the British news agency BBC.

In 2020, she was honored to receive the Third Class Labor Medal from the President. An ordinary person in society who is honored with many high achievements has made many people admire and respect her.

Most recently, Ms. Sau Thia continued to surprise when Forbes Vietnam Magazine voted her as one of the 20 most inspiring women in 2021. According to Forbes Magazine, this is the first time honoring women of all ages who have pioneered, broken through, and overcome their own limitations and adversities to create positive impacts, strong enough to erase the walls, whether visible or invisible, that have long hindered women's development.

For the past 19 years, Ms. Sau Thia has been trusted and loved by many parents who have sent their children to her to teach them how to swim. Explaining why she worries about "other people's business", she just smiled and said: "Witnessing the pain of families whose children drowned on television, I taught free swimming lessons to thousands of children in river areas so that society will no longer see the tragic sight of children drowning."

Before getting into the water, she guided the children to warm up…

Mrs. Sau Thia said that her hometown is in Go Cong Dong district, Tien Giang province. Because her family is poor, her parents passed away one after another, so at the age of 34, she left her hometown to go to Hung Thanh commune to work for a living. The woman has spent more than a lifetime working hard in the rain and sun, so her skin is dark and her body is as strong as a man's.

In 1992, the Hung Thanh commune government mobilized Ms. Sau Thia to participate in the Women's Association of Hamlet 4. In 2002, the commune People's Committee implemented a project to popularize swimming for children, and Ms. Sau was invited to be a "coach" to teach swimming to thousands of children in the river area. Although Ms. Sau Thia only had experience teaching swimming in the "rural" areas, she was "good at it", the children she taught learned to swim very quickly, the fastest was 5 days, the slowest was about 10 days to "graduate" from the intensive swimming course.

Good news travels fast. During 19 years of silence, Mrs. Sau Thia has been trusted and loved by many parents who sent their children to learn to swim.

Mrs. Sau Thia is very good at teaching children to swim quickly.

On average, she teaches about 8 classes a year with about 240 children aged 7-15. Classes are usually held during the summer, when the flood is approaching. Each class lasts about 1.5 hours, lasting no more than 15 days. Apart from a small gas subsidy from the local government, she does not accept tuition fees from any parents, even if they pocket them to show their gratitude.

"I watched TV and saw many cases of children drowning and felt so sorry for them that I wanted to teach the children how to swim to protect themselves, not for any other purpose," Ms. Sau Thia humbly said.

In addition to teaching children to swim and participating in the work of the Women's Association, for many years, Mrs. Sau Thia has also participated in the Red Cross Association of the hamlet and collaborated in population planning. Her silent contributions may have made her forget to build family happiness. "Although I don't have a husband or children, in return, I teach swimming to thousands of children like my own children and grandchildren, and I feel very happy and joyful" - Mrs. Sau Thia confided.

During the time of swimming lessons, every morning, Mrs. Sau Thia wakes up early to ride her old motorbike to the swimming class, then goes to work or sells lottery tickets. Thanks to Mrs. Sau Thia's contributions, there are no cases of children drowning in the river areas. In an interview with Forbes Vietnam, Mrs. Sau Thia said: "I have no husband or children, I consider children as my own children in the family. In the future, when I am healthy, I will continue to teach, until my wheels stop rolling."

Mr. Le Minh Hoan, former Secretary of Dong Thap Provincial Party Committee, now Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, visited and gave gifts to Ms. Sau Thia.

Mrs. Sau Thia's life is difficult, but every summer, when the flood season is approaching, she puts aside all her work to spend time teaching children to swim. Her generous personality and love for children make many people admire her.

Mr. Le Minh Hoan, former Secretary of Dong Thap Provincial Party Committee, now Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, once visited and had this feeling about her: "Ms. Sau Thia, a person without a family, so all the children learning to swim are taken care of and taught by her as if they were her own children and grandchildren, and the parents of the children are considered as her own relatives. She must have a boundless love for children, for her to be willing to do such a humane volunteer work."

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