Thu Hien is determined to study so she can take care of her two younger siblings going to school - Photo: TRAN LAM
Thu Hien's house is in the mountainous district of Tan Lac (Hoa Binh province). Looking at the tuition fee of 45 million VND/year of the Diplomatic Academy, the mother and daughter said it was probably only suitable for rich children.
I want to study so that I can first take care of my family, then share with society and the community, and help people in the same situation as me.
BUI THI THU HIEN
House for the poor, the elderly, the disabled
Hien’s family is poor and has 9 members. The grandfather is 85 years old, the grandmother is 83 years old and the grandmother is 64 years old. Her uncle had a work accident and was paralyzed on one side. Hien has two younger siblings, the younger brother is deaf and mute from birth and the youngest is only 5 years old.
Father is a construction worker, earning about 200,000 VND/day but the job is unstable because it depends on the weather. Mother stays at home to farm rice, earning insignificant income. Hien wanted to enter the police academy but failed.
Mrs. Bui Thi Xuyen (Hien's mother) said that when her family received the news that her daughter had passed the university entrance exam, they were both happy and worried. Hien said that his parents tried to pay for his tuition for the first few months, and that once he got used to the new environment, he would work part-time to earn money to study on his own.
When her daughter said that, her mother could not sleep because she felt sorry. Mrs. Xuyen said she really wanted to follow her daughter to Hanoi to find a job to earn money to support Hien to go to school. But Hien's two younger siblings, one was still young and the other was disabled, how could they go? Hien confided that she felt sad when she saw her parents' reaction but was not angry. For every night her daughter cried in despair, her mother lost sleep, her face dark with worry.
Hien is a determined person. After finishing her high school graduation exam, she went to Hanoi to apply for a job as a waitress at a restaurant, earning 200,000 VND/day.
“I feel sad for my fate, but knowing that my parents cannot afford to take care of me, I have to try to stand on my own two feet to be able to continue studying. If I am forced to drop out of school, it is my own decision and I do not resent anyone,” Hien affirmed.
Mom sold 3 pigs, Hien will be determined to do more
But the door to university finally opened for Hien, a girl who just became a new student majoring in international communications at the Diplomatic Academy. Having been enrolled for a month, the Muong female student said that sitting in the lecture hall was like a dream and she did not want to wake up because she thought about her studies being interrupted halfway.
When the family was at their most desperate and desperate, a 64-year-old woman from Hanoi came to Hien’s house to convince her son to go to Hanoi to study. She said she didn’t know the tuition fee, but if he went to Hanoi to study, he would just stay at her house because she was alone. This “fairy god” who helped him go to school appeared, helping the parents feel more secure. Then, her uncle and aunt also added words of encouragement because they saw how much their son loved studying.
Considered as closing her eyes and taking a risk for her daughter. Mother Hien sold three pigs, which were also the family's biggest asset, for about 3 million in interest, and borrowed another 2 million for her daughter to temporarily enroll in school.
“Stepping into the lecture hall was like a dream. I really didn't dare to think that I would be able to study in my dream school like this,” Hien confided.
But right at the moment sitting in the spacious lecture hall, the girl's mind was filled with the image of her parents working hard, sometimes with cracked limbs in the winter. Hien said that she felt so sorry for herself that she had to study even harder because only then could she hope to help her family escape poverty and have the opportunity to send her younger siblings to school.
Hien's mother said the money she gave her daughter was only enough for the first month, and she didn't know how she would make ends meet for the next month, and there was nothing left in the house to sell. The recent storm number 3 had destroyed several acres of rice.
“We just harvested a little over two quintals of rice, and if we sell it now, we won’t know what to eat for the next half year. We still owe the bank 25 million VND in support for building a house, so we don’t dare borrow more because if we borrow, how will we pay it back?” – Mrs. Xuyen said sadly.
It's too difficult, I will try to finish the first semester and apply for a leave of absence.
Choosing international media, Thu Hien aims to become a journalist and editor. Despite facing many difficulties, the 18-year-old girl always shows confidence in herself and says she is ready to face the worst situation.
Hien's plan is to find a part-time job to cover her living expenses. In the worst case scenario, if she can't afford the tuition fees for the coming months, she will try to finish the first semester, then apply to defer her results, work to earn money, and then come back to school next year.
Not having a computer, she asked to borrow it to do homework with her friends when she had to use the computer or took the initiative to write by hand. "For me, having enough money to pay the monthly tuition is the happiest thing" - Hien choked.
Hien has registered his application for the Tuoi Tre Newspaper's 2024 School Support Scholarship Program with high hopes of receiving support.
Exam results with many 9,10 points
At home, helping with housework has become familiar to Thu Hien - Photo: TRAN LAM
Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet – Hien’s homeroom teacher at Tan Lac High School – said the school knows the family’s situation and has also supported and reduced Hien’s tuition fees. Ms. Nguyet assessed Hien as a person who is eager to learn, hard-working and diligent. Hien scored 10 in geography, 9.75 in history and 9.25 in literature in the high school graduation exam.
The family only has Hien's father as the main breadwinner, with 9 mouths to feed, so it is really difficult. Seeing the family situation, the teacher once advised Hien to consider studying pedagogy to reduce expenses, but the student has the desire and determination to pursue the Diplomatic Academy because she is so passionate.
“The four years ahead are still very long and costly, and we still have to improve our English skills a lot. Teachers and students can only encourage each other to try harder, so the support and help from benefactors for Hien at this time is extremely necessary so that she does not have to leave her dream of going to school unfinished,” Ms. Nguyet shared.
Invite you to join the School Support Program
Tuoi Tre Newspaper's 2024 School Support Program launched on August 8, expected to award 1,100 scholarships with a total cost of more than 20 billion VND (15 million VND for new students with difficulties, 20 special scholarships worth 50 million VND/scholarship throughout 4 years of study and learning equipment, gifts...).
With the motto "No young person can go to school because of poverty", "New students encounter difficulties, there is Tuoi Tre " - as a commitment to support new students in the past 20 years of Tuoi Tre .
The program received contributions and support from the "Accompanying Farmers" Fund - Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company, Vinacam Education Promotion Fund - Vinacam Group Joint Stock Company and the clubs "Nghia Tinh Quang Tri", "Nghia Tinh Phu Yen"; the clubs "Supporting School" Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam - Da Nang, Tien Giang - Ben Tre, Quang Ngai and the Tien Giang - Ben Tre Business Association in Ho Chi Minh City, the German - Vietnamese Mutual Aid and Cooperation Association (VSW), Nam Long Company, Nestlé Vietnam Co., Ltd. ... along with businesses, philanthropists and a large number of readers of Tuoi Tre newspaper.
Businesses and readers who want to support scholarships for new students, please transfer to Tuoi Tre newspaper account:
113000006100 VietinBank, Branch 3, Ho Chi Minh City.
Content: Support "Support to school" for new students or specify the province/city that you want to support.
Readers and businesses abroad can transfer money to Tuoi Tre newspaper:
USD account 007.137.0195.845 Ho Chi Minh City Foreign Trade Bank;
EUR account 007.114.0373.054 Foreign Trade Bank, Ho Chi Minh City
with Swift code BFTVVNVX007.
Content: Support "Support to school" for new students or specify the province/city that you want to support.
In addition to funding scholarships, readers can support learning equipment, accommodation, jobs, etc. for new students.
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