Not knowing his father's face, at the age of 8 he saw his mother have a stroke, now Dat is in university majoring in software engineering.

Cha bỏ, mẹ đột qụy, Đạt phải đứng vững giữa đời - Ảnh 1. — Dat is paid 15,000 VND/hour for overtime and will work many hours to save up to pay for his own university tuition – Photo: LAN NGOC

His father left when Nguyen Van Dat was still in his mother's womb. At the age of 8, he cried out when his mother had a stroke, collapsed and died right in front of him. Growing up under the protection of his aunt, Dat has just become a freshman majoring in software engineering at the School of Information Technology and Communications (Can Tho University).

To nurture his dream of becoming an engineer, Dat started working part-time at a store selling milk and baby products for 15,000 VND/hour.

Couldn't be more unfortunate.

Dat's aunt, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Chi (60 years old), said that family life was suffocating because of poverty, causing Dat's father to quietly leave when his wife was pregnant. Without a male breadwinner, Dat's mother had to take care of two children alone in a small rented room.

Then one day in 2014, while sitting sewing curtains, Dat's mother suddenly fell to the ground. "When I heard the news, I rushed to the rented room and saw that the neighbors had taken her to the district health station for emergency treatment. But her mother did not survive, and my brother and I could only cry," Mrs. Chi recalled, her voice choking.

After his mother's funeral, Dat's brother had to drop out of school and follow an acquaintance to Binh Duong to find a job to support his younger brother's education. With no one else left, Mrs. Chi took Dat in to take care of him, even though the life of a single aunt was very difficult.

Living with his aunt, little Dat knew how to help with many things. After school, Dat helped his aunt wash dishes, sweep the floor, cook rice, and did everything well. The guava garden was also carefully taken care of by his aunt, who cleared the weeds, wrapped each fruit when it was ready, and quickly made dozens of guava trees. When harvesting, he also quickly cut each fruit into pieces and weighed them for the traders.

12 years of excellent student, brave and resourceful

After Dat passed the university entrance exam, Mrs. Chi had to borrow nearly ten million to help him enroll in school. Dat understood that clearly, so after enrolling, he ran everywhere to find extra work.

“I applied for a job at a store selling milk and baby products near the school. There are not many classes yet, so I am currently registered to work 4-8 hours/day. On weekends, I go back to my aunt to ask for some rice, vegetables, and squash, then I drive to Can Tho to save up for food. It is okay to eat or sleep a little less, I am just afraid that I will not be able to continue studying” – Dat confided.

He understood his own difficulties the best, so he was even more determined to study and change his fate through words. Paying attention to lectures in class, taking notes of key ideas so as not to miss out on important knowledge, staying after class to ask the teacher about things he couldn't do or studying with a group of friends were ways for Dat to maintain his 12 years of being an excellent student.

Having no money, Dat borrowed books from the library, sometimes asked his teachers for more materials or took pictures of his friends' books to work on at home. He said he had put all his effort into the high school graduation exam to get into university, not letting down his older brother who had dropped out of school to take care of him.

Many long nights Dat studied until 1am with incomplete dreams, but that did not discourage him because "I understand that the path of learning is the key to changing my life", Dat said.

The vice principal and several teachers at Truong Long Tay High School (Chau Thanh A District, Hau Giang) went to school to help Dat pay his tuition for grades 11 and 12. Ms. Vo Thi Tuong Lai - Dat's homeroom teacher - said that anyone who knew Dat's situation would sympathize with him.

"The school exempted the graduation exam tuition fee, and some parents contributed to buy health insurance for this poor, polite student with a strong will to overcome difficulties in studying," said the head teacher.

The simple student meal of white rice, fried eggs and boiled vegetables, which costs 20,000 VND, that you cook yourself, looks quite decent. “Sometimes when I sit and eat alone, I think of my mother who passed away, my brother who works hard as a factory worker, my aunt who braves the sun and rain to pick guavas to sell, I honestly can’t swallow the rice in my mouth” – Dat confided.

100 scholarships for the Mekong Delta

Today (October 18), Tuoi Tre newspaper in collaboration with An Giang Provincial Youth Union, An Giang Radio and Television Station, and the "Companion to Farmers" Fund (Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company) awarded scholarships to 100 new students with difficulties in 11 provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta (An Giang, Dong Thap, Long An, Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Hau Giang, Soc Trang, Kien Giang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau and Can Tho).

The total cost of more than 1.5 billion VND was sponsored by the “Companion of Farmers” Fund (Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company) and Professor Phan Luong Cam – wife of the late Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet (10 scholarships for new students of Vinh Long province). Each scholarship is worth 15 million VND, including two special scholarships (50 million VND/for four years). Nestlé Vietnam Co., Ltd. sponsored backpacks for new students, and Vinacam Scholarship Fund (Vinacam Group Joint Stock Company) donated six laptops to new students with special difficulties who lack learning equipment.