A thousand days selling lottery tickets, helping poor students of a teacher in the West

(Dan Tri) - For many years, after class, Mr. Nguyen Nhut Tan, an elementary school teacher in Can Tho, has been selling several hundred lottery tickets. He uses the profits to buy books for his students and support the poor.

"My family once had a difficult time, my mother advised me to sell lottery tickets to earn more money, but I was determined that no matter what I did, I would never sell lottery tickets. Before, I hated selling lottery tickets, but now I sell them every day and feel very happy," said teacher Nguyen Nhut Tan (42 years old, teacher at Phong Dien 1 Primary School, Phong Dien District, Can Tho City).

Teacher Tan in formal attire sells lottery tickets after class (Photo: Contributor).

Mr. Tan has taught Fine Arts at Phong Dien 1 Primary School since 2008. He confided that "at first he only intended to do it temporarily while waiting for another job, but then he saw how much the students loved him so much that he became a teacher until now."

Sticking with the profession, in addition to improving his own experience to teach better, Mr. Tan also helps students when they encounter difficulties in life. 5 years ago, he and many colleagues started to carry out regular volunteer activities.

Every month, the teacher volunteer group organizes visits and supports difficult circumstances and poor students. The more he visits, the more pitiful situations he sees, but with his income as a teacher, Mr. Tan finds it difficult to spend a large amount of money to help.

Teacher Tan aims to sell at least 200 lottery tickets every day (Photo: Contributor).

"At that time, I really wanted to have money to help people in difficult circumstances. Then my teachers kept advising me to sell lottery tickets. Everyone said that I would sell well. So, even though I hated selling lottery tickets and felt embarrassed, I still tried. At first, I only set a goal of selling 120 tickets per day.

"But on the first day I sold out 240 copies. After 4 days of selling, I made a profit of 1 million VND, helping a poor student. I was very happy," said Mr. Tan.

Mr. Tan shared that in the early days of selling lottery tickets, because he was not used to walking, his calves ached at night and his lymph nodes swelled. There were also many times when others doubted and questioned him when they saw a healthy, polite person selling lottery tickets.

According to Mr. Tan, during the Covid-19 pandemic, there were days when he sold 1,000 lottery tickets, earning a profit of 1.1 million VND. The profit was used to directly support or buy food to distribute to people in need.

From being unfamiliar, many people have now become Mr. Tan's regular customers (Photo: Contributor).

Every day, after class, still wearing a shirt and trousers, Mr. Tan goes to restaurants and coffee shops throughout Phong Dien town and the surrounding area to sell lottery tickets. With the goal of selling 200 tickets each day, there are rainy days when he has to go home late at night.

After several years of selling lottery tickets, Mr. Tan cannot remember all of his regular customers. However, he knows where his potential customers are sitting at any time of the day or day of the week, and he even remembers which numbers his regular customers like.

Mr. Huynh Van Quan (50 years old, living in Phong Dien town) is one of Mr. Tan's regular customers. He said that everyone supports Mr. Tan's act of selling lottery tickets to raise money to help the poor. In the late afternoon, Mr. Quan and his friends often sit at their usual shop and wait for Mr. Tan to come and offer them lottery tickets.

With his dedication, Mr. Tan is always loved by his colleagues and students (Photo: Contributor).

Luong Thi Hong Dao (17 years old, living in Phong Dien district) is an orphan and lives with her grandmother. Her situation became more difficult when Dao's grandmother recently suffered a stroke and she had to be hospitalized for surgery for a tumor in her lower abdomen and an ovarian cyst.

"On the day I was admitted to the hospital, I only had 1 million VND, the surgery cost 10 million VND, so I had to owe the hospital. Luckily, Mr. Tan knew about my situation, he mobilized everyone to join hands to support me with more than 9.2 million VND," the girl choked up.

Dao is one of many people in Phong Dien district who have received help from Mr. Tan’s volunteer group. Many students in the district have received support from Mr. Tan as an unofficial scholarship package.

Mr. Nguyen Tan Loi, Principal of Phong Dien 1 Primary School, commented that Mr. Tan has a high sense of responsibility, always strives in his work, and is loved by his colleagues, students, and local people. In addition to completing his teaching duties, Mr. Tan also proposed and participated in support programs for students in difficult circumstances, helping them have better conditions to continue going to school.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/ngan-ngay-ban-ve-so-giup-hoc-sinh-ngheo-cua-thay-giao-o-mien-tay-20241129003319686.htm