TPO - Nguyen Thi Minh was born blind due to the effects of Agent Orange from her grandfather, but she still tried hard to study and passed the university entrance exam. To earn money for living, Minh asked to sing on the street for 250,000 VND/7-hour session.
TPO - Nguyen Thi Minh was born blind due to the effects of Agent Orange from her grandfather, but she still tried hard to study and passed the university entrance exam. To earn money for living, Minh asked to sing on the street for 250,000 VND/7-hour session.
Nguyen Thi Minh (born in 2003, from Quang Cat commune, Quang Xuong district, Thanh Hoa) said that she is the second child in a family of 3 siblings. However, right after birth, Minh was diagnosed with congenital blindness due to the effects of Agent Orange from her grandfather.
 |
| Nguyen Thi Minh listens to the sound on the phone to find out information. |
When he was old enough to go to school, Minh also wished to go to class like his peers. However, Minh could not see, so his family did not know how to support him.
Knowing Minh's situation, the Thanh Hoa Association for the Blind took him to a center to take care of him. Here, Minh was introduced to Braille.
In high school, Minh was admitted to Nhat Hong Center for the Blind (in Ho Chi Minh City). During this time, Minh received support from the Sisters to print embossed books and study. For 3 years, Minh was an excellent student at the center.
 |
Minh found his way to his room on the second floor. |
Due to family circumstances, Minh has lived away from home since primary school and has had to fend for himself. “The teachers can only provide some support, and I have to take care of myself. But I don’t know my way around, so at each new place, my mother has to stay with me for a while, at most 3 months, to guide me and get me used to the road before I can go home,” Minh said.
In 2023, Minh graduated from high school with excellent results. Minh applied to 3 universities based on his transcript. An unexpected result, when all 3 schools sent admission notices. After consulting, Minh decided to choose Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities, majoring in psychology.
 |
Minh joined a picnic program. |
Far from home and family, Minh's path to study was also full of hardships. Because in Hanoi, although tuition was free, living and travel expenses still had to be paid. Meanwhile, in the countryside, the family was near-poor, and his father was seriously ill, so all the burden fell on his mother's shoulders. That's why Minh wanted to share the burden with his mother.
In October 2023, Minh was accepted to work for a charity singing troupe in Hanoi. Accordingly, Minh's job was to sing at intersections arranged by the troupe.
As required, the work starts from 3pm to 10pm every day (7 hours), with 1 hour of singing and 1 hour of rest. If the performance is completed within the above time, the group will receive 250,000 VND/session. If the performance rains and the group has to stop early, they will not be paid. “Every performance, I just pray that it doesn’t rain. Because if it rains, all my efforts will be in vain,” Minh shared.
 |
Nguyen Thi Minh is currently a second year student, majoring in Psychology. |
The money earned from “busking” also helped ease the burden on his mother, but in return, his health was affected. Because every day, Minh had to be exposed to the dusty streets for about 7 hours. Moreover, every day after singing, he was very tired, after bathing it was already past 11pm, Minh quickly ate a bowl of rice and went to bed to regain his strength. Therefore, he no longer had time to study.
In early May 2024, Minh informed the troupe manager to ask for leave to have time for studying. However, when Minh proposed to quit, a man named Hai (the troupe manager) did not pay his salary, citing the reason for quitting. To date, the troupe still owes nearly 2 million VND, Minh said.
Minh said that his monthly living expenses are about 3 million VND. Therefore, Minh still wants to find a part-time job. "I want to find a job that suits me, such as reading podcasts, recording voice, tutoring, hosting programs, stringing beads, knitting, and writing media content," Minh shared.
Speaking to Tien Phong Newspaper on the afternoon of November 18, the troupe manager named Hai admitted that he had not paid Nguyen Thi Minh. He said that Minh had not yet paid 1,250,000 VND for 5 performances. However, because he was busy going back to his hometown to get married, he "forgot" to pay Minh in full. At 5:00 p.m. on November 18, Hai transferred 1 million VND to Minh.
Nguyen Thi Minh also confirmed that she received 1 million VND in wages through her account.
Source: https://tienphong.vn/nghi-luc-cua-nu-sinh-vien-mu-post1692589.tpo
Comment (0)