Woman teaches swimming for free to thousands of children for over 20 years

Accepted swimming lessons after hearing about many children drowning

These days, Mrs. Tran Thi Kim Thia (commonly known as Mrs. Sau Thia, residing in Hung Thanh commune, Thap Muoi district, Dong Thap province) is preparing for a free swimming class for children in the area that will open next weekend. "Up to this point, more than 200 children have registered to learn to swim," Mrs. Sau Thia happily said, adding that when summer comes, it is also the time when she starts diving into the water to teach children to swim.

Talking about the opportunity to come to this special job, Ms. Sau Thia said that she lives alone, is not married, so she often participates in social work, and is the Vice President of the Women's Association of Hamlet 4, Hung Thanh Commune. More than 20 years ago, when the locality needed a swimming instructor to prevent drowning in children, she was "chosen" by the Women's Union and the local government.

"At that time, I remember, the Chairwoman of the Commune Women's Union said that, looking around the commune, she saw no one with legs like me, and then encouraged me to teach swimming to the children. When I heard that, I didn't think much and immediately agreed because I saw information on the news that there were many cases of children drowning, it was very heartbreaking," Mrs. Sau Thia recalled.

Ms. Tran Thi Kim Thia teaches children swimming movements. Photo: Nhut An

So the very next day, Mrs. Sau Thia and everyone else got to work. Initially, she and the commune’s departments planted trees and set up nets in suitable river sections to create places for children to practice swimming. Once the swimming area was ready, she went to each house to encourage children to join the lessons.

At first, the number of children participating in swimming lessons was small because many parents doubted her ability to teach swimming. But when they came to see her using her arms to hold each child to help them pedal forward and carefully instructing them on how to swim safely, everyone felt secure. In particular, her teaching method was very practical and close, each mistake the children made was pointed out by her so that they could correct it themselves, so the children learned and improved very quickly. Some children lived far away, so she drove her motorbike to pick them up and take them to swimming class. Many children stayed at her house at noon, ate the food she cooked, and continued their lessons in the afternoon.

Day after day, year after year, the number of children who can swim through the teachings of this simple woman has increased (to date, there are more than 5,000 children). "The good news spreads far and wide", not only children in the commune but also children from neighboring communes come to Mrs. Sau Thia to learn to swim. "There are many children who have been taught by their parents to swim for a long time at home but still cannot swim, after a few days of teaching, they can swim fluently, everyone keeps praising them. I am very happy!", Mrs. Sau Thia confided.

Another child who knows how to swim is another joy.

When asked about the hardships of this job, Mrs. Sau Thia smiled and shared that in the beginning of teaching swimming, by the time she got home at night, both her arms and legs were tired and her whole body was exhausted. Then she often had a fever, and being a woman, having to soak in water a lot was very difficult. There were even many times when she fell and had to go to the hospital for examination. Despite all the hardships and difficulties, she silently endured and overcame them with the sole wish of continuing to teach swimming to children in the area.

Mrs. Sau Thia teaches swimming to children in the area.

After a period of time, she planted trees and set up nets in the river to teach children to swim. In 2016, a benefactor sponsored Mrs. Sau Thia a plastic swimming pool at the commune's community cultural learning center, helping to make her teaching swimming safer and less difficult.

During the long time of teaching swimming, every month Mrs. Sau Thia receives a "little" support from the commune for gas money, but she does not take any tuition fees from the parents, because she knows that everyone here is in trouble and it is important that children learn to swim to protect themselves. Therefore, in addition to the time spent teaching children to swim, Mrs. Sau Thia also works hard to earn a living with all kinds of jobs such as setting nets, selling lottery tickets... to earn money to cover her living expenses. However, the hardships of making a living are nothing compared to the joy and happiness of having another child who knows how to swim and protect himself from the dangers of the canal and water.

Not only teaching children to swim, over the years, Ms. Sau Thia has also enthusiastically participated in social and volunteer activities in the area. She shared that as the Vice President of the Women's Union of the hamlet, she always performed well the assigned tasks of the Union, and set an example in implementing the Party's policies and the State's laws.

Although she has to sell lottery tickets and work for a living, she still maintains a "charity piggy bank" model with 500,000 VND per year to share with those in difficult circumstances. In addition, she also uses her savings or sometimes a small amount from titles and awards to buy clothes for local students.

Ms. Tran Thi Kim Thia (3rd from left) was honored at the Vietnam Glory program in 2024 with the theme "20 years of inspiring Vietnam's strength"

"Although I am old, I will try my best, determinedly, with all my heart to teach children to swim. As long as I am healthy, I will continue to work. The more children know how to swim, the happier I am. That is also the belief and motivation for me to continue with this job," Ms. Sau Thia confided.

With her contributions and dedication, Ms. Tran Thi Kim Thia has received a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister, the Vietnam Women's Union, and the People's Committee of Dong Thap province. In 2017, she was awarded the KOVA Award for Living Beautifully, a typical example in society. She was honored to be the representative of Vietnam in the list of "100 outstanding women in the world" voted by the BBC (UK). In 2020, she was honored to receive the Third Class Labor Medal fromthe President . Forbes Vietnam magazine voted her as one of the 20 inspirational women of 2021 for her community activities.

Recently, she was honored to be one of 20 outstanding and typical collectives and individuals honored at the Vietnam Glory program in 2024 with the theme "20 years of inspiring Vietnamese strength".

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/nguoi-phu-nu-hon-20-nam-day-boi-mien-phi-cho-hang-ngan-tre-nho-20240524112115118.htm