The "golden hearts" of teachers with poor students in the border area

Outside of class time, whenever she hears of a difficult situation that needs help, Ms. Le Thi Nhon - a teacher at Chu Van An Secondary School (Ia O Commune, Ia Grai District, Gia Lai Province) enthusiastically goes there to help. For over 7 years, Ms. Nhon has not been afraid of hardship, using all her heart and kindness to help hundreds of students in difficult circumstances to have the conditions to go to school and rise up in life.

The teacher has a kind heart

In 2013, Ms. Nhon graduated from the English Pedagogy Department at the University of Foreign Languages ​​- University of Da Nang. After teaching at different schools, in 2017, Ms. Nhon decided to leave Krong Pa district (Gia Lai province) - where she lived, traveling 200km to return to the border land of Ia O. Working at Chu Van An Secondary School for 7 years, Ms. Nhon witnessed firsthand the lack of food and clothing of the students here. Since then, she has tried to research and mobilize resources to help the students have the conditions to go to school.

Outside of class time, whenever she hears of someone in need of help, Ms. Le Thi Nhon enthusiastically goes there to provide support.

Ms. Nhon said that out of the 45 students in her class, only 7 are Kinh, the rest are ethnic minority students. Some students do not have money to pay for transportation so they cannot go to class, some do not have uniforms so they also drop out because they are afraid of losing discipline points, others go to school but do not have breakfast and are starving.

“Seeing my students going to school in worn-out clothes, torn school bags, exhausted from hunger, I felt extremely sorry and thought I needed to do something to help them. No sooner said than done, I started spending my own money to support them, although it was not much, it somehow motivated them to go to school” – Ms. Nhon shared.

From the resources mobilized by teachers, gifts sent by benefactors have reached the students of Chu Van An Secondary School.

Looking back at the difficult times, Ms. Nhon confided that she did not expect to be so strong and resilient. In 2017, Ms. Nhon was just a contract teacher with a meager salary. To have more funds to support students, she went out to call for help from everyone, but some people said that she was "making things up", not taking care of her own work but worrying about other people's business. Others, when she asked for clothes and food for the students, did not give them because they thought she was selfish.

“I used to feel pressured and sad when I heard bad things behind my back. I once thought of stopping supporting the students because I alone did not have enough funds. However, despite all the criticism, I thought that more than anyone else, the students needed my help, so I put aside my ego to continue on the path I had chosen. As long as I did nothing wrong and my conscience was not guilty, I was happy,” said Ms. Nhon. Her meaningful work was recognized by everyone, many people knew and supported her, and joined hands.

To have more funds to support students, she went to call on everyone for help.

Talking about a memorable memory in the process of helping students, Ms. Nhon shared: There was a student in Kloong village that I was in charge of in the 2023-2024 school year who had to drop out of school because his family was poor and could not afford to pay for the bus fare. His house was far away so he could not walk to school by himself, his parents were always in the fields so they had to let him drop out of school. When I went to the house to look for him, he ran away and refused to see me. After that, I went to ask for rice, clothes, shoes, and asked for support for the bus fare on the occasion of the fundraising performance to convince him to go to school. Now, he is in 9th grade and is no longer as self-conscious as before. In addition to studying in class, he also participates in the school's art teams.

At the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, Ms. Nhon connected with more benefactors to support rice, instant noodles, and notebooks for students. She mobilized a friend to support and donate 60 bicycles to students.

Hope poor students have more help

According to Ms. Nhon, her ability to firmly help the children today is largely due to the encouragement and joint efforts of the teachers at Chu Van An Secondary School.

Responding to the movement to help students excel in their studies, the Youth Union and the Young Pioneers of Chu Van An Secondary School have implemented models and volunteer programs and mobilized support from many sources. Starting from small actions such as donating books and clothes to more creative models such as "raising piggy banks" with the cooperation of all teachers and students in the school. After that, the Young Pioneers expanded the target group, calling for support from parents and agencies, departments, branches, units and businesses in the district.

Thanks to the help of Ms. Nhon and other teachers, many students have excelled in their studies and actively participated in cultural activities at school.

Ms. Tran Thi My Hang - Secretary of the Youth Union of Chu Van An Secondary School - said that in recent years, the school has participated in the fundraising booth "Helping children go to school" at the A Sanh Cup Dugout Canoe Race on the Po Co River and the Gong Culture Festival. The products on sale are typical local products, attracting many visitors to visit and support.

In addition to local specialties such as dried anchovies, fish rice paper, cashews, dried bamboo shoots, the stall also serves fast foods such as dried beef, dried chicken with lemon leaves, mango shake, kumquat tea, fresh ice cream and soft drinks.

“We want to provide some support to help ease the children’s lives. Through these practical gifts, the children will feel that they are always accompanied by their teachers and are not alone in their difficult journey to school,” said Ms. Tran Thi My Hang.

Fundraising booth "Helping children go to school" at the Dugout Canoe Racing Festival on Po Co River for the A Sanh Cup and the Gong Culture Festival of Ia Grai District in 2024

After 7 years of volunteer work, Ms. Nhon cannot remember how many students in difficult circumstances she has helped. Each student has a different situation and fate, but after all those meaningful activities, perhaps what she wishes for most is that they will excel in their studies and their lives will be less difficult and arduous. In the future, Ms. Nhon hopes to receive the opportunity to connect with more benefactors to support the students. She also cherishes the idea of ​​an "online store" to raise funds for poor students.

“To get to where we are now, we cannot do it alone, but it is thanks to the contributions of teachers and benefactors. Currently, there are still many difficulties, the children have to ask for food money everywhere, sometimes when they run out of money, they have to pay in advance and then ask for more later, but I am glad that the activities to help the children have not stopped,” said Ms. Nhon.

Mr. Nguyen Duy Tan - Principal of Chu Van An Secondary School - shared: Ia O is a border commune of Ia Grai district. The whole commune has 2,677 households with 11,132 people. At Chu Van An Secondary School (Ia O commune), there are 856 students, of which 511 are ethnic minorities. The lives of the people here still face many difficulties, so their children have to study hard. Recently, thanks to the efforts of teachers in the school in general and Ms. Le Thi Nhon in particular, there have been more and more benefactors supporting poor students to overcome difficulties and study well. It is truly precious that in today's life there are teachers who are both talented and dedicated.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/gia-lai-nhung-tam-long-vang-cua-thay-co-voi-hoc-sinh-ngheo-noi-bien-gioi-362880.html