Ngoc Ngan, 18 years old, Mo Cay Nam district, Ben Tre, sent an application letter for the "Tiep suc den truong" scholarship of Tuoi Tre newspaper and wrote these heartfelt words: "Luck does not fall naturally, so I want to create my own luck to change my life."
The afternoon rain came suddenly, Ms. Yen hurriedly waded from under the water coconut trees to the shore to get home in time to put the bundles of leaves in a dry place, which is the livelihood of her family of 7.
Her daughter, freshman Ngo Thi Ngoc Ngan, 18 years old, has just passed the entrance exam to College of Radio and Television 2 (HCMC).
Ngo Thi Ngoc Ngan and her mother whittled coconut leaves to earn money for school - Performed by: MAU TRUONG - NHA CHAN - DIEM HUONG - TON VU
Ms. Le Thi Yen, mother of new student Ngo Thi Ngoc Ngan, is taking advantage of the opportunity to sell bundles of coconut stems to raise money to pay for her child's school fees - Photo: MAU TRUONG
The old, leaky house nestled next to the Cau Muong Dieu River, in An Qui Hamlet, Da Phuoc Hoi Commune, Mo Cay Nam District, Ben Tre Province, is the refuge of Ms. Yen and her three children, who are deaf and mute from birth.
"My mother told me that because I was born prematurely, my limbs were weak. I was always limping during the first years of my life and everyone thought I would never be able to walk. But luckily, by the time I was 9 years old, I could walk, and gradually I was able to work to earn a living," said Le Thi Yen, a woman with a haggard face that looks older than her 48 years.
She could only walk slowly and with difficulty. Not only that, she even had difficulty speaking and could not say even a simple sentence fluently.
But a sickly person like her became the pillar of a family of seven, four of whom were deaf, mute, and mentally ill.
Recalling the past with a difficult voice, Ms. Yen said that the incident happened to her family about 7 years ago, when Ngan's father, Mr. Ngo Van No, suddenly passed away at the age of 52. At that time, Ms. Yen's eldest daughter, Ngo Thi Ngoc Han (born in 1999), was in 7th grade when she developed a mental illness and had to be sent to the hospital for treatment. The second daughter, Ngo Thi Ngoc Ngan (born in 2006), was only in 7th grade at that time, and the youngest, Le Hoai Nhan (born in 2014), was just over 3 years old.
In addition to her children, Yen also has to take care of her husband's three sisters who are born deaf and mute. "There were times when I thought I couldn't get through it, because I felt like I had just lost my biggest support, and had to worry about earning a living for the whole family," Yen confided. But looking at her children, Yen continued to limp forward on the thorny path.
"When my husband was alive, although he was also deaf and mute, he did many jobs such as fishing, setting traps, digging ditches for hire, and breaking coconuts for hire. His income was not high but it was enough to get by. Since he passed away, the family has never had a few tens of thousands left over to prepare for illness," Yen said bitterly.
In Ngan's house, there was almost no laughter, too little sound. Partly because of the seven members, three of her sisters were deaf and mute, spending all day alone cutting water coconuts and whittling coconut stalks to make a living, and communicating with each other only through gestures. As for Ngan's older sister, every time she returned from a mental illness treatment at the hospital, she locked herself in her room, not saying a word to anyone all day.
"Now I only have hope for Ngan and her sister, hoping that they will change their lives," Yen looked at her two children helping to whittle coconut stalks, her eyes filled with hope.
Each kilo of coconut leaves, whittled all day, can only be sold for 5,000 VND. Each leaf, which takes hours to weave, can only be sold for 1,000 VND, so when she received the notice that Ngan's first tuition fee would be over 8 million VND, the poor mother could only contribute about 1 million VND. That was all the money Ms. Yen had after staying up all night whittling coconut leaves since she heard her daughter passed the college entrance exam.
Ms. Le Thi Yen (48 years old) is weaving leaves, next to her is freshman Ngo Thi Ngoc Ngan, her daughter, is whittling coconut stems. This is the main occupation of the family of 7, bringing in a total income of about 50,000 VND/day - Photo: MAU TRUONG
Loving her mother, after school hours, Ngan helps her mother grate coconut stems to earn extra income. Ngan said that during her 3 years of high school, because she only had one class session, she helped her mother work the rest of the day to earn extra money.
"I can only start studying late at night, when everyone has gone to bed. I finish most of my lessons in class. I have little time to study at home, so I just review and learn more about the lessons I have learned," Ngan shared her study secret.
Since high school, Ngan has determined her future, so she has tried her best to apply for scholarships. With impressive academic results, in the 2023-2024 school year, Ngan won third prize in the provincial excellent student selection competition.
New student of Radio and Television College 2 (HCMC) Ngo Thi Ngoc Ngan (18 years old, living in Mo Cay Nam district, Ben Tre province) chose to study at college to quickly graduate and work to earn money and plan to continue studying later - Photo: MAU TRUONG
In addition, Ngan also received many different scholarships, including the "Wings of Dreams" scholarship of Tuoi Tre newspaper in 2024.
The scholarship money she received over the years, Ngan helped her mother pay for household expenses, and saved up some of it, along with her mother's money from whittling coconut stalks, just enough for Ngan to pay her tuition this time.
No matter how strong she is, for a girl just entering the threshold of life like Ngan, sometimes she cannot avoid feeling disappointed.
These days, the questions in her head make Ngan restless. Because although she has paid the first tuition fee, will she be able to save up enough for the next ones? Will she be able to find a part-time job when she first steps into a completely strange land? Where will she get the money to buy a motorbike to travel? Where will she get the money to buy a computer at the beginning of the year? Where will she get the money to pay the monthly rent?...
In a letter sent to Tuoi Tre newspaper to apply for the "Tiep suc den truong" scholarship, Ngan wrote: "...Currently, the whole family has to live in the house that my grandfather built for us more than 35 years ago. The house has no doors, during the rainy season the house leaks in all the corners, and the water rises very high.
Today I write this petition hoping to receive help so that my family can have the opportunity to cling to life and have the conditions to overcome difficulties...".
The urgent words of new student Ngo Thi Ngoc Ngan made us, the people working on the program "Tiep suc den truong" of Tuoi Tre newspaper, quickly find the situation.
Mr. Nguyen Van Tien, head of An Qui hamlet, said that Ngan's family is poor, one of the eight remaining poor households in An Qui hamlet.
According to Mr. Tien, knowing that Ngan's family is facing many difficulties, when there are gifts from benefactors, he often introduces them to them. In addition, when there are benefactors who want to learn about Ngan's situation to support her to go to school, Mr. Tien is the one who leads them and introduces them to this situation.
Ms. Ngo Thi Dut, Ngan's neighbor, said that Ngan's family is very poor, but Ngan is very obedient and studious, so the neighbors love her very much. "Like many people here, I just hope that she will receive help from Tuoi Tre newspaper, so that she can receive a scholarship and have more money to go to school. Her family is so poor, I'm afraid she can't afford it," Ms. Dut said.
As for Ngan, the new student has a strong will and admirable determination, and is still struggling to find her own way. In the final paragraph of her scholarship application, Ngan wrote: "I myself know that no luck falls from the sky. I am writing this application to hope that I will create my own luck. Partly to change my own life, and partly to want my mother, sister, younger brother, and three aunts to have a better life."
Please scan this QR code to register and introduce new students in need of support to school. The program will accept information until September 20, 2024.
New students can register online to apply for the 2024 School Transfer Scholarship at: http://surl.li/fkfhms or scan the QR code in the image on the side.
Businesses and readers who want to support scholarships for new students, please transfer to Tuoi Tre newspaper account:
113000006100 VietinBank, Branch 3, Ho Chi Minh City.
Content: Support "Support to school" for new students or specify the province/city or new student that you want to support.
Readers and businesses abroad can transfer money to Tuoi Tre newspaper:
USD account 007.137.0195.845 Ho Chi Minh City Foreign Trade Bank;
EUR account 007.114.0373.054 Foreign Trade Bank, Ho Chi Minh City
with Swift code BFTVVNVX007.
Content: Support "Support to school" for new students, or specify the province/city and name of the new student that you want to support.
In addition to sponsoring scholarships, readers can support learning equipment, accommodation, jobs... for new students.
MAU TRUONG
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nu-sinh-trong-ngoi-nha-it-tieng-dong-muon-tu-tao-may-man-de-thay-doi-doi-minh-20240826140649976.htm
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