"After Vietnam Glory, I have more motivation to teach children to swim"

On the afternoon of May 19, the Vietnam Glory 2024 program was held in Hanoi with the theme "20 years of unleashing Vietnam's strength" to honor 20 outstanding and typical collectives and individuals, including Ms. Tran Thi Kim Thia - Vice President of the Women's Association of Hamlet 4, Hung Thanh Commune (Thap Muoi District, Dong Thap Province) - who devoted more than 1/3 of her life to teaching free swimming to more than 4,000 children in the West.

In the happiness after receiving the certificate of merit, that same evening, Ms. Thia had an interview with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper to look back on her own efforts as well as her future direction.

Ms. Tran Thi Kim Thia - Vice President of Women's Association of Hamlet 4, Hung Thanh Commune, Thap Muoi District, Dong Thap Province - was honored at the Vietnam Glory Program 2024.

Ms. Sau Thia expressed: "I never thought that one day I would be able to participate and be honored in such a big and meaningful program. To be honest, my life has only been attached to the West, to the rivers or to be more precise, just hanging around Hung Thanh commune with a few children, so setting foot in the capital is something I never thought of."

Speaking of this, the teacher's voice choked up a bit as she recalled a story from more than ten years ago, when teaching swimming to children in the "flood center" was still very difficult. Funds were tight and there was no swimming pool, so Mrs. Sau Thia herself drove stakes and set up a net under the riverbank to make a makeshift swimming pool to teach the children. Yet the children learned very quickly, some even swam well after 2 days.

Until the day when benefactors supported a swimming pool located at the commune's cultural house, the work of teaching and learning free swimming became less difficult, while also ensuring the safety of the children.

Mrs. Sau Thia teaches each child to swim. Photo: Phong Linh

"When my name was called on stage, I was very nervous! But somewhere, the memories came back, giving me more motivation to teach children even though I am over 60 years old. I am happy that I have achieved this, but I promise myself that I will not "hold" the certificate of merit and let children face drowning. As long as I am healthy, I will continue to teach children how to swim, so that the young buds of the country can be healthy and contribute to society" - Ms. Sau Thia confided.

It is known that Ms. Thia has ordered more than 70 sets of sportswear for children to wear at the free swimming class in the summer of 2024. Her wish is to be able to print on the shirts the words "Ms. Sau Thia's free swimming class". The total cost is all from her personal source from selling lottery tickets every day.

"I live alone, no husband, no children, and my diet is very simple, so when I receive the bonus from the program, I will continue to spend it to buy things to help the children learn to swim. I also started working right after returning to Thap Muoi on May 20.

Now, I gradually understand that my responsibility is not only to simply train children to swim but also to spread beautiful images and inspire drowning prevention work in remote areas of Dong Thap to other provinces and cities across the country," Ms. Thia shared.

Mrs. Sau Thia visited Uncle Ho's mausoleum on the occasion of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday. Photo: NVCC

In addition, for Ms. Thia, this trip was also a memorable one because the son of the South visited him on the occasion of the 134th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday (May 19, 1890 - May 19, 2024). At that time, the verse "Children are like buds on a branch / Knowing how to eat, sleep, and study is good" kept ringing and touching her heart, urging her to continue to contribute to the children.

Source: https://laodong.vn/nguoi-viet-tu-te/sau-vinh-quang-viet-nam-toi-co-them-nhieu-dong-luc-de-day-boi-cho-tre-1342131.ldo