Lighting up the future at Rach Ong Bridge charity class

Every day at 6:30 p.m., in a small room at the foot of Rach Ong Bridge (District 7), there are sounds of reading, where love is conveyed through each word.

Seeing school-age children having to stay home to help their families, a group of young volunteers founded the Rach Ong Bridge Charity Class (Ward 3, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City) to bring literacy to children who cannot afford to go to school every evening.

Image of the classroom on the first days of operation - (Photo: Character provided).

Sharing with reporters from the Industry and Trade Newspaper, a representative of the volunteer group said that about 8 years ago, during a visit to a poor working-class area, Danh Tuan Anh (27 years old, residing in District 7) realized that many children there were not able to go to school even though they were of school age. He cherished the thought of doing something to help the children change their lives.

He expressed his wish to open a free class and received support from the local government, with a small room that was an old warehouse, supported with electricity and water costs, and asked for a few more sets of tables, chairs and an old board from a nearby elementary school. So from here, a charity class was formed in the middle of a poor working class area.

Children learn under the dedicated guidance of their teacher - (Photo: Provided by the character)

At first, convincing parents to send their children to class was not easy, because many people were worried and did not trust him. Many parents even took their children's education lightly: "The children's parents said that learning a few words was enough, learning a lot was useless. I had to try to convince them to let their children go to school," he shared.

At that time, Tuan Anh had to patiently go to each house, advise and even support additional expenses to make them agree to let their children go to school. For the young children, keeping them in class is also a big challenge, because due to special circumstances, family life to make a living, many children have to move to other places with their parents or because their family does not care, they cannot continue to study, causing the number of students to fluctuate frequently.

Tuan Anh shared that currently, the class has about 40 students between the ages of 6 and 15. The class only operates in the evenings, because during the day the children still have to help their families, and some even work outside. Gradually, when they see their children progress in both knowledge and politeness and morality, many parents no longer prevent their children from going to class, and even introduce other families with similar circumstances to send their children to school.

The number of students is increasing but the classroom area is small, so some students have to study outdoors - (Photo: Provided by the character).

Tuan Anh added that the progress in knowledge, politeness and joy of going to school of the children are the biggest motivation for teachers in the teaching process. From children who did not know how to read, many children can now read and write fluently. When the class first opened, only Tuan Anh and two friends focused on teaching Math and Vietnamese, mainly so that the children could read, write and do basic math.

Children of all ages participate in outdoor learning - (Photo: Character provided).

“The class is what it is today thanks to the great support from benefactors, volunteer students and local authorities in the form of books, learning tools, desks and chairs to create more favorable conditions for the students to study,” Tuan Anh shared.

It is known that because the children are still at the age of playing, it is difficult to approach and advise them. After a period of gaining experience and understanding the children, the teachers here have changed their teaching methods, regularly interacting between teachers and students so that the children are interested, feel cared for, and have better motivation to study.

Children are educated and taught swimming to prevent drowning - (Photo: Provided by the character).

In addition to classroom hours, students also participate in extracurricular activities with the support of social work clubs from many universities, helping them not only to study but also to have healthy fun.

Children are excited during the drawing class organized by volunteers - (Photo: Dreamee Studio).

Although difficulties still exist, teachers here hope that in the future, the children here will have the opportunity to enter formal schools and integrate with their peers. The class not only provides literacy but also instills hope for a better future for children in this working-class area.

“Although this journey is still full of hardships, seeing the children progress every day, I believe that all the efforts are worth it. The class will always be a place to support them, so that they can reach their dreams ,” shared a representative of the teachers in the charity class.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/thap-sang-tuong-lai-o-lop-hoc-tinh-thuong-cau-rach-ong-369262.html