Mid-Autumn Festival Wishes on a Faraway Island

In the middle of the sunny and windy sea, the chirping of children seems to drown out the sound of the waves lapping at the shore. The children on Bich Dam Island (Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa) have never had a full Mid-Autumn Festival…

Bich Dam Island (Vinh Nguyen Ward, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa) is far from the mainland, and living conditions are difficult. Therefore, children here have never had a complete Mid-Autumn Festival.

Dreams under the full moon

Overcoming each wave on the canoe with about 1 hour drifting on the sea, we arrived at Bich Dam island. The image that we still remember is the round eyes, the smiles of more than 150 children eagerly waiting for Mid-Autumn gifts. Seeing us coming, the children were playing happily and said in unison: "We greet you, uncles and aunts!".

In the middle of the sunny and windy sea, the chirping of children seemed to drown out the sound of the waves lapping at the shore. Those children had never had a full Mid-Autumn Festival, because Mid-Autumn Festival also had to have a lion dance - something that little boys and girls only saw on TV, but where they lived, there was no such thing.

Holding my hand, the boy Hoang Tam (8 years old) innocently pointed towards the moonlight and asked: "Teacher, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, there is Hang, Cuoi, the moon, star lanterns... we have seen all of those, but not the lion dance. I wish I could touch the lion dance once, it must be beautiful and fun."

Not far away, the cute little girl Quynh Anh (6 years old) was engrossed in looking at the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts she had just received from the neighborhood group and the Bich Dam Women's Association. "Today I received a lot of delicious candies and participated in games, so I was very happy. I hope that we will always be loved and have a bright future on the journey to find letters," Quynh Anh said.

In the warm atmosphere, the boys and girls eagerly participated in group games, singing and dancing together, bustling and joyful. At that moment, the disadvantages that the children living on the island seemed to fade away somewhere. Only smiles and dreams remained, spreading along the full moon night.

Looking out to the sea, Trung Nghia (10 years old) said: I love the sea very much, because the sea has fed my family. I hope my father will be safe at sea, my mother will sell it at the market for a good price, and later I will buy many lanterns lit by batteries, with music to give to my friends.

Growing up next to the sound of waves, these "green shoots" love the sea and all share the dream of growing up to contribute to protecting and building beautiful and large islands. And those dreams under the full moon are kindled in those innocent eyes.

Give each other a beautiful memory

According to Mr. Tran Quang Thinh - Vice Chairman of Vinh Nguyen Ward People's Committee, Nha Trang City, the life of people on Bich Dam Island is mainly fishing. Although Bich Dam Island belongs to Nha Trang City, it is also one of the islands far from the mainland with 8 nautical miles (about 15km). There is no electricity grid here, so the lives of people for the past 15 years have relied on the generator system every day on the island, generating electricity only from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

There are kindergartens and primary schools on the island, so children who finish grade 5 must go to the mainland to continue their secondary school education. Recently, the local government has coordinated with relevant units to continuously maintain secondary education classes in Bich Dam residential group, helping students who cannot afford to go to the mainland to continue their education.

Currently, the junior high school classes in Bich Dam residential group have a total of 25 students in 3 classes, including 7 sixth graders, 11 seventh graders and 8 eighth graders. The classes are organized in the form of 25 junior high schools in the city arranging teachers to take turns teaching on the two weekends.

Sharing the story of the Mid-Autumn Festival wishes of the children here with Mr. Thinh, we received the following sharing from him: "Because it is far from the mainland, no lion dance troupe can come here to perform for the children to see. Small gifts or activities for the children on this occasion will contribute to keeping the flame of the journey of learning for the children in the remote island, realizing the dream of a bright future."

For children, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a pure and unforgettable memory throughout their childhood. Seeing the bright smiling faces when receiving simple but meaningful gifts has helped them continue to write beautiful and full memories. That shows that, although they are on a remote island, they, the future owners of the country, are always cared for.

We returned to the mainland while behind us the children's singing voices still echoed: " Tung rinh rinh, cac tung rinh rinh! Here the happy stars shine far and wide...". The melody of the full moon night of the Mid-Autumn Festival echoed throughout the streets of Bich Dam Island. In this life, what is more meaningful than giving each other a beautiful memory?

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/uoc-vong-trung-thu-noi-dao-xa-20240917214843461.htm