Five brothers from a poor family in Nghe An province took turns entering the armed forces.

Mr. Tran's family has 4 biological sons, 3 of whom are studying at the People's Police Academy, namely: Ho Sy Tich (born in 1987, student D31, currently working at the Traffic Police Department of Ha Tinh Police); Ho Sy Tung (born in 1992, student D38, currently working at the Mai Son District Police, Son La); Ho Sy Tien (born in 1997, student D41, currently studying in the 4th year of the People's Police Academy.

The youngest son, Ho Sy Tam (born in 1998), has just passed the Political Officer School with a score of 27.5 in block C.

In addition, his family also has an adopted son, Tran Van Huan (born in 1994, student D39 of the People's Police Academy, currently working at the Bac Yen District Police, Son La.

Sell ​​rice for children to take exams

Receiving us in a level 4 house, Mr. Tran, with a small, thin figure, happily poured water for the guests and shared about his children's education. It was both the hardship and the happiness that brought tears to his eyes when his children did not disappoint the poor couple's efforts in giving birth and raising them.

A group photo of Mr. Tran's family members on Tet 2017. Photo: NVCC

Mr. Tran said that his family was the poorest in the commune, all 7 mouths to feed depended on a few fields and the hard work of the couple selling goods. In the 2000s, the family's most valuable asset was only an old bicycle, so raising 4 children was not an easy task, but he was determined not to let his children's education be neglected.

“Seeing their parents work hard, my children always study hard, and unexpectedly they always achieve high results and are praised by teachers and friends. That is why my wife and I try hard day and night, hoping that our children will study well and become good people,” said Mr. Tran.

To ease the burden on his parents, when he was in high school, Ho Sy Tich rode his old bicycle all over the village and alleys to sell ice cream to earn extra money to buy books for school. Many times, when he couldn’t get home in time from selling ice cream, Tich parked his bike outside the school gate to go to school.

Mr. Tran and his wife happily talked about their children's achievements.

“In 2005, when I applied for the university entrance exam, I didn’t know much about the People’s Police Academy. I only heard that it was very difficult to get into it and that my parents didn’t have to support me. Just thinking about the fact that my parents didn’t have to support me made me try my best. As a result, I got a high score on the exam and was admitted to that school,” Tich recalled.

"The year Tich went to take the exam, the family had 280 kg of rice left, so they had to sell 140 kg to cover the cost of sending their son to take the exam. Seeing their parents' hardship, the younger siblings followed their older brother's example so as not to put more burden on their parents," said Mr. Tran.

The adopted son also passed the police academy.

While struggling to provide for his children's education, in 2010, seeing that there was a student in the neighborhood named Tran Van Huan who was at risk of dropping out of school because his family was too poor, Mr. Tran discussed with his wife to adopt the student, to live with Mr. Tran's family, to have vegetables to eat vegetables, to have porridge to eat porridge, and then the couple tried to supplement the money to support Huan's education.

“At that time, many people in the village thought that my husband and I were crazy because we didn’t even have enough money to educate our children, but we also took in another person to raise. However, no matter what anyone said, we kept quiet and let it go, and then Huan did not let his family down. He excelled and followed in his brothers’ footsteps,” said Mr. Tran’s wife.

Currently, Mr. Tran's adopted son has graduated and has a job in Son La. Whenever he has time, Huan comes back to visit his family. The new family member always knows how to bring joy to his parents. The brotherly affection between Huan and Mr. Tran's four children is as close as blood relatives.

“Every time I have a vacation, I go back to my hometown to visit my parents. Sometimes I even stay at my foster parents’ house. If it weren’t for the care of my foster parents and the sharing of my siblings in this family, I don’t know what my future would be like now,” Huan shared.

Although his children are successful, Mr. Tran still works hard.

It is known that among the 5 children of Mr. Tran and his wife, the most outstanding is Ho Sy Tien, currently a student of class D41, Police Academy. Tien not only has a high entrance exam score, Tien was also selected to study in the Federal Republic of Russia. However, due to the difficult family circumstances, his plan has not yet been realized.

Seeing their children studying well and thinking back to the difficult times, Mr. Tran and his wife always feel satisfied. For them, even though it is difficult, if they never stop trying, joy will definitely come.

“My wife and I believe that no matter how difficult life is, as long as we live honestly, strive to improve ourselves, and try to be an example for our children and grandchildren, we will definitely have peace of mind when we are old. Even though our children are successful now, I still often teach them how to live in a way that will always make this society better,” Mr. Tran smiled happily.