On the sidelines of the story of 'sowing letters' in Muong Long

(Baonghean) - The road to Muong Long is no longer as winding and winding as it was many years ago, because the road to the commune has been paved. However, Muong Long is still a difficult land in the mountainous district of Ky Son.

Fifteen years ago, when she first set foot in Muong Long, teacher Nguyen Thi Thu felt that distance very clearly. In this “foreign land”, she cried countless times. She felt like a child standing in a strange land where everything around her was vague and obscure. The desire to return to the lowlands was even stronger at night, alone in a dilapidated apartment building, surrounded by only the sound of the wind blowing in the forest and the cold winter cutting into every piece of flesh…

During those long days, the greatest thing that kept the teachers was that they could read the desire to be literate and go to school of the Mong boys and girls. Moreover, in this deprived and difficult place, they always received the sharing and help of their colleagues and the local people.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Cuong and his wife, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu, with their students at Muong Long Primary School (Ky Son).

For teacher Nguyen Thi Thu, the experiences she gained in the first days of setting foot in Muong Long were also the "fate" that brought her and teacher Nguyen Ba Cuong closer together. She herself was surprised by this relationship, because at first the two only knew each other as people from the same hometown, and being younger, teacher Cuong still called teacher Thu "older sister" and addressed himself as "younger brother". There were not many opportunities to meet, because when he had just started working, teacher Cuong was assigned to teach at the remote school in Mo Nung village... Every month the two only met when they went to the central school for work meetings.

The love began to be kindled on November 20th when Mr. Cuong brought his students from Mo Nung to the main village to participate in the performance. That day, by chance, while standing behind the scenes, Ms. Thu saw Mr. Cuong worrying about his students just because "there was a small piece of iron stuck in his hand"... As a woman, at that time she simply thought: With his students, he still loves like that. Later, with his wife and children, he will surely be a thoughtful person.

As for him, knowing her, calling her sister, but in his heart he always admired a strong, patient, hard-working girl, devoted to her students. A year after that special event, the two became husband and wife, although they had to wait nearly 3 years before they were officially employed. During that time, in order to save money, even though she was pregnant, teacher Thu still volunteered to teach in Tha Lang village. Simply because there was a "people-supported" policy, it would reduce some of the costs and keep the small contract salary of 500,000 VND. Teacher Cuong, despite getting married and having children, continued to stay in the village. The couple were known to be in the same school, living close to each other, but only saw each other two or three times a month.

The central village of Muong Long commune is the main gathering place for three primary schools, kindergartens and junior high schools... In the past, the village was mostly inhabited by Mong people. Over the past ten years, the village has had new residents who are teachers who came here to settle down and buy land, build houses to "settle down and make a living". The same goes for teacher Thu and her husband. When they first got married, the couple temporarily lived in a communal house. After giving birth to their first child, determined to settle down for a long time, the couple bought an old house from a colleague. To be close to the people here, her family did not build a new house but built a wooden house with a sa mu roof.

Her two children, the first one in 6th grade this year, the second one in 2nd grade, also live here with their parents, studying, playing, and growing up with the children in the area. Visiting teacher Thu’s family, she excitedly told about the flock of more than 100 black chickens that she had just bred, which she said was her “savings”, the couple saved up to send their children to the lowlands to study at university.

Recess time of students at Muong Long Primary School (Ky Son).

Not far from Ms. Thu's house is the small house of the couple, teacher Nguyen Van Linh - Vice Principal of Muong Long Primary School and teacher Nguyen Thi Hoa, currently a secondary school teacher in Huoi Tu commune. Teacher Linh shared a lot about the more than 20 years of living in the village, during which he had many opportunities to return to the lowlands, but life with so many ups and downs, turning points kept him in this land.

Few people know that Ms. Hoa is the second happiness of the teacher. His first wife, also a teacher from the same hometown, got married, but before their first child was born, she died on the way from Muong Long to Muong Xen for emergency care... Teacher Linh then decided to stay in this land of four seasons of wind and frost...

Talking about the story of teachers in remote areas, the teachers here also told a lot about the love story of teacher Nguyen Thi Loan and teacher Lau Ba Sua. They met and fell in love at Nghe An Pedagogical College. After graduating, while there were many opportunities in her hometown, teacher Loan volunteered to go to Ky Son to teach and became a daughter-in-law of Muong Long.

For nearly 10 years, the decision that once caused many people to oppose has never made the couple regret. Love not only helps them overcome difficulties but also motivates them to try and strive together. Now, after many years of working in remote areas, teacher Lau Ba Sua is the Vice Principal of Ky Son Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities, and teacher Loan is also one of the teachers highly appreciated for her expertise and is an excellent teacher in the province and district.

The days of camping in the land of heaven's gate Muong Long are also a joy when here, they see their students progress every day, see their new homeland change over the years.

My Ha