Parents seriously ill, poor student washes dishes for hire, pursuing dream of going to university

Nguyen Thi Van Anh's family is in Nghia Thanh parish, Trung Nghia hamlet, Nghia Trung commune, Nghia Dan district, Nghe An province. Born into a family of 3 children, Van Anh is the eldest child, the second is in 8th grade and the youngest is still in kindergarten. Her father is the main breadwinner of the family but has a herniated disc and cannot do heavy work, all the work falls on the small shoulders of her mother who carries sticky rice to the market in the morning.

Despite difficult family circumstances, he always tries to study and achieves good results. Photo: Minh Thai

The family was already in a difficult situation, and another big incident happened to my family. 2 years ago, my mother was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Her condition got worse and worse, so every month she had to borrow money to go to the hospital for treatment.

Although her family circumstances were difficult, since childhood, Van Anh was alwaysstudents with the will to overcome difficulties, for many years in a row was an excellent student in the district. During 12 years of school, she was always an excellent student. When entering high school, Van Anh oriented herselfstudy block C.

And then, to make that dream come true, the poor female student had to set many rules of discipline, work tirelessly to both complete her studies and work extra to cover her siblings' tuition fees and help her parents with their expenses.

I was overwhelmed with happiness when I received the admission results to the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City, majoring in Tourism and Travel Services Management, which I had always dreamed of.

Van Anh wakes up at 5am to help her mother sell goods, and in the afternoon sells sugarcane juice to earn extra income to help her parents. Photo: Minh Thai

But that joy could not be complete when the day of admission came, I did not have money to set foot in the university that I had always dreamed of, while my mother was seriously ill and needed money for regular treatment.

Talking to us, the poor female student's eyes showed worry, her voice suddenly choked: "Since the day the exam results came out, I knew I couldn't take care of my child to continue studying at university anymore, I saw my mother cry a lot. My mother is sick, every month she has to go to the hospital for treatment, the family has no money. Now if I go to school again, I really don't know where to turn. Maybe I will go to work, find a temporary job to have money for my mother's treatment, then it's not too late for me to go back to school."

Van Anh works two shifts a day to earn money to help her family. Photo: Minh Thai

The two younger siblings also cannot continue to go to school if their parents force them to study, while their parents are struggling every day to make ends meet. I will follow my parents' wishes and not go to school but stay home and work to help my parents raise my siblings and send them to school" - Van Anh said.

Talking to us, his father - Mr. Nguyen Duy Nam said in a choked voice: "When I heard my son report the results of the university entrance exam, the family was very happy, but when I thought about sending him to school, I didn't know where to get the money. I felt sorry for my son and wanted him to continue studying to pursue his dream, but maybe I had to let him drop out of school to go to work to earn money to help the family."

These days, Van Anh's friends have prepared their luggage to go to university, but she still works hard twice a day at the restaurant in Nghia Trung Commune Center to serve, hoping to earn more money to help her parents and hoping that some miracle can help her realize her dream of going to university.

The Commune People's Committee also called on organizations and unions to join hands to help the child realize his dream. Photo: Minh Thai

To share the difficulties and encourage Van Anh to achieve high results in the recent exam, the Nghia Trung commune authorities promptly visited and encouraged her. In addition, the commune also called on organizations and unions to join hands to support her to realize her dream.

Mr. Vi Dinh Tuan - Vice Chairman of Nghia Trung Commune People's Committee said: "After receiving information about Van Anh's high score, we came to encourage and share the current difficulties with the family. We will continue to call on benefactors inside and outside the area to help Van Anh go to school and realize her dream of a university degree."

The determination and results that Van Anh has achieved are not easy. Van Anh's path to university is gradually coming to an end, she really needs sharing and kind hearts to help her continue her unfinished dream.

Please send all support to the Department of Publishing and Social Activities - Nghe An Newspaper, No. 3, Le Nin Avenue, Hung Phuc Ward - Vinh City - Nghe An. Contact phone: (023)83.588138; (023)88600006.

Or Mr. Vi Dinh Tuan - Vice Chairman of People's Committee of Nghia Trung Commune, Nghia Dan District, Nghe An Province. Phone number: 0983.338.111 - 0931.119.299 - Account number: BIDV Bank: 5131.0000.271725