It takes a kind heart...

(Baonghean)As the year draws to a close, the weather becomes increasingly harsh. Amidst the freezing winter, teachers and philanthropists are showing their compassion by providing warm clothing for their students, preparing gifts for them, and sharing in their loneliness and the lack of parental warmth during this Year of the Horse.

Teachers Nguyen Thi Binh and Tran Thanh Phuong donated warm jackets to students of Huoi Tu Secondary School…

Although she only knew about Tuong Duong through a friend's recommendation, Tran Thiet Tam, a member of the An Tam Viet group, still made her way there alone, taking a bus from Hanoi to Vinh and then a long-distance bus up to Tuong Duong in the Mekong Delta during the days leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year). After a day of traveling around the reservoir area, she shared: "I went up a day early to check if the road was convenient so I could arrange for everyone to get there. The people there are still very poor, and our resources are limited."

The An Tam Viet group's trip to the mountainous district of Tuong Duong consisted of eight people, the oldest of whom was approximately 60 years old. Besides their main task of conducting a field survey to plan cattle support for impoverished households, the group also organized a New Year celebration for the students of Tam Thai Primary School. Celebrating the New Year early in such a vibrant atmosphere was something far beyond the reach of the students in this remote mountainous area…

Never before have the highland districts received so much support from young people and people from the lowlands at the same time. And these gifts come not only from organizations but also from the contributions of charitable groups. On social media, Facebook is now a familiar page with calls for donations like "Warm Tet in the Mekong Delta," "Sharing with poor students in the highlands," etc. Mr. Nguyen Hong Hoa, Head of the Education Department of Ky Son district, confided: "Without the help of volunteer organizations, many students in the highlands wouldn't even have enough warm clothes to wear, let alone celebrate Tet... Currently, more than 10 groups have come directly to schools to donate gifts to students, such as Nghe An Newspaper, the Provincial Radio and Television Station, the Tu Tam group... In addition, teachers have also donated money and used clothes to students."

When asked, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Hung, Vice Principal of Huoi Tu Boarding Junior High School, "Does the school have any activities to support poor students during Tet (Lunar New Year)?", shook his head: "The teachers at the school are already struggling, and we don't even think about bonuses." However, when asked about donating warm clothes to poor students, he rattled off the names of each person: the couple, teachers Tran Thanh Phuong and Nguyen Duc Luyen, who every year make time to go back to the lowlands to ask relatives for used clothes to bring back for the students; and teacher Nguyen Thi Binh, whose salary isn't enough for the couple to go to Tu Du Hospital a few times a year for infertility treatment, but every year they still save up money to buy clothes for poor students... Even the teachers themselves, when asked about this, consider it normal, simply because "We can't teach peacefully when we see our students huddled together in class." Going to the highlands, visiting many classrooms, and seeing many children barefoot and shivering in their thin clothes, one realizes that these small acts are incredibly meaningful.

The An Tam Viet volunteer group celebrated the New Year with students at Tam Thai Primary School (Tuong Duong).

Stories about helping students, ensuring they have "three essentials" (meaning they need everything they need), and preparing for "Tet for the poor" are among the most frequently heard stories we heard when we visited Nam Dan in the days leading up to Tet.

At Kim Lien Secondary School (Nam Dan district), a somber atmosphere hung over the classrooms, due to the news that Mr. Tran Van The, a physics teacher, had fallen seriously ill and was hospitalized. He said that after throat surgery, he would soon be unable to teach again… Mr. The was a highly skilled teacher, a responsible team leader who contributed significantly to Kim Lien Secondary School, especially in Physics, consistently ranking first in the district for many years. Furthermore, he was a dedicated and devoted teacher. In nearly 30 years of teaching, he had helped countless poor students and spent countless nights diligently tutoring underprivileged students for free. In the 2012-2013 school year, among the three students who won top prizes in Physics at the district level and third place at the provincial level, Tran Quoc Chung and Phan Van An came from disadvantaged backgrounds and had received his guidance and support for many years. Now unable to speak or walk, Mr. The still deeply cares for his students, for the gifted student team in the final stages of their training, expressing his heartfelt thoughts through the trembling verses he wrote on his hospital bed: "I miss Kim Lien School where I taught so much / I miss the blackboard, I miss the eyes of my students / I miss my colleagues who taught with me / I miss the afternoons we practiced together with such enthusiasm…".

Kim Lien Secondary School is one of the leading schools in Nam Dan district's education sector in helping underprivileged students. Many teachers have actively participated in this movement, including Ms. Hoang Thi Huong, Ms. Pham Thi Ngoc, and Ms. Phan Thi Quyen… Ms. Pham Thi Ngoc, a teacher in class 6D, despite her husband's illness, two young children, and living with her elderly parents, still contributes a portion of her salary each year to support her students in buying books, stationery, and clothes. The school is also one of the initiators of the "Tet for the Poor" program. At the end of each year, the Youth Union and the school's labor union launch a fundraising campaign among all teachers and students to support underprivileged students celebrating Tet. Although the Tet gifts are small – just a few hundred dong, a kilogram of rice, or a bottle of cooking oil – they are invaluable encouragement for poor, orphaned, and homeless students. Teacher Ta Thi Thanh Huong, the head of the Youth Union, took me to visit the family of student Vuong Thi Thuy Trang (class 7B), who is an orphan, having lost both parents, and currently living with her paternal grandparents in Kim Lien 3 hamlet. Trang's parents passed away when she was in second grade, and due to circumstances, Trang and her two siblings live separately, so all of Trang's contributions are waived by the school. Every year during Tet (Lunar New Year), the school visits their home to give gifts and offer encouragement to the family…

Mr. Dang Hoai Nam, Chairman of the Trade Union of the Education Department of Nam Dan District, proudly stated: “Activities to support poor students are carried out in a spirit of self-awareness and voluntariness, stemming from the ‘heart’ of the staff and teachers. Therefore, even without a large-scale campaign, they naturally spread and receive widespread support from schools, teachers, and parents. In particular, the ‘Warm Tet for Poor Students’ movement is the most practical and meaningful activity. Through this movement, the department mobilizes nearly 120 million VND annually to buy gifts for students to celebrate Tet. Through the ‘Three Essentials’ movement (enough food, enough clothes, enough books), hundreds of poor students can confidently attend school.”

For many years, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu, Principal of Nam Thai Kindergarten, has been donating a portion of her salary to buy clothes for poor students in the commune and providing meal support for three children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Ms. Nguyen Thi Van, a teacher at Nam Loc Primary School, provides free tutoring for poor students and children from families receiving government assistance. Teachers at Hung Tien Kindergarten help parents transport their children to and from school during the harvest season. Teachers in Van Dien, Nam Thanh, and other areas have opened classes and built friendly libraries to serve students, helping them excel in their studies. Thanks to the boundless generosity of these teachers, in recent years, the number of students dropping out of school in Nam Dan has decreased significantly, and poor students have been given support, their dreams of overcoming their circumstances to become "good children, good students, and good grandchildren of Uncle Ho" have been nurtured...

This Tet holiday, traveling to remote districts and impoverished rural areas, I heard many touching stories of teachers dedicated to their students, and heartwarming tales of volunteer trips to the Mekong Delta to help poor students. Seeing the happy eyes and smiles of the students in the freezing cold reminded me of the lyrics by the late musician Trinh Cong Son: "In life, one needs a kind heart..."

My Ha