The disabled girl and the dream of spreading love
(Baonghean) - Rheumatoid arthritis took away Tran Thuy Nga's beautiful dream, turning the 13-year-old girl into a disabled person. Then, in her sad days, the girl found joy through the pages of books and spread her passion for discovering knowledge to those around her by setting up a free bookshelf.
"Meeting place" for people who are passionate about knowledge
After school and on weekdays, students from Nghia Dong commune (Tan Ky) often visit Ms. Tran Thuy Nga’s house (born in 1985) in hamlet 6 to read, borrow and exchange books. Her bookshelf has many types of books, from literature, science, history to children’s books, foreign languages, health, etc.
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| Ms. Tran Thuy Nga's bookshelf attracts dozens of readers every day, mostly students. Photo: Cam Tu |
Coming here, students will be able to consolidate and expand their knowledge, serve their studies, improve their understanding and behavioral skills. Phan Nguyen Lam - a student of class 12A1, Le Loi High School (Tan Ky) said: "I have been attached to Ms. Nga's bookshelf for 4 years now and have been able to read useful books suitable for my age. Thanks to the knowledge from the books, I am more confident in communication, and my learning results have also improved. In particular, my friends and I also learned from Ms. Nga the will to overcome fate."
And not only students, Ms. Nga's bookshelf also attracts people in the neighborhood and commune, many people have come to borrow books to improve and broaden their knowledge.
“I often come here to read books and collect folk remedies to take care of my health. And coming here, I find myself receiving many useful things, and my knowledge about culture and society is also enriched.”
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| Ms. Nga's bookshelf has nearly 4,000 books of many genres, from literature, science, history to children's books, foreign languages, health... Photo: CK |
The owner of the bookcase with a gentle face, a bright smile, and eyes that seem to speak, sits in a wheelchair all day, only going to bed late at night. Ms. Tran Thuy Nga confided: “Since I was young, I have recognized the hardships of my mother and siblings, so I have always studied hard and worked diligently. I silently promised myself that I would do well, become a useful person, and make my mother and siblings proud. But unexpectedly, when I was about to enter 8th grade, misfortune struck, ending all my dreams about the future.”
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| Coming to Ms. Nga's free bookshelf, students will be able to consolidate and expand their knowledge, serve their studies, improve their understanding and behavioral skills. Photo: Cam Tu |
She said that she would never forget the summer of 1998, when she turned 13, her whole body was in pain, and her limbs were increasingly difficult to move because of rheumatoid arthritis. After many months of treatment, the doctor said that her disease had become "resistant to Western medicine", could not be cured completely, meaning she had to live with the pain. And then, the fateful day came, her whole body was paralyzed, she could no longer walk on her own two feet and the wheelchair became her friend.
From then on, her life began a series of days of physical and mental pain, tears of sadness always wet her face, crying so much that her eyes were swollen, sometimes she just wanted to disappear as if she had never appeared in this world or sleep forever...
“Sow the love of reading - spread love”
Although poor, her mother and siblings still tried their best to treat her, going from one hospital to another, but in the end they could only helplessly watch Nga suffer from her disability. Pitying her younger sister for having to suffer such an unfortunate fate, her older sister bought Nga many good books to read to forget her sadness, to make the flow of time seem shorter.
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| Ms. Tran Thuy Nga shares about her unfortunate fate and her efforts to overcome it. Photo: Cam Tu |
Then, her cousins also bought her books as gifts, and Nga began to bury her head in books, reading them with great interest. Every time she immersed herself in a book, she temporarily forgot the pain and sadness of her life. Then, through the pages of the book, Nga got to know people in the same situation and had the strength and courage to overcome their fate, such as Cong Hung, Thuy, and Thu Thuong.
Especially Ms. Nguyen Bich Lan, author of the autobiography "Don't Fall" - a book about the will to live of people who encounter difficulties and harsh challenges in life.
“Passionate about books, trying to overcome the never-ending pain, I was filled with a desire to do good things like them. Although my finger joints were swollen, painful and deformed, I still tried to endure, tried to practice writing and drawing. Over time, my hands stopped shaking and my handwriting became beautiful again, I started writing new pages about my life” - Ms. Tran Thuy Nga shared.
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| For Ms. Tran Thuy Nga, carrying out the mission of "Sowing the seeds of reading - spreading love" - is the source of joy in life. Photo: CK |
The books helped Ms. Nga to ease her pain, and her sister encouraged her to open a bookcase, initially renting out books for 200 VND/book. Ms. Nga diligently collected the little money she had, plus the money from selling groceries, saving money to buy new books. With the experience she had accumulated in reading, she was able to choose more good books, prioritizing books with deep humanistic meanings, helping readers to move towards good things.
Currently, Ms. Nga's bookshelf has nearly 4,000 books. She no longer rents books, but encourages people to come and read for free, and anyone who wants to can borrow them to take home. Every day, she receives dozens of visitors, including students and workers, who come to her house to borrow books.
Her joy is to help many people develop the habit of reading, contributing to spreading the reading culture in the countryside. She currently lives with her mother and her brother and his wife. In addition to managing the free bookshelf, she also has a small grocery store to earn money for daily expenses.
Ms. Tran Thuy Nga said: “Some of the students kindly asked me: “What is the motivation for you to spend so much time and effort on the free bookshelf?”. I replied: “I always cherish every moment of my life. And I think I need to do something meaningful in the things I can still do in this life. When there are more and more people who love to read and study well like you, it is the motivation for me to continue to carry out the mission of “Sowing the love of reading - spreading love” - that is also the source of joy in my life”.
