Red rose on rock

Rising from adversity

In the summary table of the list of 80 female teachersoutstanding overcomerIn the 2023 report of the Nghe An Provincial Labor Federation, the family situation of teacher Nguyen Thi Kim Nhung (born in 1977) is the shortest part: “Her husband passed away when she was 31 years old, her first child was 5 years old and her second child was 13 months old. She raised 2 children alone (now 1 child is in university, 1 child is in grade 11). She has leukemia. She has no house yet, and is living in the school dormitory”. The lines are short but heavy.

Since her husband passed away, her paternal and maternal grandparents have all moved away, and Ms. Nhung and her three children still consider the small house in the dormitory of Do Luong 2 High School as their home. As mother and father, she takes care of and educates her two children to be obedient, study well, and take full responsibility for their paternal and maternal families.

In addition to housework, Ms. Nhung also takes on many roles and tasks in professional work at the same time. Thanks to her ability to organize her work scientifically, she both teaches and participates in all the key tasks of the school. From participating in the school security team to training excellent students, from school movement activities to district training classes, from union work to Department content... When her child was a little older, Ms. Nhung also took the opportunity to study for a master's degree. Most secondary subject teachers often choose to "work in, work out" to earn more income, but Ms. Nhung is different. She refused all other job opportunities and devoted all her heart to teaching Geography. Many of her colleagues jokingly said that she was "addicted" to work and could not stop working even for a day.

“I love my job, I am completely suited to the job I need to do without feeling tired, finishing one thing I think of another, continuously and enthusiastically. Moreover, when I work, I will think less, feel sad, and at the same time feel more optimistic and happy” - Ms. Nhung shared.

Everything went smoothly until May 2022. “I had some uncomfortable pain in my abdomen, so I went to Vinh for a health check. Unexpectedly, from this pain, after many examinations, my records were transferred to Hanoi with the diagnosis of leukemia. At that time, my two children were studying for exams, one for university entrance, one for high school entrance, and I myself was directly guiding the 12th grade students for their graduation exams…” - she recalled.

During the first days of treatment in Hanoi, the doctors were almost unable to treat her. Thinking about her orphaned children, thinking about not being able to take care of both sets of parents, she could not hold back her tears and did not follow the treatment regimen. Then, in that haunted hospital, patients in the same situation encouraged and persuaded her to persevere in fighting the disease. “If they can do it, I can do it too” - she thought like that to lift her spirits and enter the first chemotherapy sessions.

Along with the injections, the pain, discomfort and hair loss came to her more and more frequently. Although she was extremely tired after each treatment, she still wanted to continue working to relieve her spirit. She also read more books, researched more documents related to health care and actively applied them. The positive changes in her body gave her more confidence in the method she chose. The baby hairs grew back, the bright smile was always on her lips, her eyes sparkled with small joys...

“Just give it away”

More than 20 years of association witheducational career, Ms. Nhung always maintains her point of view: Just keep giving. The things she gives are not just knowledge, the people she gives to are not just students.

Taking on many roles at the same time, Ms. Nhung's time is never abundant. But whenever her students need her, she is ready to be there. That presence always comes with sincerity, love and respect. "When teaching, I am a rather strict person, even a bit difficult. But outside of class, I am willing to spend time listening to students talk, answering all questions, including questions outside of the content of knowledge, I can even go out for milk tea, picnics, and play with them. Even many difficult-to-talk-about love stories, students ask me for advice" - Ms. Nhung confided.

So, besides guiding the "first devil, second devil" students to conquer the excellent student exams, teacher Nguyen Thi Kim Nhung is also known as a psychological expert, a very prestigious and sincere consulting hotline for generations of students of Do Luong 2 High School. Perhaps because she can catch up with the psychology of her students, Ms. Nhung has become a friend, a sister, not just an aunt.

The love and respect that she gave to her students was completely selfless, without expecting anything in return. But because of that, she received a lot in return. She emotionally recounted: “A lot of students came to visit me, when I was being treated in Hanoi, when I was in Vinh, when I was back in the dormitory… I cannot remember and name all the students who came to visit me. Some came to visit but cried before entering the house. Some couldn’t go home so they called and sobbed on the phone. There were groups of alumni who sent representatives of the whole class to the house, some groups asked for support for medical expenses… Then every time I went to class, the students would remind each other to be good, to be diligent, not to make the teacher sad. That care and love moved me deeply.”

Not only with students, in all relationships with family, colleagues, friends, Ms. Nhung is always willing to take the loss. She does so because her heart wants it that way.

Before saying goodbye to Ms. Nhung, I asked her about the name “Hoa Da” that she chose for her social media accounts. She smiled: “I chose this name to remind myself, in times of difficulty and adversity, I must be strong and rise up…”.

You are one of the most beautiful, resilient flowers I have ever met.

With her efforts and dedication, from the 2018-2019 school year up to now, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Nhung has always been ranked as Excellent in completing her tasks, achieving the title of Emulation Fighter. She has received a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister for her achievements in education and training; a Certificate of Merit from the Minister of Education and Training for her outstanding achievements in the patriotic emulation movement in the Education sector; a Certificate of Merit from the Executive Committee of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor for the emulation movement "Good at public work - Good at housework"; a Certificate of Merit from the Vietnam Education Trade Union for the movement "Good at school work - Good at housework"...On the occasion of November 20 this year, Ms. Nhung was one of 80 teachers honored at the Conference to honor outstanding female teachers organized by the Nghe An Provincial Labor Federation.