Setting up a tent for children to learn to read and write in Con Phen.

(Baonghean) - In winter, the area around the Ban Ve hydroelectric reservoir becomes even colder due to the accumulation of cold air from the mountains and forests, and the chill of the vast reservoir's surface water. In the distance, makeshift huts along the stream at the beginning of Con Phen village, Huu Khuong commune (Tuong Duong district), seem to shiver in the cold. These are the homes of 18 students from Huu Khuong Primary School. Their parents, struggling to make a living on the lake, are forced to build these huts to "learn to read and write"...

Mr. Bui Van Hao, Principal of Huu Khuong Primary School, said: “This is where students from Cha Coong, Xop Lam, Kim Hong, Nhan Nhinh, Nhan Mai, and Nhan Pa villages live. These villages are subject to relocation to resettlement areas in Thanh Chuong. Some households either deliberately refused to relocate or relocated but then returned to their old hometowns to work. The children of these families have to attend school at the Con Phen branch school, which does not have boarding facilities. Because they do not have household registration in the locality, the children are not eligible for preferential treatment from the State. Therefore, parents have to cover their own expenses for food, accommodation, and other contributions when their children come to study here.”

Weaving straw mats to make a hut for my child to stay in while studying.

We walked towards the row of very simple huts, perched precariously on the stream bank. The roofs were thatched with palm leaves, the walls woven from bamboo, and the posts made of short, small forest trees. It felt as if a strong gust of wind could sweep everything away into the stream, drifting towards the lake. We arrived just as Mr. and Mrs. Lo Van Phuong were repairing the roof of the hut for their children to stay in while studying. The husband was busily sawing and making a door with a plank, while the wife meticulously wove each palm leaf to create a mat. Mr. Phuong shared: “My wife and I built this hut several months ago so our children would have a place to stay while studying. Because the journey is long and requires a boat, we can't return home in a day, and their parents don't have time to pick them up and drop them off. Last week, our child said the hut was leaking, and the wind was blowing in, making it too cold to sleep, so we had to hurry and repair it to make it more airtight so they wouldn't be cold.” Looking at their faces, we could read their hardships and worries…

Around midday, after the school bell rang, the children returned to their huts one by one to prepare their meals. Following them into the hut, the furnishings were extremely simple. A platform made of bamboo occupied most of the space. It served as a resting place, a place to sit and study, a storage area for books and notebooks, and a place to set out their daily meals. Next was the kitchen area, cluttered with dry firewood; pots, pans, buckets, and dishes were scattered everywhere. The children divided the tasks among themselves: some went down to the stream to wash rice, others picked vegetables, and still others washed the dishes. Lunch consisted only of wild vegetable soup with rice, but the children ate with great relish, laughing and chatting happily as if the hardships and deprivations were nothing compared to their passion for learning. Luong Van Nguyen, a 4th-grade student from Cha Coong, said: “Today is almost the weekend, and the food we brought from home is almost gone. I was too busy with school this morning to go fishing, so we’ll just have to eat this for now. When I get home early this afternoon, I’ll go down to the stream to catch some fish to improve our meal, sir!”

As night fell over the vast Hữu Khuông forest, the nighttime chill seeped into our skin and flesh. We borrowed flashlights and followed the steep path back to the children's lodgings. From the six small huts by the stream, weak rays of light from oil lamps filtered through the gaps in the bamboo walls. Everything was silent and still in the darkness, amidst the vastness of the mountains and the thick fog. Occasionally, the sounds of children reciting lessons and exchanging words could be heard from inside the huts. These sounds quickly blended with the murmuring of the stream and the rustling of the forest wind. A feeling of compassion and reflection welled up in my heart about the hardships and deprivations faced by these children living in those makeshift huts. If only their parents could live and work peacefully in the resettlement area, even if it meant hardship and difficulties in the present, their children's education and future would be much brighter. Instead, they cling to their old hometowns to live, even though they no longer have household registration there, forcing their children to bear many disadvantages, making the journey to get an education extremely difficult and arduous...

Cong Kien