At the foot of Pu-xai-lai-leng mountain

(Baonghean) - Mount Pu-xai-lai-leng, considered the "roof" of Nghe An province, is located near the Vietnam-Laos border in Na Ngoi commune, Ky Son district. At the foot of the mountain are 19 border villages, mainly inhabited by the Hmong people, whose economy is still backward and whose lives depend on nature. The task of "nurturing human resources" here faces many difficulties…

Na Ngoi has 19 villages with over 5,000 inhabitants, of which the Hmong make up over 80%. Whether the villages are far from or near the commune center, they all share one common characteristic: difficult transportation. Most of the roads in this border commune are dirt roads, dusty on sunny days and muddy in the rain. Each village has a primary and kindergarten school, so younger students face some hardship. By the time they reach grade 6, they have to set up makeshift shelters to study. Moong Thi May, the only female student from Huoi Thum village, attends secondary school. At the end of Sunday, she and her friends carry their supplies to school, and return home at the end of Saturday. The road to school for May and her friends in Huoi Thum village is two or three times longer than for their classmates. On Sunday afternoons, they carry rice and salt on their backs and set off to prepare for the new school week. On the way to school, whenever they encounter a clump of bamboo, they gather around to look for shoots. Bamboo shoots are both food and sometimes sold for a couple of pennies to pay for lodging and buy fish and meat. By the time they reach their lodgings, it's already dark. In Huồi Thum village, only four people are studying at the secondary school level, and one is in 11th grade in Mường Xén town.

Students in Xieng Xi village (Na Ngoi, Ky Son) are having class.

After school, the children would go to the forest to gather firewood and vegetables to prepare their meals. Twice a day, at noon and in the evening, their makeshift shelters were filled with smoke from the cooking fires. Their meager meals usually consisted only of wild vegetables or a few bunches of cultivated vegetables brought from home. Meat or fish was a rare treat. At night, when the drum sounded for studying, the shelters suddenly became quiet. Everyone had gathered at school to review their lessons under the guidance of their teachers. All weariness seemed to vanish, leaving only excitement and enthusiasm for learning on their innocent faces.

These images are no longer unfamiliar in the highland communes. The boarding facilities, the simple meals, the long journeys through the forest, and the students' yearning for knowledge have become a beautiful aspect of their journey to learning.

Life for the students is tough, but the teachers who go to the mountains to "plant the seeds of knowledge" face equally difficult circumstances. As the school year draws to a close, teacher Lo Van Trong and four other teachers at the Xieng Xi village school are even busier with quality assessment tests and make-up classes to catch up with the curriculum. This Thai teacher, originally from Con Cuong district, came to the Na Ngoi border region in 2000. Back then, it took a whole day's walk from Luu Kien commune (Tuong Duong district) to reach the school. Now, it's possible to get there by motorbike, but the roads are still very difficult. The teacher and his wife live in Ka Duoi village, nearly 10 kilometers away from the school along a mountain road. The round trip takes an hour. On days when they teach all day, the teachers have to stay at the school, and the villagers have built them a temporary thatched hut, which they call a "dormitory." Many teachers like Mr. Trong, who work far from home and teach at remote schools, have two accommodations: one near the main school and a small hut in the village, similar to boarding school students.

Teacher Nguyen Thi Thuy (Tuong Son - Anh Son) has been in Na Ngoi for three years now. The harsh life in the highlands has quickly made her strong and resilient. Travel and language barriers were major challenges for the young teacher. But gradually, these language difficulties have passed. Teacher Thuy can now understand and speak the Hmong and Thai languages. And her students are now accustomed to speaking Vietnamese.

The climate here is harsh. This border commune is located at a high altitude, in one of the most unpleasant sub-climatic regions of western Nghe An province. In winter, temperatures often drop to near 0°C, bone-chillingly cold. In summer, Tuong Duong district is scorching hot, with many days without rain. However, in Na Ngoi commune, thunderstorms with lightning often occur at noon and in the afternoon. At the end of April, a tornado swept through Tang Phan village just as the teachers and students were beginning their lesson. The roof was ripped off by the wind, and pieces of cement tiles fell into the classroom. Fortunately, the house had wooden planks installed as a ceiling to protect against the heat, so the teachers and students were unharmed. Difficulties remain, but with a love for their profession and children, those who "plant the seeds of knowledge" at the foot of Pu-xai-lai-leng mountain, like Mr. Trong and Ms. Thuy, continue to diligently carry out their work. And the children, they persevere through hardship, acquiring knowledge with the dream of building a prosperous and comfortable village…

Huu Vi