Sow Smiles: Three Kind Stories to Warm November
Discover the story of the young teacher who filled the 'hungry bookshelf', the English class for people in their 80s, and the 16-year journey of awarding scholarships of a determined teacher.
Journey to fill the 'hungry bookshelf' for children in the highlands
With the dream of helping students in mountainous areas to be "full of knowledge", young teacher Le Minh Ngoc has devoted eight years of her life to sowing the seeds of knowledge. Her journey has created more than 2,000 libraries in mountainous schools, bringing books closer to children.
In March 2023, the "Nourishing Children Bookshelf" project, chaired by Minh Ngoc, was officially launched, with the goal of inspiring children's passion for reading. She shared about a memorable moment: "When the children in Ha Giang held the book in their hands, their eyes lit up with joy and appreciation. At that moment, I knew they deserved to receive the gift of books."
Students’ feelings are expressed through spiritual gifts. At Thai Giang Pho Primary School (Lao Cai), students made a special wall newspaper to thank Ms. Ngoc. Tuyet Mai shared: “Thanks to books, my friends and I have more knowledge and more interesting stories to read.”
Special English class for students aged 60-80
In the heart of Hanoi, teacher Phung Thi Hai Yen has maintained a special free English class for the past 7 years. Her "students" are elderly men and women aged 60 to 84, who find joy and connection there.
The students’ luggage to class is also very unusual: instead of books, they bring medicine packs, glasses or hot cups of tea. Ms. Hai Yen said that despite the weather or poor health, the elderly still come to class regularly with a gentle smile and a simple English greeting: “Today I’m happy!”.
For many seniors, the class is not only a place to learn languages but also a peaceful place to find joy in life. Ms. Lan, the class monitor, shared: “Going to class with Ms. Yen makes life happier every day.”
The determination of a 'one-legged' teacher and 16 years of sowing hope
An accident in 2008 took away one of teacher Nguyen Thi Minh Tam’s legs, but it could not extinguish the flame of love for her profession and compassion in her. It was the love of her students that became a great source of strength to help her return to the podium and start a new journey.
In 2015, Ms. Tam founded the Nhat Tam charity group to help the disadvantaged and support poor students. Over the years, hundreds of scholarships have been awarded, helping many dreams not to be unfulfilled.
The “seeds of kindness” she planted have blossomed and continue to spread love. Duc Huy, a student who received a scholarship, has now returned to accompany her to help other children. He shared: “I still clearly remember the moment I received the scholarship under the flag. At that time, I felt very happy and proud, because I had more motivation to try harder.”
These inspirational stories will be featured in the program “November Kindness: Sowing Smiles”, broadcast at 8:10 p.m. on November 8 on VTV1 channel and VTVgo application.
