Life journey - giving wings to dreams for poor students

(Baonghean) - The whole country in general, Nghe An in particular, has many students, especially in remote areas, who have to walk to school. With a distance of 5-10 km, or even longer, whether winter or summer, many students have to wake up early in the morning to be able to get to class on time. This significantly affects their learning outcomes and their ability to continue studying. Understanding and sharing that difficulty, AIA Vietnam Life Insurance Company and the Vietnam Children's Fund have launched the "Journey of Life" program with the goal of raising funds to donate bicycles so that the way to school as well as the future of poor but studious students becomes more open.

In some localities, learning about the circumstances, talking and interacting with the students, we can see that the bicycles that the program gives are truly meaningful gifts. It not only shortens the distance to school for the children but also brings warm encouragement, creating motivation for them to overcome difficulties, optimistically looking towards a brighter tomorrow. Phan Thi Ly Ly, born in 2000, in grade 6 - Nghi Thuy ward (Cua Lo town) is one such case.

With a bicycle, Ly Ly can not only take her younger brother to school but also ride her bike to find a job on her days off.

Born into a poor family in a coastal area, her mother was constantly sick and could not do heavy work. The family's life depended on her father's lottery tickets. But then her father - the main breadwinner of the family - passed away after an accident. Ly's older sister had to drop out of school to work to help her mother raise her younger siblings. Ly herself went to school and worked to earn money for her education. During the summer, Ly had to wake up at 5am to go to the beach to sell souvenirs and return home at 10-11pm. However, from grade 1 to grade 10, she was always an excellent student.

Ly confided: Before, our family only had one bicycle for my mother and sister to go to work, so my 5th grade brother and I often had to walk 4-5 km to get to school. In 2015, the "Journey of Life" program gave me a bicycle. I was so happy that I cried and took good care of it. With the bicycle, I could not only take my brother to school, but on my days off I could also cycle to find work to help my sister and mother. I would like to thank the program for giving me such a meaningful gift.

We met Dinh Thi Hong - a student at Thinh Truong Secondary School (Nghi Loc) - one of 50 students who received bicycles from the "Journey of Life" program in 2015. Hong emotionally shared: "My family is very poor, my father passed away early, my mother alone works in the fields to raise us and send us to school.

My family has 4 siblings but only 2 bicycles, one of which is broken. Every day, I have to walk nearly 3 km to school. Therefore, I am very happy to receive a new bicycle from AIA Vietnam Insurance Company. I would like to thank the program and promise to try my best to study well to fulfill my dream of becoming a teacher..."

The joy of students receiving bicycles from AIA Vietnam

It can be said that each bicycle donated not only helps poor students like Ly and Hong shorten the distance to school to continue their education, but also gives them another opportunity to go to school, ensuring their dream of a brighter future. Therefore, the information that AIA Vietnam will continue to organize the program "Journey of Life" for the third consecutive year in Vinh city (Nghe An) on June 3rd, also means that more poor students will be given the opportunity and share this joy.

The meaningful thing that the program “Journey of Life”, a fundraising cycling event of AIA Vietnam has created, is the increasing attention of social organizations, individuals, and many businesses to poor children who are at risk of dropping out of school due to lack of means of transportation to school.

Confiding in us, Mr. Ha Van Phuc, Director of AIA Nghe An General Agency Office shared: My childhood was full of hardships to achieve success in life and career. Therefore, I personally and my family members understand and sympathize with children who have the same situation as me before.

Bicycle group "Journey of life" on the streets of Vinh city

We believe that sharing difficulties with others is also a culture of gratitude in this life. My husband and I have participated in many different volunteer activities, but we feel that the program "Journey of Life" launched by AIA Vietnam has a very profound humanitarian meaning. Thank you AIA Vietnam for creating a truly meaningful program so that my husband and I can contribute a small part of ourselves to make life better.

Mr. Ha Van Phuc's sentiments are also what the AIA Nghe An General Agency Office in particular and the AIA Vietnam life insurance agency force in general have been and are continuing to aim for so that the charity wheels continue to roll, contributing to bringing joy, happiness and opportunities to pave the future for many poor children in especially difficult circumstances nationwide.

Gia Huy