Reading space in the barber shop of the Ky Son highland Youth Union officials

We entered the barber shop of Lo Van Thin (born in 1993), in Na Luong 1 village, Huu Kiem commune (Ky Son) when the shop was crowded with young customers. It was the front yard of the house, located on the top of the hill, next to the towering Pu Quai range. The teasing sounds mixed with the "a" sounds of reading books of the highland children made us feel surprised.

While cutting a boy's hair, Lo Van Thin invited the guest to sit down and have a drink.

After finishing his work, Thin took a break and told the children to sit quietly and read books and newspapers before coming out to greet us. The young man with a friendly face shared that after finishing high school, Thin chose to go to vocational school and then join the army. During his years in the army, with his studious and skillful nature, Thin also learned to be a hairdresser.

“Back then, soldiers mainly cut each other’s hair in their spare time. I was curious to learn and then became the unit’s main barber. Since then, I have always been passionate about my new job,” Lo Van Thin confided.

Returning to his hometown after completing his military service, Lo Van Thin was trusted to become Deputy Commander of the Military Command of Huu Kiem commune. Recently, this young man was elected Deputy Secretary of the Commune Youth Union. Thin said: "Normally, when I go to the villages, I see many children wanting toread a bookI don't have any so I thought of opening a small barber shop in my house and collecting books and newspapers to display so people can come and read.

To realize his dream, the young man Lo Van Thin wandered around electronics, car and motorbike repair shops to buy broken televisions and old tires to display. Through his skillful hands, the small yard on the hillside became a poetic old space attracting many people to come and get their hair cut and read books.

Lo Van Thin's house is close to Na Luong 1 Primary School, so not only on holidays but also during recess, students also run up to read books and newspapers. The small joy of this Youth Union officer is that every day he can see the children holding books in their hands and reading aloud. Not only that, if they don't understand difficult exercises, Thin is ready to explain them in Thai. Those thoughtful gestures of Lo Van Thin have always filled the family's small yard with joy.

Although it is called a barber shop, Lo Van Thin actually opened it to inspire the passion for reading among students in Na Luong 1 village. “People who come to get their hair cut include both the old and the young. At most, I only charge 20,000 VND for adults and 10,000 VND for children. For families in difficult circumstances, I cut hair for free. In my free time, I often invite a few friends to schools and villages to get their hair cut for free. I do it mainly for fun, because the villagers here are all in difficult circumstances,” Lo Van Thin explained.

Next to Thin's house is the house of Lo Van Luan (born in 1998), who makes a living as a freelancer. Although his daily income is unstable, every time he hears his neighbor Lo Van Thin announce that he is going to give free haircuts to children at school or to villages, he is eager to get going right away.

“Living with Thin for a long time, seeing how enthusiastic he is, I also became passionate without realizing it. In our free time, we take our tools to difficult places to cut hair for children. Every time we finish the job, we feel like we have received more joy” – Mr. Lo Van Luan confided.

Lo Van Thin said that his wish is to collect more books and newspapers of different genres in his barber shop to serve the reading needs of many classes of people. Because at the present time, Thin's small allowance is not enough to serve his own needs and take care of his mother, and the money he earns from haircuts is all spent on buying books to supplement the library.

Saying goodbye to Lo Van Thin when the school bell rang at Na Luong 1 school, we saw his hopeful eyes as he followed the small students into class with the pain that they could go to school every day, and read more meaningful books to open up new horizons for children in the highlands./.