Mother's heart in the highlands

(Baonghean) -For many different reasons, mothers in the highlands have to take on the responsibility of being the breadwinners of their families. Even if they have to work as hired laborers or sell their stilt houses, they are determined to raise their children to a good education...

Sell ​​stilt house for hope

The last monsoon winds of the cold season have returned, making the weather in the western part of Nghe An a bit chilly. There is drizzle. This season, residents of all 6 Thai villages in Nam Son commune (Quy Hop) are planting the last rice fields in time for the harvest. In Quang village, the Thai community has lived on this land for hundreds of years, the stilt houses with gardens next to areca trees and betel vines in front of the houses give off a quiet look. The village is in the afternoon, quite deserted. Some families in the village have bought trucks, but it seems that the modern lifestyle is only reflected on the outside. People still maintain the Muong customs. Women still prefer traditional costumes. Gongs are still considered treasures and people preserve them like jewels...

The last day of the year for Ms. Lo Thi Ty in Dinh village, Chi Khe, Con Cuong.

I had an appointment with a character for an article in Quang village, but it was already dark and she still hadn't returned. I called her cell phone, but couldn't get through. The young village chief, who was also in the forest, could only tell me to wait. This season, most of the villagers go to the forest to harvest rattan. Many people came back at night. An old woman in her 50s saw my impatience and invited me in for a drink. The makeshift shack was nestled at the edge of the village lane. There were only the old woman and her son in the house. The younger brother was over 20, looked at me fearfully and retreated into the kitchen. The old woman, whose name was Luong Thi Minh, said her son had a mental problem. He was afraid of strangers. The family had two children. The eldest, Luong Van Thong, had autism, and the second, Lo Thanh Binh, was in his final year at the University of Economics, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

Seeing me communicating in Thai, Mrs. Minh happily said: "So you are a local" and poured a cup of wine for me. She said that this village often welcomes guests from afar with a cup of wine. I asked about her family background, and she excitedly told me about a difficult life and did not know when the hardship would end.

In the past, girls in the village often got married early, so getting married at the age of 20 was considered late. She was not well-educated, so having a local man who loved her was a blessing. After getting married, she found out that her husband had a heart disease and was not able to work. Thinking that they were destined to be husband and wife, she ignored her husband's illness and took on the heavier work. She only hoped that his illness would subside so that they could live together until their hair turned white. After having two children, a person in the family who was infertile adopted Binh (the second child). Later, the family had four children, so they immediately returned Binh to his family. All documents and personal records now bear the surname of the former adoptive father, so the children of the Luong family have the surname Lo.

Lo Thanh Binh was a good student and was famous in the village. Knowing that her son was a good student, Mrs. Minh promised herself that even if her husband was sick and could not take care of her son, she would try to raise him to a good education, hoping that in the future he would become successful and help his parents. In 2010, Binh passed the university entrance exam. Holding his admission notice, she felt like she heard the sound of a wild bird singing in her heart. But when she thought about it, she was shocked because the amount of money she had to pay according to the admission notice, plus the rent and transportation, would cost 3-4 million VND. At this time, the stilt house had just been built, and there was also a debt for building the house. Where would she get the money to send her son to school? After a sleepless night thinking, she discussed with her husband to sell the house. That amount of money could be enough for her son throughout his university years. This decision was difficult because the hardest thing in life is to rebuild a house. But for the sake of her son's education, she thought that parents had to make sacrifices.

So just before the day her child went to school, the newly built stilt house, still smelling of wood, was sold to a relative for 160 million VND. While waiting for the house to be demolished, Mrs. Minh and her husband built a small wooden house next to it as a temporary residence.

The 160 million VND, along with an additional loan from the Policy Bank, was only enough to cover her son's education until the end of his third year. At the beginning of his fourth year, his son asked to buy a laptop. He said that nowadays, a computer is like a book or a pen. In a pinch, the mother decided to sell the wooden house she was living in temporarily for nearly 30 million VND to buy a computer for her son. So before Tet, Mrs. Minh's family had to "move house" once again. She said that even though some people said she was crazy, she didn't care. As long as her son could study properly. She hoped that with that amount of money, it would be enough for her son to cover his final year of university.

Work for hire to support children in college

The family situation is somewhat different from that of Ms. Luong Thi Minh, who is Ms. Lo Thi Ty, residing in Dinh village - Chi Khe commune (Con Cuong). She got married in her early 20s, lived together for nearly 10 years and had 1 son and 1 daughter. The husband did not work hard and often drank. Every time he was drunk, he would come home and abuse his wife and children. Feeling sorry for her children and unable to stay with her abusive husband, she took her 2 children back to her mother's hometown. She built a small house to raise her children. The eldest daughter was a studious person. After 2 exams, she passed the university entrance exam. People who knew her family situation told her to advise her daughter to sympathize with her mother and not go to university anymore. Besides, having a university degree does not mean having a job. Thinking that she felt sorry for her studious child, she could not bear to let her child drop out, so she decided to send her daughter to school at any cost. The daughter also promised her mother that she would find a part-time job to ease her mother's burden.

After the day she sent her child off to school, she also set herself the goal of earning a couple of million each month to send to her daughter. That is not an easy task for a single mother with financial difficulties like her. With little education and being old, Ms. Ty chose to work as a weed hoe, clear forests, and plant rice for hire to earn money to send to her child. Every morning, she would work hard until dark before returning home. Many times, she did not dare to take a day off when she was sick. After years of hard work, she suffered from a stomach ulcer. Now there was also the cost of medicine. Fortunately, her second son has grown up. For more than half a year now, the younger brother has learned to earn money to send to her for school.

As time goes by, her daughter is now in her final year at Hanoi University of Arts. She said that she has overcome most of the 4 years of raising her child to study. Raising her child alone, being both mother and father was too much for her. Now, looking back at the past days, she does not know how she overcame such difficulties. Every night, she went to her neighbor's house to watch TV, seeing the scene of many unemployed university graduates, she felt worried about her daughter. But her daughter encouraged her mother that after graduating, she would definitely find a job...

Sweet fruit for mom

Also a pillar of the family and having to raise 3 children to study, but the most difficult years of Mrs. Lu Thi Loan (Thach Giam - Tuong Duong) have come to an end. Her 3 children, 2 boys, 1 girl have all become successful. One is a teacher, the other is a doctor. They are all very filial to their parents. When her children and grandchildren gather, her smile becomes brighter. She seems to forget the hardships of the past years. Yet just a few years ago, she still had to take care of her 3 children's education while her husband was sick and no longer able to work. From the days of going to the forest to pick vegetables and collect firewood to sell at Hoa Binh market, she has supported her family and her 3 children to be educated like others.

In a conversation with us, Ms. Luong Thi Danh - President of the Women's Union of Nam Son Commune (Quy Hop) told about mother Luong Thi Huong in Tang village. This mother also had to raise 3 children to study during that time when her husband was also seriously ill. With her determination, this mother has set a shining example for the women's union members in this mountainous commune. Currently, 2 of her children have graduated and have jobs. The eldest son is now the vice president of the commune. Only 1 son is still studying at university. This is truly the first sweet fruit of the season that mothers who have devoted themselves to their children deserve.

Those “sweet fruits” are the dream of Ms. Lo Thi Ty, Ms. Luong Thi Minh as well as other mothers in the highlands who, for some reason, still have to raise their children alone. For those mothers, although their economic conditions still have many difficulties, they have overcome all those obstacles so that their children can study properly. The dream of mothers in the highlands is not only a stable job for their children in the future. As mother Luong Thi Minh said, who had to sell her house twice to send her children to school: “The greatest wish of a mother is still for her children to have knowledge!”

Another admission season is coming. University is not easy, not only for students but also for parents in disadvantaged areas, especially mothers who have to be the breadwinners of the family like the "mothers" we met on our journey of work...

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