My wish...

(Baonghean) - The trips to the sea, plains, and mountains have helped us feel more clearly the positive changes in the work of protecting and caring for children; the special attention of the Party, the State, local authorities as well as previous generations for teenagers and children. But we are also more concerned about the dreams, even the small ones, of the children that have not come true...

Wandering shepherd.

Coming to the coastal town of Cua Lo this summer, we met Hoang Van Bong (8 years old), in block 3, Nghi Thuy ward. During the summer days, Bong could not indulge his passion for soccer, kite flying, or swimming in the sea. Instead, day after day, Bong followed his grandmother and mother to work to earn money so that when the school year started, he could buy more books and clothes. This was the third year that Bong followed his grandmother to peel shrimp for a local seafood processing plant owner. Each day of hard work, Bong earned about 30-40 thousand VND in wages. When asked if he was tired, Bong smiled: "It's fun, not tiring. I'm happy because I help my parents and grandparents have a less difficult time."

Behind that joy are feelings, desires, and wishes, especially when Bong sees her friends of the same age traveling with their parents and playing under the blue waves. "I wish my parents would stay home with me more, I wish I could eat with them every day. On June 1, I want my parents to take me to the park, play on the merry-go-round, on the tram, and buy me toys." That simple dream is difficult to come true for Bong. When the tourist season comes, Hoang Van Bong's parents are busy with fishing and tourism business. Their hard life lasts from morning until late at night, so Bong's daily meals are rarely full of all family members; Bong's parents have also unintentionally forgotten their childhood dreams.

Fun with the ball.

The childhood world of many children in Vinh City is confined to a learning and learning process. They long for their parents to take them to the park, to the entertainment areas, and wish for exciting summer days, to go swimming, to go back to the countryside to fly kites, and to play soccer with friends. Nguyen Van Minh (10 years old), in Vinh Tan ward, spends all day at home, except for extra classes. Minh's "summer world" is surrounded by concrete blocks, playing marbles there, playing soccer here. The gift Minh wishes for on International Children's Day is: "I hope my parents will let me go back to my hometown to herd buffaloes in the fields, go fishing, shoot birds, play soccer, and fly kites with my friends in the afternoon. My parents promised that if I become an excellent student, I will let me go back to my hometown and travel, but I haven't seen any results yet." The promise has not been fulfilled because Minh's parents have not arranged the time, Nguyen Van Minh's summer days are English tutoring classes and Math and Vietnamese lessons. The concept of "summer vacation" is gradually becoming unfamiliar to urban children...

During the summer holidays, children in the mountains still have to go to the fields to help their parents. In the rare moments at home, little girl Hap Thi Minh (9 years old) in Xop Chao village and her friends go to the big, shady trees to play house, pick wild flowers to combine into their favorite shapes. Minh wishes: "I'm tired of eating sticky rice with boiled rice; I just want to eat sticky rice with dipping sauce - dipping sauce with more fish and meat." Minh's older sister, Hap Thi Hoa (13 years old), hopes that many people will come and give her more books and newspapers to read, to learn about the outside world, to learn more about things that only exist in the lowlands.

Late in the afternoon, on the way to the river wharf located between hamlets 3 and 4, Nam Tan commune, Nam Dan district, we met Mr. Nguyen Thanh Cuong and Mr. Quoc Dan making swings for children to play on. Mr. Cuong shared his work: "Life is still difficult, there is a lack of playgrounds for children. We think we should do something more for children to have fun and relax during the summer"... The thoughts and ways of doing things like those of Mr. Cuong and Quoc Dan are truly precious. Let's listen to what children say, share those simple dreams of children, give them attention and love so that they can develop comprehensively both mentally and physically.

Thanh Son - Dinh Nguyet