A student from the Thai ethnic group was accepted into two universities but was unable to enroll.
(Baonghean.vn) -The people of Hat village, Chau Binh commune (Quy Chau district, Nghe An province) feel sorry for Le Thi Van (a Thai ethnic minority student at Quy Chau District Ethnic Boarding High School) who passed the entrance exams for two universities and colleges but could not enroll due to extreme poverty.
To achieve such academic success, Van had to overcome countless hardships and strive relentlessly throughout her 12 years of schooling, under extremely difficult family circumstances. When Van was in 6th grade, her unfaithful father abandoned her and her mother to be with another woman. Losing the family's breadwinner, Van's mother had no choice but to remarry. Two years after their remarriage, Luong Van Tieu (Van's stepfather) suffered an accident, breaking his collarbone and injuring his spine, rendering him completely unable to work. Seeing the difficult situation, after finishing 9th grade and achieving high scores on the entrance exam to the district's boarding high school, Van had to drop out to join her fellow villagers in the forest to gather bamboo shoots and firewood to sell and help her family.
On September 7, 2009, Nghe An Online Newspaper published an article."Please help Van get to go to school."Mr. Tran Van Khanh, an overseas Vietnamese residing in the Federal Republic of Germany, sponsored Van for three years of schooling (grades 10, 11, and 12). Thanks to this, Van was able to continue attending school.
EmLê Thị Vân (a Thai ethnic minority girl from Hạt village, Châu Bính commune, Quỳ Châu district, Nghệ An province) was accepted into two universities and colleges, but her family's difficult circumstances prevented her from enrolling.
Understanding the hardships of her parents' lives and the support of the community, Van strived to study diligently, achieving high results over her three years of study. In the recent college and university entrance exams (2012-2013), Van passed the entrance exam for the Elementary Education Faculty at Vinh University in the humanities/social sciences group, and subsequently passed the entrance exam for the Elementary Education major at Nghe An Teacher Training College.
Knowing her family was struggling financially, since the exam, Van has been working odd jobs for villagers, chopping firewood and picking bamboo shoots to sell, saving money for her university application. However, all she's saved is just over 1 million dong, which is insufficient for anything else. Ms. Luong Thi Nhung (Van's mother) said with tears in her eyes: "Hearing that my daughter passed the university entrance exam, I was so happy. But thinking about the next four years of studying in Vinh City, my heart is in turmoil. Her enrollment day is approaching, and we have nothing to sell, but I can't bring myself to tell her to drop out; I feel so sorry for her!"When asked, Van choked up and said, "I wish I could become a teacher so I could go back and help poor children in my hometown learn to read and write! But I don't know if I can make it happen."
After 12 years of overcoming difficulties and challenges, Van has finally passed the entrance exams to two universities and colleges. However, given her current family circumstances, her dream of attending university seems to be fraught with obstacles!
Le Thi Van can only become a teacher for her people, for her poor and remote village, if everyone joins hands to help her!
Tran Ngoc Lan -(Quỳ Châu correspondent)
