(Baonghean.vn) - Although there has not been a real March 8th for ten years, for Ms. Nguyen Thi Song, a woman who transports goods by cyclo at the foot of Cua Tien Bridge, her three obedient and studious children are priceless gifts every day.
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| Living in block 11, Ben Thuy ward, Vinh city, for more than 16 years, Ms. Nguyen Thi Song (1964) has been diligently pedaling a cyclo to support her family. Since her husband died of cancer 3 years ago, all the burden of raising her school-age children has weighed heavily on her shoulders. Early in the morning, from 5 am, she wakes up to take care of all the family chores and then pedals her 3-wheeled vehicle to carry and deliver goods. From 7 am to 5 pm, 6 pm, the foot of Cua Tien bridge is where Ms. Song and 4-5 other women who work as cyclo drivers and porters gather. |
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| Anyone who hires her to carry or transport anything, Ms. Song does it. From sand, wood, gravel, stone, cement, tables and chairs... depending on the volume and distance, the price for a trip ranges from 100,000 to 120,000 VND. On days when she has a lot of customers, it is normal for her to transport several trips of cement, gravel or wood, amounting to tons of goods. |
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| Normally, women like her use gloves to move things, but sometimes they are in a hurry and have to use their bare hands. Because of the heavy work, gloves wear out quickly, which is a daily occurrence. Mrs. Song joked that in nearly 20 years of working, she must have changed hundreds of gloves. |
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| Ms. Song confided that women who do this hard work do not look forward to a day off because if they take a day off, where will they get money to support their families and children? The work is hard and making money is getting harder as customers gradually switch to hiring small trucks to transport goods, so most people like Ms. Song do not think about gifts on March 8. "Even for meals, I have to run around, so the 8th or 9th is the same for me," Ms. Song said. |
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| When she was young, her house was far away, so every meal she brought a lunchbox with a few eggplants to save money. But now that she is old, she also needs to stay healthy to raise her children, so she buys an extra 5,000 - 10,000 VND for food, or sometimes when she is too tired, she buys herself a bowl of noodles. |
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| The only consolation for her is being able to raise three daughters, one has graduated and has a stable job, one is a second-year university student and the youngest is a 12th grader preparing to enter university. For Ms. Song, seeing her children grow up healthy and well every day is the most priceless gift. Therefore, even if she sweats and tears or falls ill, as long as it is not too serious, she is still willing to do any job to raise her children to be good people. She confided that as long as her children understand the heart of their parents and study well, that is a gift more precious than any flower or gift on March 8. |
Chu Thanh
