The special mother in the 'oasis' of Cha Lang

Cha Lang village, Huu Khuong commune, Tuong Duong district. Photo: Duc Anh

Located in the Ban Ve Hydropower Reservoir area, with no direct road from the center of Tuong Duong district, the poor commune of Huu Khuong is likened to an "oasis". On this "oasis", located at an altitude of over 1,200m above sea level, Cha Lang village is home to the Mong people. The village has 48 households, with 317 people; the poverty rate in 2022 is 79.1%.

Ms. Kha Thi Ty can teach "bilingually", using both Mong and Vietnamese. Photo: Duc Anh

From Hoa Binh town to Cha Lang village is a difficult journey, taking a whole day with many stages of getting on the bus, getting off the boat, walking, and climbing. Life here is lacking in all aspects from rice, salt, to drinking water.

Cha Lang village is very poor but the people here are honest and sincere. Here, I have many children."

Teacher Kha Thi Ty - teacher at Cha Lang village school

Yet, for teacher Kha Thi Ty, Cha Lang village is incredibly beautiful and warm. "In the early morning or late evening, standing and watching the sunrise and sunset at this peak, you can see all the shimmering, majestic and magical beauty of the moment between day and night. Cha Lang village is very poor, but the people here are sincere and honest. Here, I have many children."

Teacher Kha Thi Ty's class time. Photo: Duc Anh

This 2022-2023 school year is the third year that teacher Kha Thi Ty (49 years old and 30 years of experience) has taught in Cha Lang village. Teacher Ty said: My family is still in Tam Thai commune. In 1993, after graduating from a teacher training college, I taught at Tam Hop Primary School, got married and stayed in this border commune. My husband is from Nam Dinh, working here and there, earning money, and raising children with his wife. To improve their child's education, the couple sent him back to his hometown. Not letting down his grandparents and parents, he studied very well, passed the entrance exam to Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted (Nam Dinh city), and then passed the entrance exam to Hanoi Foreign Trade University. In the 2019-2020 school year, I was transferred to teach at Cha Lang village school, Huu Khuong Primary School. Now I only go back to Tam Thai and Tam Hop once every few years, and to Nam Dinh twice a year.

Local leaders, Cha Lang village talk with Ms. Kha Thi Ty. Photo: Duc Anh

Returning to Cha Lang village school - one of the most difficult schools in Nghe An province, teacher Kha Thi Ty is far from home, traveling is difficult and disadvantaged in terms of policies. However, she herself did not give up but always tried to complete the task of bringing the light of knowledge to children in the highlands. After many years of working with the Mong community, Ms. Ty has mastered the Mong language like her mother tongue, which is very convenient in communicating and teaching students. The people of Cha Lang village will always remember the image of Ms. Ty's motorbike, welded with iron racks, loaded with boxes of rice, fish sauce, salt, and also used as a support so that when climbing a slippery slope, if she falls, the teacher will be less hurt and can easily get up and continue.

In Cha Lang village, life is still very difficult. The students' parents often work far away, and the children live with their grandparents. At this time, Ms. Kha Thi Ty and her colleagues play the role of "father and mother" to the children at Cha Lang school. The teachers' washing basins are always full of dirty clothes of the students. After each class, the children still cling to her, considering Ms. Ty as their second mother.

When asked about the feelings of a teacher in a remote area as the Vietnamese Teachers' Day approaches, Ms. Kha Thi Ty still did not spend a word talking about herself, but only talked about her beloved students. She talked about her disadvantaged students, about a female student who lost her parents and was a very good student who wanted to continue her education. "Please ask the authorities to see if it is possible to let her stay at the SOS Children's Village?" - Ms. Ty earnestly expressed./.