Poor mother and three children go to college

In 1983, Ms. Huong started a family with Mr. Pham Duc Sy, a retired soldier from the same village. They had three children, Pham Duc Luong (1985), Pham Duc Lan (1987) and Pham Thi Loan (1989). At that time, her family had just moved out to live separately in a thatched hut, with no household items. During a difficult time of shortages, misfortune struck. Her husband, Mr. Sy, suffered from a serious illness and passed away, leaving her with the burden of the family at the age of 29.

Fortunately, the older her children grew, the more they felt the hardships and difficulties of their mother, so they loved her and helped each other. Notably, all three of Huong's children were good students, from elementary school to high school, all of them were excellent students. During the university entrance exam season in 2005, great joy came to Huong and her children. Luong passed the Economics Department of Vinh University, Lan passed the Nha Trang University of Fisheries. Thinking about their family situation, the only assets in the house were a dilapidated bicycle, a few quintals of rice, no buffaloes or cows, currently they were hungry one day and full the next, so where would they get the money to send both children to school? Finally, Huong called Luong and Lan to discuss the best way, which was for Luong to "sacrifice" and go to the South to work to earn money to send Lan to college. To reassure her mother, Luong borrowed money to send Lan to school first, then Luong went to the city. Vinh took the university admission notice to his former teacher's house to tell her about Luong's situation and aspirations, and asked her for help. With her enthusiastic encouragement and support, Luong entered Nha Trang University of Fisheries. Two years passed, both Luong and Lan studied and worked to earn money to support themselves and pay tuition, buy books and materials for their studies. The mother, despite working hard, only saved up to send Luong and Lan a few hundred thousand each month. During the summer break of 2007, Luong and Lan stayed in the city to tutor, collect scrap, wash dishes for restaurants... and sent money to encourage Loan. If Loan passed the university entrance exam, her two brothers would cover the tuition. And Loan did not disappoint her brothers, she passed the National Economics University!

Thanh Long is a poor agricultural commune but has long been famous for many typical examples of overcoming difficulties to study well. Ms. Huong's family is one of the most special in the commune. Recently, her children were encouraged and given gifts by the Thanh Chuong District and Commune Education Promotion Association.

Article and photos: Dang Van Minh (Hamlet 7 - Ngoc Son - Thanh Chuong)