Vietnamese woman honored by BBC: 15 years old just started kindergarten

Despite many ups and downs in life, Ms. Xam still stands firm on her disabled legs to become a librarian teaching children with the same fate.

Born with a physical disability, Huynh Thi Xam, a girl from the Hau Giang river region (39 years old), has an extraordinary will to live. She is one of three Vietnamese women honored to be voted by the UK's BBC in the list of 100 outstanding women in the world in 2017.

(Clip about Ms. Huynh Thi Xam made by BBC in 2016)

15 years old just started preschool

Since childhood, Ms. Xam always wanted to go to school to learn. She said: “My family has 6 sisters but I am the only one with a disability in my limbs. In daily life, I have to rely on my parents and suffer many disadvantages, especially not being able to go to school like my sisters.”

Loving his daughter, her father went to school to ask the teacher to let her go to kindergarten. Unexpectedly, before she could go to class, her father passed away, and the burden of making a living fell on her mother's shoulders. "Seeing my mother struggling to earn money, I felt so sorry. But seeing my siblings go to school, my desire to learn was ignited again. At the age of 15, I decided to ask my mother to let me go to kindergarten with my younger sister, no matter how hard it was, I would accept it," Ms. Xam recalled.

Finally, in her teenage years, Ms. Xam achieved her dream of learning the alphabet. That was the biggest turning point in the life of this disabled girl!

Ms. Huynh Thi Xam - disabled librarian of the Vocational Training Center for the Disabled and Orphans in Ho Chi Minh City.

Ms. Xam went to school by boat and small canoe. Every morning, she and her younger sister woke up early and crossed dozens of kilometers of deep river to get to class. She said that in the first days of school, her friends often teased her, "You're old and have crippled limbs, but you still try to learn to read and write." At that time, she felt sorry for herself but was determined not to let her path to learning to read and write end halfway. And then, she passed 3 levels of school.

Recalling the first day of learning to write with her feet, Ms. Xam said: “After memorizing the alphabet, I started learning to write with my feet. At first, I had a hard time holding the pen and scribbling a few lines. Gradually, I persevered in practicing each letter. When I became proficient, I found it to be an interesting and surprising first step.”

In nearly 10 years of schooling, Ms. Xam has acquired a lot of knowledge about Literature, Mathematics, and how to be a good person. In particular, she has completed the high school graduation exam with excellent results.

At the age of 15, Ms. Xam started preschool with her youngest sister.

The librarian teaches braille to the blind.

In 2016, Ms. Xam left her hometown for Saigon. She went to the Ho Chi Minh City Vocational Training Center for the Disabled and Orphans (Xuan Thoi Thuong Commune, Hoc Mon District) to learn a trade.

In the early years, she took computer classes. In 2009, the teachers at the center sent her to study at the Faculty of Sociology, Ho Chi Minh City Open University.

Ms. Xam went to school by motorbike driven by a younger brother. She said that there were many days when her limbs were sore but she did not dare skip class, afraid of missing out on knowledge. Even when she had a class on a high floor, it was very difficult for her to walk but she still tried to get to class on time.

For Ms. Xam, 4 years of university were not easy. However, she overcame everything to wear her bachelor gown, holding the red diploma. Once again, the disabled girl created a miracle for her own beautiful life!

Ms. Xam is grading students at the Center who share the same fate.

Back at the center, Ms. Xam was assigned to take care of the library. Every day, on an old wheelchair, she went to the library to arrange books, comics, etc. neatly on the shelves. When students came to borrow, she would write down each student’s name in a notebook and then take the books for them to read.

In addition to her work at the library, whenever she has free time, Ms. Xam comes to the center’s classroom to teach reading and math to the disabled and deaf children. In particular, she also learns Braille to teach the blind children to read and write. Thanks to that, the children can read books, write letters, etc.

TOP 100 Outstanding Women in the World 2017

Recently, Huynh Thi Xam is one of three women honored to represent Vietnam in the list of 100 outstanding women worldwide in 2017 voted by the British media group BBC.

Sharing about this joy, Ms. Xam said: “When I heard the news, I was very moved. Through this, I would like to thank my mother - the one who brought me into this world and worked hard to raise me throughout my childhood; the teachers at the Center who helped and encouraged me to overcome difficulties in life. I will try to live a good life and do something useful for life.”

Meritorious Teacher Dinh Thi Hoi, who has followed Ms. Xam for more than ten years.

Meritorious Teacher Dinh Thi Hoi, Director of the Vocational Training Center for the Disabled and Orphans in Ho Chi Minh City - who has followed Ms. Xam for more than ten years, said: “Xam is a girl with extraordinary determination, refusing to surrender to fate. I remember, in the first days at the center, the leadership assigned someone to help her with daily activities. A few days later, she decided to learn how to change clothes, eat, etc. We were quite surprised by that effort!

In addition, although Xam only studied with his feet, he graduated from university with good grades. From that, we saw that he was a typical person who overcame his fate to do things that normal people could not do. Therefore, we kept him at the Center to work.

Ms. Hoi added that Ms. Xam's being in the Top 100 Outstanding Women of the World 2017 was completely deserved. It was a great honor for Huynh Thi Xam personally and the Center./.

According to VNN