The hard work of 'carrying' letters up the mountain

(Baonghean) -In the new school year, we hear about Huoi Moi, Huoi Xai, Nam Tot, Muong Long, Pa Khom, Huoi Luong... the names of remote villages in the border commune of Tri Le (Que Phong).once "famous" as version 3 no, 4 no.

On the eve of the new school year, following the teachers to inspect the facilities of the schools, we can somewhat appreciate the hardships of the journey of "carrying" letters up the mountain.

The journey uphill

From Vinh City, we traveled nearly 250km to the Tri Le border area. The clouds were heavy along the way, and when we reached Tri Le Kindergarten, the jungle rain poured down. Teacher Le Thi Minh - Principal of the Kindergarten said: This is the season here, sometimes sunny, sometimes rainy. The heavier the jungle rain, the faster it stops, but the roads to the schools are still very muddy.

“The 6 satellite schools are where students from 8 Mong villages study: Huoi Moi 1, Huoi Moi 2, Huoi Xai 1, Huoi Xai 2, Nam Tot, Muong Long, Pa Khom, Huoi Luong. If it were sunny for a few days, I would definitely take the journalist to all the schools, but with the rain like this, we have to go to many places, and we might not be able to get out in time... Let's just go to Pa Khom" - teacher Minh decided.

Pa Khom School, Tri Le Kindergarten (Que Phong). Photo: Phuoc Anh

Sitting on the back of the motorbike of two teachers who were considered the most confident drivers in the school, we began our journey up to the precarious Pa Khom, located at an altitude of 1,000m above sea level. “Hold on tight!” - Miss Be, the Vice Principal, repeatedly warned. There were countless slopes leading up to the Mong ethnic minority villages, and it seemed that every slope was called “slope number 1”.

It is called that because the motorbike climbs the hill only focusing on first gear and... crawling up, the sound of the engine rumbling echoing throughout the quiet forest road. On one side is a deep abyss, on the other side is a precarious cliff, the wind blows so hard that the distance to travel becomes shorter and shorter. Teacher Be walks and tells a story intermittently: "The weather up here is very harsh, in the middle of the summer the sun is blazing hot but in the afternoon the wind changes immediately, even in the summer nights we have to cover ourselves with cotton blankets."

Teachers in the village say that the road to Pa Khom is now much more “enjoyable”. Because more than a year ago, the movement to open the road to the Mong village by the youth union members of Que Phong district has opened up a new arm’s length for the steep and winding roads.

It was just that, the jagged rocks, slippery potholes waiting to trap people, the red dirt tracks rising and falling along each slope seemed to be as bad as before. While driving, the teacher's car carrying her colleague in front fell down the cliff. "Luckily, there was a traffic trench holding us back" - the colleague reassured her.

Sweating profusely, she stood up, luckily some Mong parents passing by on their way to the fields helped her. “Are you scared, journalist? We encounter this often, all the teachers have scars on their arms and legs from the forest roads, and the motorbikes have chains, brakes, and tires constantly changed because they climb up a lot of hills,” said Ms. Be, the Vice Principal.

"Call" students to school

20km from the main school, Pa Khom Kindergarten has two lonely huts on the top of a mountain. One hut is for students to learn to read and write, the other is for the teacher to rest. It is said that the second storm that swept through a few months ago blew away both huts, so the teacher mobilized parents to contribute bamboo, straw, and wood to rebuild them.

School had not yet started, and students were still following their parents to the fields. Mist crept through the cracks in the wooden walls into the classroom, causing the musty smell of the damp ground after the rain and the musty smell of the bamboo and thatch to rise up. The Vice Principal struggled to open the classroom door - a door made of four shabby wooden planks. "There's nothing valuable to keep, so I closed the door to keep the chickens and pigs of the surrounding villagers from breaking into the room, and also to avoid some of the wind and rain on this Pa Khom peak."

Poor facilities inside Pa Khom school. Photo: Phuoc Anh

The classroom is only about 15 square meters, where 10 children study. There is a small wooden table for teaching aids, a wooden cabinet with a broken bottom for some children's supplies, a dozen green plastic chairs lying around, two rocking horses were gifts from a volunteer group a few years ago, now the screws are loose and lying tilted.

The simple classrooms are only a short glance away. Pa Khom school is a “typical” of the 3 no’s schools: no road, no electricity, no clean water. Without electricity, the afternoon classes of teachers and students here are often obscured by fog. Without clean water, the Mong children rush down to the stream next to the school to drink. After so many years, the hardship has become familiar.

The road to Pa Khom is bumpy, steep and slippery. Photo: Phuoc Anh

While at this time, in the city kindergartens, there is a bustle of drawing lots, choosing schools and classes for children, in the most remote schools like Pa Khom, teachers are still diligently knocking on doors to encourage students to go to school. To mobilize students, they have to go late at night, because the Mong people work in the fields far away, and during the day, no one is home.

The forest path is deep, with only the light from a flashlight and the footsteps of the village teacher. Here, at the beginning of the new school year, it is common for teachers to spend their own money to buy books, clothes, and go directly to the students’ homes to complete the admission paperwork. In recent years, teaching in the Mong villages has become more convenient, because some schools have Mong teachers assigned to the villages.

“Convenient in terms of language, customs, and better communication with students and parents. Currently, Tri Le Kindergarten has 3 Mong teachers assigned to teach at 3 school locations, and is still lacking 3 more teachers. We are looking forward to this year's staffing,” said Principal Le Thi Minh.

Phuoc Anh - Chu Thanh