The hard work of spreading the word

(Baonghean.vn) - The whole district of Ky Son currently has 71 schools of 3 levels: secondary school, primary school, preschool and most of them are in difficult situations. Especially at primary and preschool levels, teachers have to go to remote villages to teach, making the difficulty even more difficult.

We arrived at Na Ngoi 2 Primary School in Huoi Thum village when the drum beat to start class. This school has 28 Khmu students, led by two teachers, Mr. Phan Thanh Hoa and Mr. Vu Ba Va. To get to Huoi Thum school, the teachers had to walk for more than an hour. On rainy days, it could take nearly 2 hours to get there. The road is steep, through cliffs and dense forests, extremely difficult and arduous. The whole school has 4 classes 2, 3, 4, 5, no class 1. Teacher Phan Thanh Hoa said that this year, there are only 4 students in class 1, so they cannot form a class, so they have to let the students study at the kindergarten. This school is built with bamboo and thatch, on one side is the room of the 2 teachers, which is as shabby as a shack.

Na Ngoi Primary School is located in Huoi Thum village.

Looking into the teacher's "hut", we saw a makeshift bed for lying down and a shared desk. It was that simple, after finishing a lesson, he would run back to find some vegetables to cook. "Every weekend, we send someone to walk to Phu Kha village to buy some more eggs and meat to bring down to have enough to eat for the whole week" - teacher Hoa added. Then he told us the story of a few days ago when he fell down from Phu Kha and was still in pain. The path was only 2 hand spans wide so he slipped and fell, luckily he didn't fall into the abyss. His story made us feel cold and sad. Their journey to bring letters to remote villages is not simple at all. Sitting and sipping a cup of water, teacher Phan Thanh Hoa confided: “I came here from Con Cuong district to work for 14 years and have been attached to this school for 2 years. The most difficult thing is still the road to school, the poor economy makes the teachers' lives difficult and lacking in many aspects. Like our school, every year we have to mobilize the villagers to re-roof the house so we can teach with peace of mind. Last April and May, a tornado came and blew away all the roofs.”

Teacher Phan Van Hoa is preparing lessons in his "hut" in a remote village.

Leaving Na Ngoi, we went to Sao Va village (Bao Thang commune). From the center of the commune to Sao Va village is only 10 km but it took us more than 1 hour to get there. The road is difficult beyond description, steep slopes, rocks scattered in the middle of the road as if to obstruct people's steps. It was on sunny days that we could still drive there, but on rainy days we had to endure it.

Mr. Luong Van May enthusiastically welcomed us as if it had been a long time since a relative had visited the school. Sao Va school has been built with 5 classrooms, but the lives of the people and teachers here are still very difficult. The roads are difficult, there is no electricity, everything is self-sufficient.

The teachers here said that this year they can stay in the new dormitory so they can work with peace of mind, but in previous years, everyone had to stay in the locals' houses to teach. There was not even enough space for a bed, each person stayed in a different house, and food and drink had to be purchased from other places.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan An - Vice Principal of Bao Thang Ethnic Minority Secondary School said: "Because the conditions for teachers in Sao Va village are very difficult, the school also arranges for rotation of teaching areas every year. Currently in Sao Va village, the most difficult thing is still the road, but we are also happy because the spirit of teachers here is very high."

Although life is still difficult, teachers in the remote areas always receive the attention of the villagers. The villagers love and consider the teachers as their own children. Village elder Bui Van Tuan (Huoi Thum village, Na Ngoi) confided to us: "Fortunately, the teachers are willing to come here to teach the children of our village. Currently, there is only one person in the whole village who has finished high school, our village is lacking in literacy. The teachers suffer with the villagers like that to stay and teach, we have to love the teachers". That evening, he served us a jar of rice wine and invited us to stay and eat together. Teacher Phan Thanh Hoa said: "Every meal, Tuan's father comes up to see if the teachers have anything to eat. If he sees that we haven't cooked anything yet, he immediately goes home and tells his wife and children to cook more so we can come down and eat together".

Sao Va village party cell secretary (Bao Thang), Mr. Oc Van Phuong, told us: “The teachers here are very affectionate and united with the villagers. We, the villagers, bring any bundles of vegetables or bamboo shoots we can get from the forest to the teachers to improve their meals.” The life of teachers in the village is like that, although it is difficult and hard, the affection is stronger because of that.

Article and photos:Dao Tho