The "apricot flowers" go to the mountains to teach reading and writing

They, who were very young, volunteered to cross the forest and streams to the most difficult place in the middle of Ban Ve Lake to spread the word. The hardships were too much to describe, but their eyes still shone with indescribable happiness when they saw the students going to school diligently and studying hard.

Carrying a bike over the mountain to school

As I write these words, people like Mr. Tuan, Mr. Toan, Ms. Van, Mr. Kieu... must be going through a difficult journey to get to Ca Moong village (Luong Minh commune, Tuong Duong district). Just a few days ago, when I set foot in that poor village in the middle of the Ban Ve Hydropower Plant reservoir, I met them on the road from Coi village to the school. The sandals under their feet were covered in mud, and their clothes were not clean anywhere but covered with a thick layer of mud. "We have just carried our bikes through several places, but when we got here, we had no choice but to leave our bikes in the middle of the road and walk to the school. Look, who would dare to bring their bikes down a landslide like this?" - Mr. Hoang Manh Toan said with difficulty, breathing heavily.

Because it was a sunny day, the teachers took the risk of riding motorbikes to school, but no one had dared to risk going through the forest before. The only way to get to school was to rent a boat from the upstream dock and walk for more than an hour. In the backpack that Mr. Toan carried on his back, there were indispensable items: boots, sandals and a few sets of clothes. To reduce the hardship, they divided up the weekly meals and brought home a little extra food to last for several days. That was how they could survive on this isolated “oasis”.

Sitting on the side of the road to rest after 3 hours of struggling with the road destroyed by storms and floods, teacher Hoang Manh Toan said: Right after graduating from school, I applied to come to this "oasis" to teach. The road to school is already difficult on sunny days, but when it rains, it is difficult and miserable in every way. To get to the school, 3-4 people take turns carrying each bike through the landslide area. "Falling off a bike is a common occurrence for us. I have only been teaching for a few months, but I still can't remember how many times I have fallen off my bike. The bike doesn't go all the way to the village, so I have to leave it more than a kilometer away in the rain and sun and then walk down to school. When it rains too much, I have to take a boat to be safe. But after going so many times, I get used to it" - teacher Toan shared.

Teacher Lo Van Tuan is the one who has been in the village the longest. Tuan was originally from Kim Da commune, but due to the impact of the construction of Ban Ve Hydropower Plant, his family moved to Thanh Son commune (Thanh Chuong). When he was allowed to teach near his home, Tuan did not return but volunteered to stay in this "oasis". Time flies, it has been 8 years since teacher Tuan was transferred from Xop Chao to Ca Moong, then from Ca Moong to Xop Chao. For teacher Tuan, carrying a bike over the mountain seems to have become a familiar story. Tuan showed us the bruises on his body that have not yet healed as proof of his hard work. Lo Van Tuan said: “Every week I have the chance, I cross the forest or rent a boat to go home to visit my wife and children for a day and then run back up immediately. Here, every time we go in or out of school, we have to go together to help each other. Going alone is very dangerous. If we fall off our bike or get caught in the rain and there is no one to carry our bike, we can only stand and cry. There are many days when I am so tired that I want to leave my bike in the middle of the road and lie down there to sleep, but I am afraid.” Teacher Tuan’s confidences made us feel sorry for him.

Lights on the "oasis"

The sound of the drums at night dispels the atmosphere of the deserted village. At the school gate, children with flashlights on their heads call each other to go to class. Inside, teachers are carrying rechargeable light bulbs to the classrooms. These are bulbs that they have mobilized parents to contribute money to buy to help their children learn more at night. Ms. Vi Thi Hong Van, a young teacher born in 1993, traveled 50 km from Yen Thang commune to the village and ran to the gate to welcome each student to class. As a daily habit, Van asks each student about their meals, bathing, and then takes attendance. "At night, there is no electricity, leaving the children at home is afraid that their parents will not be able to teach them, so they come here for the teachers to manage and guide. Thanks to that, the quality of learning has improved significantly."

The school has 5 classes with 5 teachers in charge, they are all very young people, all in their 90s, volunteered to come here right after graduating. Teacher Luong Thi Van, born in 1994, from Xa Luong commune, who has been teaching children in Ca Moong for 2 years, confided: When she asked to go to Ca Moong to teach, her parents were very worried about their "young and naive" daughter. But by all means, she still insisted on going to that difficult area. Until now, Van still feels satisfied with her decision when at the end of the last school year, her student was admitted to the district boarding school with quite high achievements. That is the motivation for Van to persevere in this remote place.

According to this young teacher, life is hard, far away and sometimes sad, but looking at the faces of the children gives them more determination to contribute. "When I first received the assignment, I had to walk alone through the forest to get to school, my body was shaking. There was no electricity, the phone signal was unstable, at that time I just wanted to quit the job, but I kept thinking about what would happen to the children if everyone was like me. So I continued working" - Van smiled. That smile was so happy.

Suddenly, a cry rang out at the end of the class. Van stopped talking to us and ran back to her room, carrying a student. Vi Thanh Hai, a poor student, was having a high fever, making everyone worried. The other teachers quickly took towels to wipe him and brought medicine for him to take. Teacher Dao Nhu Kieu said that teachers here always have cold medicine, fever reducer, and stomach ache medicine for students in their luggage. Because their parents often go to the fields and the infirmary is far away and cannot be examined, they reluctantly became doctors. “There are cases where parents live far away, are sick and bedridden for a whole week with no one to take care of them, we have to take the students back to their rooms to give them medicine and cook porridge for them to eat. It is hard work and there are many disadvantages, but seeing our students grow up, we encourage each other to try harder. And perhaps the biggest motivation is the villagers, the students here are honest, considering teachers as their second parents. That is happiness. Even though that happiness is exchanged for hardship and suffering” - teacher Lo Van Tuan shared. Looking at the way young teachers take care of their students, we have a strangely warm feeling.

The morning mist gradually cleared on the top of Ca Moong, the new lesson began with the sounds of “eating” in the classrooms. The sunlight shone on the shimmering flower bushes in the school yard. Somewhere, a melody resonated in the hearts of people: “the teacher is as beautiful as a wild apricot blossom”…