The worries of two orphaned brothers before leaving for school

Every admission season, when children receive admission notices, families are usually happy and excited, but for Mrs. Pham Thi Loan and her children in Tan Hoa block, Nghia Dan town, there are always mixed feelings of joy, sadness and worry. Happy because their children's learning process has been recognized by passing the university entrance exam, but sad because the family's poor circumstances, not knowing how to support 2 siblings to study at the same time. The worries and concerns of the 3 mothers and children seem to overwhelm the joy in the small house.

Luan and Long were born on April 2, 2000. When they were not yet 2 years old, their father passed away due to a serious illness. Mrs. Loan had to work hard to raise her children. For her children, in addition to farming and taking care of the house, she also had to do all kinds of jobs, doing whatever people asked her to do, from cutting grass to babysitting... as long as she could save money to pay for their children's education. Loving their mother and understanding their family's circumstances, the older Luan and Long grew, the more diligent they became in their work and their studies. During their 12 years of high school, both brothers achieved the title of excellent students. Luan, in grade 11, was also an excellent student in the province in Biology.

Luan and Long are as alike as two peas in a pod. Photo: NVCC

Luan and Long are as alike as two peas in a pod. For those who meet for the first time, it is difficult to distinguish who is the older brother and who is the younger brother. They both love sports and play the guitar. Luan has a mole on his right eye and is the best at Biology, while Long has a lively personality, often acts as the MC for the class during art performances and competitions, and is the best at Chemistry. Due to family circumstances, last school year, they only studied at school and searched online, and did not have the opportunity to attend extra classes at exam preparation centers.

In the 2018 National High School Exam, Luan's admission score for group B was 20.3 points (Math: 6.8; Chemistry: 6; Biology: 7.5), Long's admission score for group A was 20.85 points (Math: 7.6; Physics: 6.5; Chemistry: 6.75). With the above scores, Luan was admitted to the Biotechnology major at Hanoi National University, while Long was admitted to the Academy of Posts and Telecommunications.

The university entrance exam of the two brothers Luan and Long made the whole family worried, sometimes "not knowing whether to be happy or sad". Over the past years, Mrs. Loan and her children have tried hard to save and save enough for their children to finish grade 12, now the university door is open, but the family does not know how to take care of the two brothers' education at once. The family's biggest asset is the cow, this is also the mother and children's bread and butter, so they cannot sell it, but it is not worth the cost of the children to pay for 4-5 years of university.

Brothers Luan and Long at their home. Photo: NVCC

Since her children received their admission notice, Ms. Loan has had many sleepless days. Many times she cried because she felt helpless about her two children's education. "Luan and Long both love their mother and study hard. Now they have passed the exam, but the family's circumstances are too poor, I work for hire but don't earn much money, how can I support them to study in the city. If they go to school, I don't know how they will cope" - Ms. Loan said in tears.

Long said that in the past, since entering grade 10, they had paid attention to physical training to be able to take the entrance exam to the armed forces schools, hoping to help their mother with raising their siblings. However, by grade 12, during the preliminary selection process, they still could not pass the height test, so they had to accept the entrance exam to civilian schools. When both brothers passed the university entrance exam, in difficult family conditions, they were forced to choose different paths: drop out of school, one goes to school, one goes to work to earn money, or both go to school. Finally, after many days of thinking and worrying, with the encouragement of teachers, siblings, and friends, Luan and Long decided that both brothers would enroll in school.

Sharing the students' situation, teacher Phan Thi Thanh Huyen - homeroom teacher of class 12 C1, High School 1-5 said: "During their studies, Thanh Luan and Thanh Long tried very hard to overcome their circumstances. The fact that they both passed the university entrance exam is the result of a process of care and self-awareness. I and the teachers at the school encouraged them to continue pursuing their studies, even though there are still many difficulties and challenges ahead. Hopefully, at this time, they will receive help from everyone so that they do not give up their dream of going to university."

In the past few days, when they heard that Luan and Long had both passed the university entrance exam, teachers, friends and many concerned people came to share their joy and give them gifts. Luan left for school on the night of August 17, "I had to leave first because I got carsick", while Long will be in Hanoi in a few days. Talking about going to school, Long openly said: "When we go to Hanoi to enroll, we will ask the school to stay in the dormitory, after getting used to the new environment, we will find a job to work part-time. We don't know what the coming days will be like, but we will try our best to go to school, just worried that my mother in the countryside, working all kinds of jobs to raise 2 children, will have a lot more trouble".

The journey for education of the two orphaned twin brothers in Nghia Dan is still full of hardships, but with the joint help of benefactors and the community, we believe that they will complete the chosen path.

For any help, please contact the two boys' phone numbers: Luan 0978.623.941; Long 0987.549.325