In the 2023-2024 school year, Cao Cong Ton Sach, born in 2011, in Hamlet 3, Dien Trung Commune (Dien Chau District) was given more motivation to go to school when he became the adopted son of Dien Thanh Border Guard Station (Nghe An Border Guard). As the third child in a family with especially difficult circumstances, Sach's father passed away when he was only 5 years old, Sach's mother, Nguyen Thi Hien, born in 1983, raised 5 children to study alone. Sympathizing with Sach's situation, Dien Thanh Border Guard Station discussed with the family, the local authorities of the commune and the Executive Committee of Thien Tuoc Parish to adopt him as the station's adopted son.
In preparation for the new school year, Sach was taken shopping by officers and soldiers of Dien Thanh Border Post for clothes, books, school supplies and a bicycle. He was also supplemented with knowledge by foster fathers wearing green military uniforms so that he could confidently enter the new school year.
In a small house in Hamlet 3, Dien Trung Commune, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien, Sach's mother, said that her husband died early, she herself did not have a stable job, every day she went to the market to sell goods or did whatever jobs anyone hired her to do, just hoping to have enough food for her and her children every day, and the children's education encountered many difficulties. Now that Dien Thanh Border Guard Station has adopted Sach, my family has nothing to say but gratitude. "Since being adopted by the Border Guards, he has had the motivation to study and study better. As a mother, I want my child to strive to not let them down!", Ms. Hien shared.
It is known that Cao Cong Ton Sach is the only student in the coastal border area that Dien Thanh Border Guard Station has adopted as its adopted son. Major Nguyen Canh Sy, Deputy Political Commissar of Dien Thanh Border Guard Station, said that with the desire to help children with especially difficult circumstances in the area have the conditions to go to school, the Party Committee and Command of the unit have adopted Sach as the Station's adopted son. The unit has also assigned the Youth Union Executive Committee to select skilled comrades to directly accompany, tutor, and help Sach in his studies and in life.
At many border posts along the land border, the "border foster children" model has been deployed and maintained effectively for many years. The first unit to adopt children was Muong Ai Border Post (Ky Son). In 2019, we visited and talked with the first two students to be directly cared for at the border post, Cut Van Nam, born in 2010, of the Kho Mu ethnic group, in Xop Lau village and Xong Ba Cha, born in 2008, of the Mong ethnic group in Ai Khe village. His father Cha passed away when he was only a few months old, his mother later remarried a Laotian, he lived with his grandparents who were over 70 years old in Ai Khe border village. Cut Van Nam lost his father, lived with his mother and older brother at the time he was adopted by Muong Ai Border Post, the house - the only property of the mother and children - was swept away by flood, and had to stay with relatives.
When they first arrived at the station, Father and Nam were still shy about communication, had poor academic performance, did not know how to take care of personal hygiene, and did not even know the multiplication table. However, through the process of eating, living, and doing activities with the soldiers, being taken care of from meals, sleep to hair and clothes, the two boys learned to wash their own clothes, fold blankets neatly, make square banh chung, diligently exercised, and became confident and bold in integrating with the people around them. Currently, Father has decided not to go to high school but to go to vocational school so that he can soon find a stable job. Meanwhile, Nam is in 8th grade at Nam Tip Secondary School and is still being supported by Muong Ai Border Guard Station under the school support program.
For the children in difficult circumstances who are adopted directly at the border posts, having a warm and safe shelter, being cared for in every meal and sleep, and continuing to go to school is like a dream come true. Thanks to the care and supervision of the soldiers in green uniforms, each year, the learning and training results of each child have clearly improved.
Like the case of Lo Van Dieu and Xeo Van Diep, born in 2008, Khmu ethnic group, adopted by Keng Du Border Guard Station (Ky Son) since September 2019. Both of their circumstances are difficult. Lo Van Dieu lost his father early, his mother remarried and went to work far away, the family is poor, and Xeo Van Diep's parents divorced, he lives with his uncle's family, his life is not much better.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Tran Van The - Political Commissar of Keng Du Border Guard Station: In addition to arranging for the children to eat and stay right at the station; supporting books and clothes (funds are taken from the salaries of officers and soldiers), the unit also directly assigned comrades who are ethnic people who understand the customs and practices such as Senior Lieutenant Luong Van Loi to tutor, advise, and help in studying and living, so the children have made a lot of progress. Both Diep and Dieu are excellent students of the district in Physics and History; are exemplary students of Keng Du Secondary School and last school year both passed the entrance exam to Ky Son High School. The efforts of the children make the green-uniformed foster fathers of Keng Du Border Guard Station very happy and excited...
At the working group in Loc village, Thong Thu Border Post (Que Phong), they are currently raising two children: Ngan Tran Khanh (born in 2008), a 7th grader, and Quang Nhat Linh (born in 2008), an 8th grader. Both children have difficult circumstances and are loved and cared for by the officers and soldiers in the working group like family members. Every day, they go around the villages, performing the task of patrolling and protecting the border. At night, by the small lamp, the soldiers in green uniforms become foster fathers, patiently guiding their children through each stroke of the letter and each math operation.
From the love, sharing, care and protection of their foster fathers who are border guards, the children gradually mature not only in their studies but also in their thinking and lifestyle. Many children consider the border guard station their home and call the border guards who directly take care of them “father” and “child” in a natural and warm way.
Along with adoption, border guards on the border of Nghe An province also sponsor many students on the two border areas. Typically, Keng Du Border Guard Station is currently sponsoring 7 students of the Khmu ethnic group, born between 2008 and 2016.
The children are all in extremely difficult circumstances, including 4 orphans living with their elderly grandparents, from poor households such as Mong Trung Son, born in 2015 in Huoi Xui village, Pit Van Dinh, born in 2013 in Quyet Thang village; Moong Van Chan Thi, born in 2012 in Huoi Le village... students of the school. Accordingly, each month the children are supported by Keng Du Border Guard Station with 500,000 VND/child. In addition, the station also mobilizes funds to implement the program, gives gifts to the children on holidays, Tet, the opening of the new school year or the end of the school year, adding motivation to help the children go to school and excel in their studies; at the same time, regularly connects with schools to grasp the ideological situation and learning results of the children".
Thanks to the joint efforts of Border Guard officers and soldiers, many poor children in the two border areas in Nghe An can continue to go to school and overcome difficulties. Luong Van Dau, born in 2005, a Kho Mu ethnic group in Pieng Luong village, Nhon Mai commune (Tuong Duong district), had his parents separated when he was in first grade; then his mother left, and because of the burden of making a living, his father had to send him to his grandparents to look for work far away. But when Dau had just entered the first year of junior high school, his grandparents passed away one after another. Sympathizing with Dau's situation, officers and soldiers of Nhon Mai Border Guard Station sponsored him under the program "Helping children go to school". After finishing secondary school, Dau passed the entrance exam to Nghe An Province's Boarding High School for Ethnic Minorities.
When returning to Vinh city to enroll in school, the Station sent officers to take Dau to complete the procedures and at the same time maintain close contact with the school and homeroom teachers to grasp the learning situation, regularly visit and encourage Dau to try hard in his studies. Since then, the image of the green-uniformed soldier has naturally imprinted in the heart of the Khmu ethnic boy and nurtured in Dau the dream of growing up to also wear the uniform of a Border Guard soldier. And then all the efforts were rewarded when in 2023, Luong Van Dau was admitted to the Border Guard Academy to continue his dream of becoming a green-uniformed officer to protect the village and the border.
Not only adopting and sponsoring poor students under the programs "Helping children go to school" and "Adopted children of border guards", many units of Nghe An Border Guard also have appropriate methods and models to leave an impression on the Party Committee, government and people.
Mon Son Border Guard Station has coordinated with the People's Committee of Mon Son Commune and Mon Son Secondary School (Con Cuong) to effectively implement the model "Accompanying the dormitories in border areas". Mon Son Secondary School currently has 82 ethnic minority students who are Dan Lai people. In primary school, the children study at a separate school in Bung village, Co Phat village (located deep in Pu Mat National Park, 15-20 km from the commune center). In secondary school, the children have to go to the main school to study because the road from home to school is far and isolated. Many children are still confused in living and studying because it is the first time they leave their village, family and relatives. In addition, Dan Lai students are used to living in isolation in the deep forest, so they are very shy, do not dare to contact strangers, do not know how to take care of themselves, and have a habit of dropping out of school. Therefore, the school faces many difficulties in management, ensuring security and order, preventing students from dropping out of school...
Faced with that reality, Mon Son Border Guard Station assigned a working group from the mass mobilization team residing at the boarding area of Mon Son Secondary School to help Dan Lai students quickly get acquainted and integrate into the community; experience life, activities, and study close to the military environment; create a healthy cultural and spiritual life, support, practice, and improve life skills for students. According to Mr. Lan The Thanh, a teacher at Mon Son Secondary School: Border guards here ensure security, guide, and take care of the children like parents and relatives in the family, helping them maintain their living and studying habits... Therefore, the boarding area with foster parents of border guards has become the second home of the children.
Colonel Le Nhu Cuong - Political Commissar of Nghe An Border Guard said: In the 2023-2024 school year, border guards in the province are adopting 18 orphans and students with especially difficult circumstances until the end of high school and sponsoring 96 children with difficult circumstances to go to school. This is not only a responsibility but also the love of border guards for children of ethnic minorities on the two borders.
Units of the Nghe An Border Guard not only sponsor students with especially difficult circumstances in the area where they are stationed, but also sponsor children in the opposite village of Laos. Accordingly, Lao students sponsored by the units are those in difficult circumstances, without support, orphaned, homeless, children of prestigious people, people who actively participate in border protection... Depending on the circumstances and geographical location, the Nghe An Border Guard units will decide to support the children with cash or monthly food and provisions. Currently, the Nghe An Border Guard has sponsored 19 Lao students, thereby creating a good impression with the Party Committee, government and ethnic people of Laos in the border area.
With the help of border guards from programs such as “Helping children go to school”, “Adopted children of border guards” and the project “Army officers and soldiers help children go to school”, the learning and living conditions of many poor students in the highlands have been improved. The care, love and sharing of border guards have opened up opportunities for them to improve in life and study, nurturing the dream of contributing to building a prosperous, beautiful and peaceful village.