Raising buffaloes to "change words"

(Baonghean) - In the first days of the new school year, many farming households in Chau Phong commune (Quy Chau district) gathered together to sell their buffaloes to have money to send their children to school.

As one of the households with many children in the commune, what makes Mr. Vi Van Thuy in Pieng Diem village proud is that all of his four children are able to study at universities and colleges. Mr. Thuy said that all of his children's education expenses are based on the money from selling buffaloes. In 2001, while other people only knew how to stay at home to sharpen knives, buy machetes, and take buffaloes into the forest to collect wood, Mr. Thuy knew how to raise buffaloes to save money for his children to go to school. "That year, my eldest child had just finished high school in the district. Seeing his friends go to the forest to collect wood for spending money, he insisted on staying home and working in the forest. I advised him to study to have a stable job. Thanks to selling buffaloes to send his child to school, he has now become a district official."

Mr. Vi Van Thuy is taking care of his family's buffalo herd.

Since then, as the older children graduated, the younger ones followed. For more than 10 years, his family has always had someone going to school. Ms. Vi Thi Hong is currently working at the State Treasury of Quy Chau district, while the two sisters Vi Thi Ha and Vi Thi Thin are both at the Academy of Finance (Hanoi). After graduating, Ha was assigned to work in Hanoi, Thin worked in his home district. Currently, he is taking care of his youngest son Vi Van Khiem, who is studying at the Hanoi University of Transport. Pointing to the herd of buffaloes grazing, Mr. Thuy added: “In the past, my family was famous for raising many buffaloes, but now there are only 8 left. I have to save up to invest in my youngest son's education. For my child to go to school and have a stable job, even if I have to sell all the buffaloes, I will not regret it.”

In Na Pa village, Mr. Lim Van Son’s family is also famous for sending their children to school. His family has 2 children who are both studying at Vinh University and Hue University of Education. Mr. Son raises quite a few cows. Although they are not as valuable as buffaloes, cows are easier to raise and give birth to more. Since his children started school, his family has sold 5 cows.

As one of the remote communes of Quy Chau district, people's lives depend on farming, raising buffaloes and cows to save money for children to study and learn a trade has become popular in Chau Phong commune. From here, the university dream of poor students in the commune has come true.

Mr. Lang Thai Loan, Chairman of the Elderly Association of Chau Phong Commune, said: “Every year, the commune has about 5-6 children passing the entrance exams to universities and colleges. Many children study at vocational schools across the country. In order for their children to learn to read and write, most households raise buffaloes and cows. Moreover, the Social Policy Bank also participates, creating conditions for students to borrow capital. Thanks to that, the emulation movement to study in Chau Phong Commune is increasingly developing.”

Tran Ngoc Lan