(Baonghean.vn) - The teacher has to rely on an interpreter. The teacher comes to pick up the children from their homes every morning. It takes months to teach the children to write a single letter… That's a daily occurrence in the border village of Pà Khốm.
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| Pà Khốm is a Hmong community located in the high mountains of Tri Lễ commune, a border area in Quế Phong district (Nghệ An province). The local primary school has 59 students who are studying in small, cramped huts made of cypress wood planks. |
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| In recent years, the attention of social and charitable organizations has brought about some changes in the lives and studies of the students here. They now have new uniforms and warm clothes to wear to class. |
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| The photo shows students from Pa Khom village in traditional clothing descending the mountain to receive charitable gifts at the end of September. |
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| At the highest point in the village, there is a makeshift school that has existed for decades. The classrooms are only about 20 square meters.2The roof and walls are all made of cypress wood planks. In the 2016-2017 school year, the Pà Khốm school had 3 male teachers and 2 female teachers. Of these, 2 male teachers have been "stationed in the village" for nearly 20 years. |
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| A long-time teacher in the border commune of Tri Le shared: "At this small and cramped school, teachers and students truly struggle with each letter every day. Many students are not used to holding a pen, so teaching them to write is a difficult task. To write a single letter correctly, some students have to practice for several weeks. However, the students' pronunciation is even more challenging. Some students know how to write but cannot pronounce some Vietnamese words correctly." |
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| Teacher Nguyen Thi Luu, from Pa Khom village primary school, shared: "The biggest difficulty for teachers here is the language barrier; teachers and students 'don't understand each other's language.' This always requires a Hmong teacher to act as an interpreter." |
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| The reluctance of the Hmong community to interact with students and the daily struggle for survival make it difficult to encourage them to attend school in Pa Khom. Teacher Luu shared: "To prepare for each lesson, teachers have to wake up early to go to the children's homes to pick them up. During the rice harvest season and the bamboo shoot gathering season, many children follow their parents up the mountain, and teachers have to trek through the hills to persuade them to come to class." In the photo, the children wait for their teacher to pick them up before they agree to go to class. |
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| The children of Pà Khốm village experienced an unusually lively recess time thanks to a visit from a charity organization. It is expected that by the end of 2016, they will leave their cramped classrooms and move to a new school built with funds donated by a social organization and the local government. The new school is hoped to provide a more convenient learning and teaching environment for both teachers and students in this border village. |
Ho Phuong - Huu Vi
