From orphanage and poverty to university

(Baonghean)Anyone who has the opportunity to visit Long Son commune, Anh Son district will hear the people of this countryside tell the "miracle" of the three sisters. They lost both their parents when the eldest sister was just 18 years old, the youngest brother was not yet 6 years old, but the three sisters loved and supported each other through the miserable and difficult days to go to university and become useful people for society...

On the occasion of the National Day September 2nd, we returned to visit the family of teacher Tran Thi Thuy, the older sister of Tran Van Duc - an orphan boy who had just passed the entrance exams to two universities with quite high scores. Ms. Thuy said that her younger brother had left for Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy a few days before, and recently, some fellow countrymen in Hanoi who knew Duc's situation came back to give some money to cover transportation and other expenses for the first days of school. Although we already knew about his situation, we still wanted Ms. Thuy to directly recount the difficult and arduous days. With tears in her eyes, trying to hold back her emotions, she recounted the tragic situation and unfortunate childhood of all three of them...



Three sisters (Thuy, Luan and Duc) when they were still studying in Vinh City.

Her parents came together quite late, because both of them came from the war against the US to save the country. Her father - Mr. Tran Van Tam (born in 1947) was a liberation soldier, a former prisoner of Con Dao and a war invalid with a disability rate of 24%. Her mother - Mrs. Nguyen Thi Chung (born in 1951) was a former Youth Volunteer on the Truong Son route. They met and decided to build a family when the country had overcome the war and returned to peaceful life for just a few years. At that time, both of them were transferred to other fields and worked at Hanh Lam Farm (Thanh Chuong). Although it was a bit late (compared to the time at that time), the love of Mr. Tam and Mrs. Chung blossomed and bore fruit when two girls, Tran Thi Thuy (born in 1982) and Tran Thi Luan (born in 1984), were born one after another. Not long after that, both Mr. Tam and his wife received a decision to retire due to disability.

Faced with that situation, Mr. Tam decided to bring his family back to his hometown (Long Son commune - Anh Son) to do business and live. Coming here, the couple started to build a business by clearing wild hills to grow tea, cultivating rice fields and opening a small shop to sell small goods. With the diligence and hard work of those who had been tempered through the fire of war, Mr. Tam's family life was not to mention full but not too lacking. The two daughters were obedient and good at studying. In 1994, the joy and happiness of Mr. Tam and Mrs. Chung's family multiplied when baby Tran Van Duc cried out at birth. With a new member, Mr. Tam and his wife became busier, had to work harder to raise their children to adulthood. That house was warm and filled with children's laughter...

Misfortune struck that family when both Mr. Tam and Mrs. Chung developed a series of dangerous illness symptoms. The couple went to many hospitals and took care of each other so that their children could study with peace of mind. The accumulated fruits of labor gradually disappeared along with prescriptions and countless other expenses. Perhaps, when she was still in the Youth Volunteer Force, Mrs. Chung devoted all her energy to "breaking mountains, opening roads" and "carrying bombs and ammunition", so in 1999 she was struck down by illness after a heart attack. Passing away at the age of 48, Mrs. Chung left behind a sick husband and 3 young children.

As for Mr. Tam, the years of fighting on the battlefields with many injuries and the 7 years of enduring torture and imprisonment in Con Dao, a place once considered "hell on earth", took away much of his vitality. Although he went to many hospitals for treatment, he still could not overcome it because he had too many serious illnesses at the same time. Then, less than a year after his wife died, Mr. Tam breathed his last at Military Hospital 103. From then on, Mr. Tam and Mrs. Chung's 3 young children became orphans.



Tran Van Duc (2nd from right) at the ceremony to commend and award national excellent students and studentshigh score university entrance exam organized by the Provincial People's Committee

Ironically, when Tran Thi Thuy, the eldest daughter, received the good news of being admitted to Nghe An Pedagogical College, she also received the news of her father's death. The burden of making a living and raising her younger siblings from now on fell on the shoulders of the 18-year-old girl. At times, she thought of giving up her dream of becoming a teacher and staying home to take care of production to raise her younger siblings. Relatives, neighbors and friends all sympathized with her and tried to encourage her to enroll in school, even though there were still many difficulties ahead. After finishing her father's funeral, Thuy went to Vinh City to enroll in school, while Luan, the second daughter, also entered grade 11, and Duc also started grade 1 at this time.

Before closing their eyes, Mr. Tam and Mrs. Chung had to sell many things to pay for medicine, but still left fields, gardens, and fish ponds for their children. And when their parents fell ill, Thuy and Luan had already started to get used to farming, so they were no longer unfamiliar with farm work. Everything from harvesting rice, picking tea, growing vegetables to raising fish, raising pigs, chickens... Thuy and Luan did very well. Therefore, there was never a shortage of rice, vegetables, and fruits, and sometimes there was even a surplus, enough to feed the three sisters.

Two years later, Thuy entered her final year, which was also the time when Luan was admitted to the Geography Pedagogy Department at Vinh University. At this time, Duc also started grade 3. Both sisters studied in Vinh, so they decided to bring Duc down to make it easier to live, raise and take care of him. So, the boy Duc became a student at Hung Loc Primary School (Vinh City). The three sisters lived in a small, narrow rented room, but every day they still nurtured the desire to rise up and succeed. Leaving their house and fields to relatives, Thuy and Luan took turns looking after and taking care of the rice fields, tea gardens, and fish ponds.

During summer and holidays, when friends are happily hanging out, Thuy and her sisters rush back to work in the fields, from planting to harvesting, the cycle seems to have no rest. In her free time, Thuy teaches as a tutor to earn more money to support herself and her siblings' education. Thanks to the help of relatives in planting, harvesting, and hard work along with the policy subsidy, Thuy and her three sisters stand firm on the path of study. "After a lot of hard work, I get used to it, sometimes it seems very normal. But every time I think about losing my parents, I feel so miserable that I cry, especially on holidays..." - Thuy said emotionally.



Tran Van Duc next to his certificate of academic achievement.

More about Duc. Because he was born when his mother was over 40 years old and was suffering from heart disease, his health was much weaker than that of his peers. While in 3rd grade (2002), Duc suffered from severe abdominal pain and had to be taken to Nghe An Children's Hospital. The doctors there said that Duc's symptoms were very rare and difficult to identify, so he had to be transferred to a higher level. At the National Children's Hospital, Duc's pain was concluded to be due to a non-functioning kidney, causing hydronephrosis, forcing surgery to have a chance of saving him. This phenomenon has a congenital cause, so according to regulations, Duc's case is not covered by health insurance. This put Thuy in front of a great worry, at times it seemed hopeless. Fortunately, after understanding the pitiful situation of Duc and his sister, the hospital leaders found a way to help. At the same time, Thuy's relatives and friends in Hanoi came to encourage and help Thuy and her sister during the more than 1 month Duc was treated here, and then supported the travel expenses when the two sisters left. Up to now, although Duc is only 18 years old, half of his hair has turned gray, which is a consequence of congenital kidney disease.

Thuy graduated from the College of Education, returned to her hometown and was assigned by the Department of Education and Training to work at Phuc Son Secondary School, more than 1 km away from home. Duc followed his sister back to her hometown to study in grade 4, while Luan continued to stay in Vinh City to study in his second year. During the time Duc and his sister were in Vinh, their parents' house in the countryside was dilapidated and damaged, so when they returned to work, Thuy and Duc had to stay in the school dormitory. In addition to class time, Thuy had to tutor, raise chickens, pigs, fish and grow vegetables to earn extra income to support her younger siblings' education. More than a year later, Thuy married Le Thanh Kien, a colleague at the same school, from Vinh City. Family life became more difficult and busy because of the low salary, but Thuy was still determined to raise her younger siblings to be good people. Two young children were born one after another, life became more difficult, and living conditions became more cramped.

Sympathizing with the difficult situation, friends and colleagues wholeheartedly helped the couple build a small house on the land that her parents had previously bought as capital. The ancestral land was still kept so that Duc could return to take care of the incense. At that time, Luan had just graduated and after a while, he took a job at Nghi Loc 2 High School, and now he is also married. Duc still lives with Thuy's family, and is cared for and loved by his siblings, especially in terms of studying.

Not letting down his siblings, Duc is diligent and studies well. Despite his poor health, Duc still attends specialized classes and always has top academic results. And in this year's university entrance exam, Duc was admitted to Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy with a score of 23.5 and Hanoi National University with a score of 20.5 (not including priority points). According to his parents' wishes when they were alive, Duc went to study medicine to treat and save people...

When seeing the guests off, Tran Thi Thuy confided: "The hardships, difficulties, and humiliation are over, life is now easier. But there are still many worries ahead, because Duc's study time lasts for 6-7 years, and after graduating, he will have to worry about work. No matter what, my husband and I and Luan's husband and wife have decided to support him to continue his education to the end so that his parents' souls can be satisfied!"

Cong Kien