Ahead is the sky

(Baonghean) - Holding the university admission notice in her hand, Le Thi Mai (born in 1996) was both happy and worried. Happy because her hard work in studying had been duly rewarded. Worried because her family situation was extremely difficult, and her mother alone could not cover the expenses. Then, that worry was relieved, kind-hearted people came and shared with this poor studious student...

Poor mother nurtures her child's dream

We had made several appointments and then got busy with work so we had not had the chance to meet Mai. It was not until she became a new student of the Faculty of Geography - Vinh University that the writer had the chance to meet her to congratulate her, because after all, life had smiled on the fate of a girl who had suffered many disadvantages and misfortunes. In a small rented room with no significant furniture, Le Thi Mai told us about her sadness and joy in the past years. “There are two sisters in the family, when I was 3 years old, my younger sister Le Thi Truc was not yet 2 months old, my father left the three of us to go away. I heard that my father went to Vung Tau to marry another wife, now we have 3 more sisters. My father never paid any attention to us! Since then, my mother has done her best to raise us all” - Mai began the story. Her husband suddenly left home for another woman, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thao (1968), Mai's mother, silently carried her two children from Nghi Trung commune to Nghi Van commune (Nghi Loc) to depend on her maternal family. Her maternal grandparents were poor and had many people, so it was impossible to tell all the difficulties and hardships in life. After a while, her maternal grandparents and her uncles and aunts decided to pool their money and efforts to support Mai and her mother in building a small house right in the garden for convenience in living and working. In addition to supporting the house construction, her maternal family also gave them 3 sao of contracted rice fields so that the mother and daughter could make a living.

Since then, Le Thi Mai's unfortunate mother has always had to struggle to earn enough food for her two children every day, fulfilling her duties as a mother and as a father. Without buffaloes or cows to work in the fields, Thao has to work hard all week in exchange. When the rice grains have been dried and the rice plants in the fields have begun to grow green, Thao prepares her carrying pole, hoe, and basket. She puts everything on her old bicycle before dawn, before she can see people's faces clearly, and quickly rides to Vinh City. She takes advantage of the opportunity to work here as a "coolie", meaning that she doesn't mind doing anything anyone hires her to do, from clearing sewers, carrying sand, slag, to loading and unloading furniture. There are days when there are no customers, she sits from early morning to late afternoon, and no one comes to hire her, so she plans to get on the bike and go home in disappointment. Suddenly, it rained heavily, a moment later water flooded the street, overflowed onto the sidewalk, she hid in front of a house to take shelter from the rain. A woman ran to hire her to come home to bail out water, because her house was flooded. Thao struggled alone with a large puddle of water, it did not obey her will, as soon as she pushed it out, it flooded back in. It was almost midnight, the job was done, her whole body was soaked, she hurriedly pedaled her old bike back to Nghi Van. Mai and her sister were still at home waiting for their mother with the lights on. Seeing their mother come home late, wet and shivering, hungry, the two of them hugged their mother and cried. Crying because they felt sorry for their mother, crying because they realized that because of worrying about their education, their mother had to work hard and endure hardships. That mother also cried, cried because her two children were still young but already knew how to love their mother, knew how to share the hardships and difficulties. Just like that, day after day, year after year, the road from Nghi Van to Vinh City became too familiar to Thao.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thao (Mai's mother) met rice in the village field.

Although the family was poor and difficult, Le Thi Mai and her sisters were very studious and loved their teachers and friends. Now, Mai still cannot forget that every time a new school year started, her mother gave her savings to buy books. But every year that amount was not enough to buy new books, so the poor student had to find her seniors to ask for her old books. "During the 12 years of school, there was probably not a year when I had new books. Many times when I saw my friends with new, flat, fragrant books, I wished I could have them too... But then, knowing my mother's hardships, I just knew I had to try harder to study better" - Mai shared. Mai and her mother were poor, so during their studies, both sisters were given priority to have many tuition exemptions. But when they entered high school, the need to study increased, so the tuition also increased day by day. Truc is also growing up, approaching the end of junior high school, that mother has to bear more hardships and difficulties. Sister Thao's shoulders are getting thinner, her back is bending down because of the burden of life. Seeing her mother's face with crow's feet, her body getting weaker and weaker, her health declining a lot, Mai loves her mother very much. At times, she thought of dropping out of school to help her mother at home, but now teachers and friends advise her. During the harvest season, Mai often takes the time to go to the fields to help her mother. When bringing the rice home, Mai and Truc take turns threshing the rice and spreading it out to dry. Seeing her children's shirts drenched in sweat, their faces red from the sun, Sister Thao can only suppress her love in her heart, because there is no other way right now...

In no time, Le Thi Mai entered the final year of high school, a really difficult year for families with especially difficult circumstances. The cost of studying, reviewing and all kinds of documents increased day by day, while the time to help with housework decreased. At the end of grade 12, her classmates and classmates began to apply for university and college entrance exams. Mai kept hesitating and delaying, because every time she thought about her family situation, she felt discouraged. The reason was clear, the family only had 3 sao of rice fields, her mother had to work hard all day to earn money to raise her two sisters, so where would she get the money to study and take the university entrance exam? Not to mention, if she passed the exam, she would have to study for another 4 years, and then there would be the cost of finding a job? Her mother's intention was that when Mai finished grade 12, she would apply to work as a worker in the Industrial Park near her house, then the two of them would join hands and save money to buy a cow to make plowing easier. Then there's Truc's younger sibling's studies, and the house needs to be renovated...

WARM HEARTS

For a long time, Mai had been cherishing the hope of entering the university and becoming a teacher. To achieve her dream, the poor student had hidden from her mother the fact that she was studying for the university entrance exam, silently studying, with literature, history lessons and geography knowledge. She took advantage of her time to review, both in class and at home. At that time, her hometown was also in the harvest season. During the harvest season, she still went to the fields with her mother to harvest rice, and at night she came back to study by lamplight. Knowing Mai's situation, her friends tried their best to encourage her to study, many of them contributed money to support her so that she had enough funds to register for the exam. In particular, in the weeks leading up to the exam, Geography teacher Ho Thi Hoi took Mai to her house to help her consolidate and systematize her knowledge and gain confidence when entering the exam room. In addition, Ms. Hoi's husband was also a History teacher at the school, so Mai's review was very favorable. The teachers took care of Mai's meals, rest, and gave her experience in doing her homework. Thanks to that, the poor girl gained confidence.

“On the day of the exam, I only had 50 thousand VND in hand, which was donated by some classmates. The exam location was in Trung Do ward (Vinh city), about 20 km from home, I traveled by bicycle. At noon, I rested, ate banh bi (rice paper cake) and waited for the afternoon exam,” Mai said. After finishing the last exam, the next day Mai applied for a job as a worker at the Gas Lighter Company in Bac Vinh Industrial Park and waited for the results. Those were really long days for her, because she always lived in excitement, anxiety, and hope... Then one day, teacher Ho Thi Hoi called to inform her that Mai got 18 points, not including priority points. A few days later, teacher Hoi also called to inform her that the standard score for the Geography Pedagogy major (Vinh University) was 15 points. But Mai’s joy was “short-lived”, followed by many worries and anxieties. Where would she get the money to pay for 4 years of studying in the city? How hard would it be for Mom to struggle and take care of Mai and her two sisters all by herself? There were times when Mai's studies seemed to be cut off. Mai was sad...

Le Thi Mai reviewed the letters of encouragement.

Friends and acquaintances shared Mai's situation on social networks, then immediately spread it everywhere. Knowing the poor girl's situation, kind and compassionate hearts from all over the country came to encourage and share both material and spiritual things. It was this help that helped female student Le Thi Mai enter university. In particular, an anonymous benefactor promised to help Mai with the financial contributions for the entire course. Mai also received a lot of encouragement from teachers, friends and even strangers. This is the dedication in a book by a teacher at Nghi Loc 1 High School: "Dear Mai! The sky ahead is full of the brightest things waiting for you - the girl full of effort! I wish you always be steadfast in life! I will always accompany you...". Here is a passage from a male student's letter: "Knowing your family's circumstances, I really admire your will to overcome difficulties and study. I hope you will continue to pursue your dream of becoming a good Geography teacher, okay?" A woman named Tran Thi Lan wrote a letter to share: "I congratulate you on passing the university entrance exam! The lecture hall is waiting for you, keep trying! I believe that with your determination, you will continue to succeed. After receiving my gift, please go to school and enroll, then let me know. I wish you success! Your family and society are waiting for people with strong determination like you."

Although there are still many difficulties and hardships ahead, everyone believes that this determined female student will overcome them. In the middle of Nghi Van field, we met Ms. Nguyen Thi Thao, who was busy harvesting rice in the ripening season. This season's rice harvest was bountiful, and smiles appeared on her wrinkled, hard-working face...

Cong Kien