Teachers in the mountainous region of Nghe An 'forget' summer vacation to join the fight against the epidemic

More than 400 teachers and staff voluntarily participate in the fight against the epidemic

According to the Department of Education and Training of Tuong Duong district, as soon as the cases appeared,infected with Covid-19first inCham Puong village, realizing that the epidemic had many complicated developments and could spread widely if it was not promptly contained. Tuong Duong district "quickly" mobilized forces including police, medical staff, military... to the epidemic center to carry out sample collection, testing, tracing, and manning checkpoints...

To "share the burden" with the frontline forces against the epidemic, the industry has called on cadres and teachers of schools in the area to join hands in the work of preventing and fighting the epidemic. Currently, more than 400 cadres and teachers have voluntarily registered to participate in cooking for forces at the epidemic center, in quarantine areas; and transporting rice and necessities to the epidemic center.

Among the more than 400 teachers and staff who have volunteered to join the fight against the epidemic, many are away from home, their wives and children all year round. Although the summer vacation is not long, when the epidemic broke out, they still "put aside" their summer vacation to join the front line of epidemic prevention and control.

Mr. Xay, Mr. Thuong and the teachers prepare meals for the frontline forces in the fight against the epidemic in Cham Puong village, Luong Minh commune (Tuong Duong). Photo: Dinh Tuan

The family currently lives in Mo Than village, Tam Quang commune. To go to school, Mr. Dao Nhu Kieu - a teacher at Luong Minh Primary School, has to travel nearly 100 km. Because of the long distance, Mr. Kieu only comes home once every 2-3 weeks. During storms or when there is a lot of work, it takes even longer. But when he heard that Cham Puong village (where Mr. Kieu is teaching) had a Covid-19 epidemic, without hesitation, Mr. Kieu voluntarily wrote an application to go to the epicenter to "share the burden" with the forces.

Teacher Kieu shared, “I have been working in Cham Puong village for a long time. Although the people here are difficult and hard-working, they are very affectionate. Here, we are protected and cared for by the villagers like their own children. That is why I consider this my second hometown. When I heard that there was a positive case of Covid-19 in the village, I voluntarily wrote an application to go to the epidemic center. Here, I was assigned to cook for the frontline forces. The meals were happily received by everyone, we felt more motivated to do our job better.”

Teacher Dao Nhu Kieu works away from home all year round, but when the epidemic broke out, he still volunteered to participate. Photo: Dinh Tuan

Like Mr. Kieu, Mr. Vang Van Thuong - a teacher at Yen Thang Primary School and Mr. Lo Van Xay - a teacher at Luong Minh Primary School work away from home all year round, but when there was an epidemic, they still wrote an application to join the fight against the epidemic.

Mr. Thuong said: “Our work starts before 4am and ends around 8-9pm. Being far from home, we usually only call our wives and children when we finish our tasks. Knowing my work, my wife often encourages me to complete my tasks.”

Although not in the epicenter. However, for nearly a month now (since the F1 cases were quarantined in 3 quarantine areas in the district center), hundreds of teachers from schools in the district have taken turns preparing meals for the forces on duty at the quarantine areas as well as the people in quarantine, to contribute to the work of preventing and fighting the epidemic.

Through research, it is known that to avoid the situation of surplus - shortage of human resources. Moreover, to ensure the long-term service process, the Tuong Duong Education and Training Trade Union has scheduled each school to be responsible for cooking for 1 day.

For nearly a month now, Ms. Lo Thi Duyet has been present almost every day to prepare meals for quarantined citizens. Photo: Dinh Tuan

Some teachers in the town, although it is not their turn to cook, still go to the kitchen every day to support their colleagues. Ms. Lo Thi Duyet - a teacher at Tam Thai Primary School is one of many such cases.

“On average, each session, staff and teachers have to cook hundreds of meals. All the work from receiving food, preparing, processing, cooking and dividing meals is done by 6-7 people. My house is near the cooking location and it is summer break so I have free time, so almost every day I go up to help with teachers from other schools,” teacher Lo Thi Duyet shared.

Zero fare trips

Unlike other teachers, Mr. Ta Kim Trong - a teacher at Thach Giam Town Secondary School and a number of other teachers volunteered to use their own car to transport rice and necessities to the epidemic center for the people. For nearly a month, regardless of rain or shine, the teachers' free cars have been regularly delivering food and drinks to the epidemic center. From the center of Tuong Duong district to the epidemic center of Cham Puong village, you have to travel a distance of nearly 50 km. Although the distance is not far, the road is small, winding, and has many steep passes.

The teachers' "free" buses are always ready to roll when needed. Photo: Dinh Tuan

Mr. Trong shared, “The epidemic happened right during the summer break, so when I heard that the district needed vehicles to transport goods to the epidemic center, I signed up to participate, hoping to contribute to the work of preventing and fighting the epidemic. My brothers and I took on two tasks at the same time: being drivers and also loading and unloading. In the early days, due to the large amount of rice and necessities that needed to be transported to the epidemic center to promptly distribute to the people, we spent almost the whole day in the car until dark before returning home.”

When the epidemic broke out in Cham Puong village, there were hundreds of F1 cases that had to be quarantined according to regulations. Tuong Duong highland district established 3centralized quarantine areaat the district center. Since the Covid-19 epidemic prevention and control quarantine areas were established, every morning, noon and afternoon, Mr. Dang Thai Son - accountant of Mai Son Kindergarten, uses his personal pickup truck to load food from the processing point to the 3 quarantine areas.

In addition, he also participated in transporting food to the epicenter of the Cham Puong village. Mr. Son said: “I volunteered to participate in these activities. Because I want to contribute to the fight against the epidemic so that the epidemic can be pushed back soon.”

Three times a day, Mr. Dang Thai Son delivers meals to quarantine areas. Photo: Dinh Tuan

Ms. Vo Thi Tuyet Chinh - Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Training of Tuong Duong district said, "Prevention and control of the epidemic is the responsibility of not only any sector but also requires the participation of the whole community. Based on the sense of responsibility and on the call of the department's leaders, in the past time, the force of cadres and teachers in the whole sector have voluntarily participated with the forces to fight the epidemic.

In addition to participating in food processing and transporting necessities, the teaching force has organized calls for organizations and individuals to support the work of epidemic prevention and control. According to records, the number of gifts collected by teachers is also quite large"./.

Dinh Tuan