3 Nghe An students won the writing contest sponsored by the Embassy of Japan
(Baonghean.vn) - At the 5th "Flower Fairy Tale" children's story writing contest in 2022, organized by Kim Dong Publishing House in coordination with a number of domestic and foreign units under the sponsorship of the Embassy of Japan, out of more than 3,000 works by authors of all ages across the country, 3 works by 3 Nghe An students were included in the list of 24 winning works.
Both sisters won the prize.
The first prize in the Primary category went to the work “Mother’s Hand” by Truong Vo Ha Anh (born in 2014), a 3rd grade student at Tam Hop Primary School (Quy Hop). According to writer Le Phuong Lien, a member of the contest’s jury, from the first reading, the judges were moved by the short story of less than 400 words by this 8-year-old girl.
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| Truong Vo Ha Anh received First Prize from the Organizing Committee of the "Fairy Tale" story writing contest. Photo: NVCC |
The “Fairy Tale” story writing contest has been held annually since 1970 in Japan and in Vietnam since 2018. The contest is organized with the desire to contribute meaningful works to Vietnamese children's literature, and spread reading culture widely. The contest is divided into three categories: Free (16 years old and up), Middle school (11-15 years old), Primary school (6-10 years old).
The short stories submitted for the contest must be no longer than 1,500 words and have content for children. The winning works will be translated into Japanese, edited, illustrated, printed and published as a bilingual Vietnamese-Japanese anthology. The anthology will be distributed nationwide through bookstores. All profits from book sales will be donated to Vietnam's education and reading promotion funds.
The simple story is about a mother's scarred arm and the narrator is her child. Truong Vo Ha Anh said that her mother was always self-conscious about the scar from being burned by boiling water since she was little, but in her eyes, her mother was always beautiful. It was her loving look at the scar on her mother's arm that moved readers and judges:
“My mother never wears short-sleeved shirts. When it is very hot, I see her wearing a shirt with shorter sleeves but longer than the elbows.
One time, my mother and her aunts practiced performing arts for the neighborhood, but when the day came to distribute the dance costumes, my mother decided not to perform anymore. Because they were short-sleeved shirts. That day, my mother came home, rolled up her sleeves, and stood in front of the mirror for a long time. I ran to hug her and said, “Mom, you look so beautiful in your dance costumes!”
Mom gently pinched my nose: "You're so good at flattery! I'm so ugly." "Really! I've never seen anyone with hands as beautiful as yours."
Mom didn't say anything but I saw her eyes were moist. I wasn't flattering her, I saw that her scarred arm was very beautiful. Mom held the chopsticks in her scarred hand to cook delicious dishes for me. Mom braided my hair beautifully, wrote labels for my notebooks, held my hand to draw letters with her scarred hand. Everyone loved the cakes she made. When Mom worked, her scarred arm was very beautiful..."
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The short story "Mother's Hand" by Truong Vo Ha Anh - a 3rd grade student at Tam Hop Primary School (Quy Hop) is printed in the Vietnamese - Japanese bilingual anthology. Photo: Minh Quan |
Ha Anh said that she wrote the story in half a day, which was submitted by her sister to the contest. And perhaps Ha Anh's writing ability was inherited from her sister, Truong Vo Ha Nhi (born 2005) - currently a 12th grade student at Quy Hop 2 High School, who also won third prize in the "Fairy Tale" contest this year.
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Student Truong Vo Ha Nhi - Class 12C1, Quy Hop 2 High School. Photo: NVCC |
Passionate about writing since she was a junior high school student, Ha Nhi has participated in the "Fairy Tale" contest 5 times and won 3 times. In 2019, 2020, she won the second prize in the junior high school category and in 2022, she won the third prize in the Freedom category with the work "The cricket sings in the summer". The story is about the feelings of a little girl named Bong for a cricket that makes a nest in her garden - "A knight who fights alongside two brothers in fantasy worlds”.
One day, Bong was shocked to learn that her garden would be demolished because a new road was about to pass through it. It was only when Bong's father explained the benefits of the road to the family and the surrounding people that Bong understood and accepted it.
The day the workers gathered materials to build the road, Bong asked a worker to help catch De Men and put him in a box, so that:“Tomorrow when I return to my hometown, Bong will definitely release De Men to the place with the greenest grass and the most flowers. That way, on the starry nights of summer, the knight De Men will sing again. On a sunny day, he can take a trip somewhere without fear of traffic or busy streets. As for Bong, one day when she walks on the new road, she will miss the garden and the sound of De Men very much. But that’s okay! As long as Bong still keeps the memories of the garden in her heart, when summer comes, De Men will still sing”…
It is known that the two sisters Ha Nhi and Ha Anh have continuously achieved the title of Excellent Student in previous school years. Ha Nhi alone won the Second and Third prizes in the Literature competition at the district level and has just participated in the Provincial Excellent Student competition.
In addition to the awards of the "Flower Fairy Tale" Contest, Ha Nhi also won Third Prize in the "My Teacher" Writing Contest organized by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Youth Union in 2021; Second Prize in the "Tet Memories in Me" Writing Contest organized by Dan Viet Electronic Newspaper in 2021; Third Prize in the "To the Woman I Love" Writing Contest organized by Tre Publishing House in 2022.
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Truong Vo Ha Nhi (fourth from right) at the award ceremony of the 5th "Fairy Tale" story writing contest in 2022. Photo: NVCC |
I started participating in online writing competitions since middle school with the desire to try my hand at writing. Because no one introduced or guided me, I had to research and participate on my own. My parents are both farmers, although they always wanted me to focus on studying, when I participated in competitions, they were very supportive. In the future, no matter what job I do, I will write, not to seek achievements but because I want to write and want to experience.
Write to surpass yourself
In the Middle School category, the story “Empty Can” by Vo Ngoc Bao Anh (born 2007) won third prize. The story is about a soda can that is arrogant because it has the most expensive price in the vending machine. That story will probably not change until one day it becomes an empty can, thrown on the sidewalk and into the trash. Here, the empty can meets a friend with the same fate, a beautiful empty gift box. From then on, it accepts the truth about itself and gradually integrates into life in the trash.
Then one day, the can was brought to a craft village, painted and turned into a flower vase. And then“The empty can understood that each person and each thing has its own value, not depending on anything other than itself. It also understood that those people were not torturing it but were helping it find its own value...”.
The work “Empty Can” not only conveys a message of environmental protection but also suggests ways for people to overcome pessimism in life, urging people to live meaningfully every day. According to the female student currently studying in class 10T2 at Le Viet Thuat High School (Vinh City), the contest took place during a difficult time for her. At that time, she was confused about choosing a school and a major, not aware of her own strengths and weaknesses.
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Vo Ngoc Bao Anh - Student of class 10T2, Le Viet Thuat High School. Photo: Minh Quan |
The story I wrote was to encourage myself to overcome the tiring exam preparation period, and to help me look back and redefine my abilities and true values. Through this, I found another small passion, a way to relieve pressure.
“I entered the contest with a fun mindset, so during the marking process, I didn’t pay much attention, mainly focusing on reviewing for the 10th grade entrance exam. When I received a call from the organizing committee, I was very surprised and happy, because this was the first sweet fruit after all my hard work and efforts. I was able to attend the award ceremony in Hanoi, interact with Vietnamese and Japanese writers and educators. In particular, this award has helped me become more confident, giving me more motivation to try harder in my studies and in life.”
It is known that Bao Anh was born and raised in very difficult circumstances, suffering many disadvantages. After 1 month of birth, she was brought to the South by her parents, who were workers in a leather shoe factory. When she was 6 months old, because her father was sick, she followed him to Vinh, and has been taken care of by her grandparents ever since. Since she was 9 months old, she has not once seen her mother again.
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Vo Ngoc Bao Anh and her grandmother. Photo: Minh Quan |
Both grandparents are old and weak, father suffers from meningitis and is disabled due to an accident, Bao Anh both goes to school and helps the family make a living. Therefore, for Bao Anh, writing stories is both a hobby and a way for her to overcome herself.