Love lights up dreams

(Baonghean) - Their father passed away 4 years ago due to a serious illness, their mother left home to find a living, and Vi Van Tu (1997) and Vi Van Truong (1999) brothers lived on the care and support of their relatives and neighbors. It is worth mentioning that despite the misfortune, these two Thai boys did not give up on their fate, and did not stop dreaming...

Short-lived happiness

The road to Tien Ky commune (Tan Ky) is too bumpy, the locals often joke that the road has no "potholes", only "buffalo holes", "elephant holes". The whole commune currently has less than 5 km of concrete road, asphalt roads are almost "absent". That small house is located on a muddy road after the rain, in hamlet 11. We pushed open the half-closed door, a boy was sitting eating lunch, his ration was just a small package of sticky rice. His hand was bandaged because he had just fallen and broken it. The boy was Vi Van Truong, a 9th grade student at Tien Ky Secondary School. Looking around the house, there was only 1 bed and an old bench. When asked about his family situation, Truong's eyes suddenly welled up, then tears streamed down his young face. His story was mixed with tears and sobs. “My father passed away in 2010, my mother went to the South to work, my brother is studying at the provincial boarding school for ethnic minorities. I am home alone...” - Vi Van Truong began his confession.

Vi Van Truong studies.

Truong's father is Vi Van Dinh (born in 1975), mother is Vo Thi Luu (born in 1977). Life in Tien Ky is difficult and hard, so Dinh and his wife brought their two children back to their paternal hometown in Ba Ha village, Thach Ngan commune (Con Cuong) to make a living. But in the remote, isolated area of ​​Con Cuong, life was not much better. Hunger and poverty still clung to them, there were days when the whole family did not have enough to eat. Truong and his brother (Vi Van Tu) spent their childhood days rolling around in the fields or in huts guarding the fields, growing up on their mother's thin back. Seeing Truong's family's difficult circumstances, his mother's family discussed letting Dinh and his wife return to Tien Ky to make a living. Because there were quite a lot of relatives on his mother's side, everyone was willing to help and take care of them.

So Truong's small family packed up and returned to the place they had left, continuing to plow and hoe. With the help of relatives, life became less difficult and arduous. The old house was infested with termites and was about to collapse, the roofing was broken in pieces, and on rainy days, water flooded the ground. Dinh and his wife were lent 16 million VND by the bank and were supported by their brothers to rebuild the brick house, roofed with tiles, with an area of ​​about 40m2.². It can't be called spacious, but it is a joy for all family members. From now on, no more fear every time there is heavy rain, strong wind, no more carrying belongings to the neighbor's house...

But then, not long after living in the new house, the debt had not been paid off, the small family had to fall into disarray. First, Vi Van Dinh - the breadwinner of the family - suddenly passed away after a serious illness, leaving behind his wife and two young children. Losing her husband, losing her support, Vo Thi Luu completely collapsed, thinking she could not recover. For months, she was absent-minded like a person who had lost her soul, for several sleepless nights because of grief, because of thinking about the years ahead. She knew that if she stayed in her hometown, with the strength of a woman, she could not work to earn enough food for all three of them. Not to mention, the debt to the bank and relatives was still there. So Luu decided to go to the South to make a living, save money to send back to her children and save up to pay off the debt. The day she left, Tu and Truong hugged their mother's legs and cried. The mother was heartbroken. Several times she wanted to go back home, but then thinking about her hungry children, Ms. Luu decided to leave. On the bus to the South, she was exhausted, but tears kept flowing...

Mother went to the South to earn a living, Tu and Truong stayed home to take care of everything, from cooking to studying. In a flash, the two boys with the surname Vi lost the love of their father, lacking the care of their mother. Misfortune struck the lives of the two children too early, like young buds in a sudden storm. The money their mother sent home was there one month, not there the next, so Tu and Truong's daily and monthly meals were quite precarious. If their mother did not send money home in a month, the two children at home were often full one day, hungry the next. Sometimes, for several days in a row, they did not have enough to eat, and when they came home late at night, their stomachs were growling. The maternal aunts and neighbors helped by bringing them some rice and food, but they could not do it regularly, because everyone had to take care of their own families. Lacking food, clothing and books, Tu and Truong still went to class regularly, studied hard, and were loved and cared for by teachers and friends. In 2013, after graduating from junior high school, Vi Van Tu passed the entrance exam to the provincial Ethnic Minority High School. The people of Tien Ky commune considered this a "miracle". Because being able to study at this school is the dream of many ethnic minority children throughout the province, many families with good conditions still cannot get their children in!

Rise from love

For more than a year now, his brother has gone to study in Vinh City, leaving Vi Van Truong alone in an empty house. In the past, when the family had four members, the house might have been a bit cramped. Now, living alone, Truong feels it is too spacious, partly because there is no furniture, partly because there is no warmth of love... Just like before, his daily meals depend on the money his mother sends home and the support of relatives and neighbors. Now, one day he goes to school, the other day, Truong accepts any job anyone hires him to earn extra money to cover his living expenses. People in the neighborhood often hire him to herd buffaloes, hoe grass, dig holes to plant trees - jobs that are within his ability. When we arrived, Truong had just broken his arm a few days ago, so he could not work any more. The cost of medicine and treatment was provided by Vo Thi Hoang and her husband, his mother's older sister. Lunch that day was brought over by Ms. Lan, a neighbor.

The monthly electricity bill that Truong uses is paid by the family next door. Seeing Truong's lonely and deprived life, everyone is willing to help, no matter how little or how much. Teacher Nguyen Thi Lieu, the class leader, said: "In class, Truong is a good, polite student and has a sense of learning. His circumstances are especially difficult, he has to live independently, but he always tries to overcome them." Vi Van Truong shared: "Lack of food, clothes, having to live alone for a long time, I gradually got used to it. I'm only afraid of rainy nights, power outages, feeling the surroundings are too empty and cold. At times like that, I really want to cry. But I have to hold it back...". Then he told about his dreams, the house suddenly lit up, his father and mother came back from a long trip, bringing with them a lot of things, such as a TV, tables and chairs, books, clothes, and hugging and caressing him.

The sound of the stray birds woke him up, the surroundings were still as quiet as a sheet of paper, the darkness was covering the mountains, forests, and villages. Another time, also in the dead of night, he dreamily heard a knock on the door, then his mother's voice calling his name. Throwing off the blanket and jumping up to open the door, he only heard the wind and the sound of the stream flowing in the distance. Mrs. Vo Thi Hoang, Truong's aunt, said: "Several times, my husband and I told him to move his belongings to live with our family, so that we could take care of him regularly, but he refused. Perhaps, he did not want his house to be without people." Asked about his dream, Truong confided: "I want to study, have a career, and help my mother."

Vi Van Tu.

Leaving Tien Ky, we returned to Vinh City and went to the provincial Ethnic Minority High School to meet Vi Van Tu. This student has a thin body, pale skin, but has very bright eyes and an intelligent face. When he knew that we had just come down from Tan Ky, Tu immediately shared: "I heard that Truong fell and broke his arm at home, but I couldn't come back to visit. I wonder if he's better today?" After a sigh, Tu said with tears in his eyes: "Now there are only 3 of us, mother and son, but each of us lives in a different place. Studying here is okay, I don't have to worry about much. I just feel sorry for my mother who works far away, I feel sorry for my brother who has to stay home alone and take care of everything himself." The reason Tu said he was okay was because when he entered the Ethnic Minority School, the State took care of almost everything for him, from food, accommodation to books. Occasionally, his mother sent him a few hundred thousand to buy clothes, necessities and reference materials.

This school year, Tu is in 11th grade, his forte is natural sciences. In the eyes of teachers and friends, Vi Van Tu is a well-behaved, gentle student with good academic performance. In particular, since entering school, he has been an exemplary, enthusiastic, dynamic and prestigious class monitor, loved by teachers and trusted by friends. When asked about his future dreams, he confided: "I still have nearly 2 years to graduate from high school. I have decided to register for the exam to enter the Army Officers' School to become a good officer in the future."

Through contact, we learned that Ms. Vo Thi Luu (mother of the two children) is currently working as a garment worker in Ho Chi Minh City. Every month, she works hard, constantly working overtime, but her income is only about 4 million VND. The cost of rent and food is expensive, and she has to save money to pay off the house loan, so she doesn't have much money left to send back to her children. During the months when she is sick, she has to worry about medicine, can't work overtime, and the low salary means she won't have any money to send back. Ms. Luu said in a choked voice: "Working far away, leaving the children at home, I am also heartbroken, but there is no other way right now. I couldn't come back during Tet, so I had to save money to send back to the two children. Many nights, I stayed up all night and cried, cried because I missed my children, they are still so young..."

Luu's family is now in different places, but they always remember and think of each other. The sharing and support of relatives, villagers, teachers, friends and the whole community will forever brighten the love and solidarity. This is the motivation that helps family members, especially Tu - Truong brothers, have enough determination and strength to overcome difficulties and reach their dreams...

Cong Kien