The dream of a poor student

(Baonghean) - In the scorching heat of Nghe An, we went to block 3, Yen Thanh town to visit Nguyen Thi Lan Anh (9A grade student, Phan Dang Luu Secondary School, Yen Thanh district). The house was low and nestled next to the Dao River. There was nothing valuable in the house except a bed used to store rice and two rickety beds. Teacher Vinh (the guide) pointed to the woman lying groaning on the bed and said: That is Ms. Luong Thi Hien (Lan Anh's mother) who has been sick for a long time but due to difficult circumstances, she doesn't have money to go to the hospital for treatment.

Although she was very tired, Ms. Hien still tried to talk to us. She said: Lan Anh is currently fishing for te in a far away lagoon and will return at noon. She wiped her tears with her sleeve: “Poor girl! My husband and I have been sick all the time so we have to rely on her for all the hard work. Every time she comes home from school, she puts down her school bag and does all sorts of things. We love our child very much, but now my husband and I are powerless.”

With tears streaming down her face, Ms. Hien told about her difficult family situation. She was born in 1963, but it was not until 1999 that she got married to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hai (born in 1952) from the same village (Mr. Hai had also been married before and had 4 children). The couple had 2 daughters, Nguyen Thi Lan Anh (born in 2000) and Nguyen Thi Hoai (born in 2004). Although life was poor, she felt very happy. But then, Mr. Hai suddenly fell ill, and all the family burden fell on her thin shoulders.

Lan Anh prepares the net to catch shrimps and prawns.

To raise her two children and her sick husband, Ms. Hien worked hard with all kinds of jobs: farming, she also had to plant and harvest for hire... to buy medicine and vegetables for her husband and children. But human strength is limited, and overwork made her sick. 10 years ago, she went to the hospital to have a tumor removed from her abdomen. In recent years, she suffered from ureteral prolapse, frequent headaches, dizziness, and her right arm was paralyzed and she could not do anything. When she went to the provincial hospital for examination, the doctors discovered that she had a skull tumor and many other tumors on her body. They advised her to go to the Central Hospital for treatment. But because she had no money, she had to go home and live with her illness, which became more and more serious.

With such a difficult family situation, Ms. Hien's two young daughters also had to struggle to make a living. At the age of 6, Lan Anh already knew how to manage the housework: cooking, raising pigs and taking care of her younger sister. Every day, after school, Lan Anh caught shrimps, went to work as a hired laborer, worked as a hired laborer, washed dishes for restaurants to earn money to buy pens, paper, books and pay for school fees...

Despite the hardships, Lan Anh has made many people admire her academic achievements: From grade 1 to grade 9, Lan Anh always ranked first or second in her class and won many high prizes in district and provincial competitions for excellent students. Teacher Dau Thi Hoai, Head teacher of class 9A, Phan Dang Luu Secondary School, proudly said: “Despite her poor circumstances, Lan Anh is a good girl, full of determination, lives in harmony with her friends and studies hard. Lan Anh is an excellent student in all aspects, in the top group of her class. Last year, she won a high prize in the district's Math competition. Recently, when she took the entrance exam for grade 10 at Phan Dang Luu High School, Lan Anh also passed with a very high score. If given the opportunity, I think she can go even further.”

When asked about her dream, Lan Anh replied: “My mother and father are sick, that’s why our family is like this. I dream of becoming a good doctor in the future. But now, I don’t know if I can continue studying because my mother’s illness is getting worse and worse...”.

Tien Dung