The wish to return to the podium of a teacher who has been living in the remote area for more than 20 years and has acute pancreatitis

These days, Mr. Ha Van Tam (born in 1963), a teacher at Tuong Son Primary School (Anh Son) is trying to learn to walk after nearly 6 months of suffering from pancreatitis. Sometimes he struggles with a walker, sometimes he struggles with a wheelchair or wooden crutches, and when he is too tired, he clings to the bed frame...

When a visitor came to visit, Mr. Tam temporarily stopped practicing and said: “In mid-November 2017, my legs suddenly felt numb, then sharp pain, then severe pain to the point of being unable to walk. I immediately went to the district hospital, the provincial hospital, and finally to Bach Mai Hospital, where the diagnosis was acute pancreatitis, with a very high risk of disability, requiring long-term and expensive treatment.”

Teacher Ha Van Tam tries to learn to walk after a long period of suffering from acute pancreatitis. Photo: Cong Kien

The treatment period of more than 3 months in the hospital cost up to nearly 200 million VND, the family's savings and assets were not enough to cover the medical expenses. Fortunately, the Education Department of Anh Son district mobilized cadres and teachers to support, encourage mentally and materially, helping Mr. Ha Van Tam's family overcome difficulties and hardships.

Up to now, Mr. Tam has overcome the critical stage but his legs are still unable to walk, all activities require support from family members. He shared: “Being away from the podium and the classroom for so long, I miss my students so much. I miss the eyes, smiles and innocent words of children. I don’t know when I will be able to return to the children?”

For the past time, Mr. Ha Van Tam's life has been tied to a wheelchair, and all activities require the support of family members. Photo: Cong Kien

Teacher Ha Van Tam in Tam Son commune (Anh Son), after finishing high school, this young Thai man joined the army. After 7 years of military service (1982 - 1989), he returned to his hometown to work and produce. At that time, ethnic minorities in the area still faced many difficulties, many children of school age could not go to school because of lack of schools, classes and teachers.

Ha Van Tam decided to take the entrance exam to the Mountainous Pedagogical School, graduated in 1996 and was assigned to Tuong Son Primary School. At that time, the two villages of O O and Gia Hop were still lacking teachers, so Mr. Tam volunteered to teach here. To get to this school, one had to walk more than 10 km of forest road, the life of the Thai people here was still extremely poor so not many people cared about literacy.

Teacher Ha Van Tam and students from O O and Gia Hop villages before he became seriously ill. Photo courtesy

Teacher Tam had to ask the village chief to mobilize the villagers to contribute paintings, bamboo and wood to build the classroom. It was not until nearly 10 years later (2005) that the villages of O O and Gia Hop were able to invest in building schools. Next, teacher Tam went to each house to encourage children to go to school. He kindly advised the villagers to gradually understand the benefits of sending their children to school; he patiently and devotedly guided the children to write each stroke and handle each calculation.

At night, he and the village chief go to each student's house to check on their studies at home. In addition to teaching, he also spends time going everywhere to mobilize donations of books and supplies so that his students can have the best learning conditions. After more than 20 years of living in this "difficult land", Mr. Tam has made great contributions in maintaining the number of students, helping the department to do a good job of managing and advising on teaching and learning in O O and Gia Hop villages.

Having been away from the podium for nearly half a year, teacher Ha Van Tam misses his class and students very much, and still spends time studying lesson plans and textbooks every day. Photo: Cong Kien

Attached to this land, Mr. Tam got married to a girl from Gia Hop village. Currently, his eldest daughter is in 10th grade and his second son is in 7th grade. Life seemed to have gone smoothly like that, but then suddenly he was diagnosed with pancreatitis, forcing Mr. Ha Van Tam to stop on his path of "sowing knowledge" in the poor village.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Hien - Principal of Tuong Son Primary School said: "Mr. Tam is still in the treatment phase, the recovery process is still very slow. Hopefully in the 2018-2019 school year, he will recover to return to the podium, helping the school complete its mission."