Efforts not to let children's education be unfinished
Once under land clearance in the central area of Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Hoang's family moved to the suburban area in Tan Hung ward to live. The whole family of 5 people rented a room together, only about 15m2 wide, without an attic. Each month, including electricity and water bills, the rent cost has consumed more than 2 million VND. That cramped rent every year has 2 to 3 periods of flooding every time it rains heavily coinciding with high tides.
However, what worries her and her husband the most is not the days of water leveling their feet, but the burden of expenses every time the new school year begins.
To have money to cover expenses, for about 4-5 months now, Ms. Hoang has been working part-time as a room cleaner and freelance cleaning worker with an income of about 7 million VND/month. Her husband has been a kitchen assistant for more than 10 years, bringing in about 10 million VND/month. With a total income of about 17 million VND, supporting 5 mouths of food and the tuition fees of three young children, the family is always in a state of poverty.
During the COVID-19 epidemic or when my husband did not have stable work, life was very exhausting. Now that my husband and I are working together, we can temporarily bear it, but every beginning of the school year, we are worried sick. All kinds of expenses from semi-boarding fees to notebooks for the children... If we don't manage to manage in time and let the school owe money, it will be a pity for the children" - Ms. Hoang confided.
To save money, each previous school year, she takes advantage of each set of old books and asks for them from other parents for her twin young children, only buying more separate books as required by the school. This year, the city has a policy for students to borrow textbooks, so she is somewhat reassured. Despite the hardship, every night when she comes home from work, even if it is 7-8 pm late, she still patiently sits and tutors her children in their homework.
Ms. Hoang confided: "Life is difficult, but my husband and I have never thought about letting our children drop out of school. Whoever can help, the family will respectfully thank them, just hoping that there will be conditions for the children to study properly.
Understanding his parents' hardship, Nguyen Viet Hoang Long (15 years old), Ms. Hoang's eldest son preparing to enter 9th grade, always voluntarily helps with housework. After class, Long actively cooks, washes dishes and cleans the house to help his mother reduce fatigue.
The student with good academic ability once received a scholarship of 1.5 million VND for disadvantaged students.
Seeing my parents working hard, I promised myself to try to study hard. Later, I hope to follow my father's profession as a chef, or if I cannot study further, I will work as a deliveryman to have a stable income, support myself and help my family" - Hoang Long confided.
A foothold from local companionship
Ms. Dao Thi Kim Loan - Head of the Women's Union cum Head of the Poverty Reduction Group of Quarter 18, Tan Hung Ward - said that every time the new school year begins, the locality gives Nguyen Huu Tho scholarships to students in difficult circumstances, including Ms. Hoang's children.
According to Ms. Loan, although life is still very poor, Ms. Hoang and her husband still always strive to work to shoulder the burden of education for their children. The local government also promptly accompanied and shared a part of the burden with the family.
We have supported Ms. Hoang's family for about 8 years now, every year the children receive scholarships to have conditions to continue going to school" - Ms. Loan shared.
Representatives of the neighborhood added that Ms. Hoang used to work as a helper at a restaurant but had to quit due to illness, and later found a job as a cleaner. There were times when the family was exhausted and did not have enough money to pay for rent, the ward promptly supported necessities and cash to encourage them. In response to the efforts of her parents and the concern from the community, Ms. Hoang's children are all very obedient and studious. Although initially they could not study in semi-boarding, now that their parents have a more stable job, the children have been registered to study in semi-boarding at the school.
