Bread cabinet helps students go to school
The story of students coming to class with an empty stomach, some taking advantage of the time to go home to check some cold rice, makes the teacher feel uneasy and worried about having to do something for the students.
"There are days when I see students sitting in school but their eyes are lethargic because they are hungry, I feel very sorry. Especially during the crop season, parents go to the fields from early morning until late at night, so they have to take care of their own meals. Therefore, I have thought about how to make sure they have a decent breakfast every day" - Mr. Tung said.
From that concern, he, the Board of Directors and the school's Trade Union have organized many meetings with village elders and village chiefs to discuss ways to mobilize students to attend classes and maintain the number. The "C step to school" movement was launched, calling on donors, teachers and parents to join hands to support poor students.
Thanks to that, at the beginning of each school year, all students of the school are fully equipped with books and school supplies; many children from far away are also given bicycles to make the road to school less crowded.
However, when the new books and the bicycle are available, there is still an empty space that is an empty belly. Mr. Tung realized: "If breakfast cannot be resolved, students can still drop out of class, because it is difficult to study because they are hungry". From there, a simple but meaningful idea was born, which is the model of "Zero-dong bread case".
At the end of 2021, the first bakery was located at the Bi Giong village school. Initially, only about 60 cakes were distributed to students every morning. Thanks to the strong spread of the model and the hearts of philanthropists, up to now, the "Zero-dong Bread closet" has been maintained regularly on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, providing more than 200 meals of bread to students at schools and poor students around the area.
"When they have decided to eat, the children come to class much more enthusiastically and happily. The situation of students dropping out of school is almost gone. That is what makes me happiest" - Mr. Vu Van Tung shared.
Giving livelihood cows and charity houses to poor students
Not stopping at taking care of breakfast, Mr. Tung also continued to expand his kindness with the model of "Supporting livelihoods for poor students". From 2021 to present, he has mobilized to donate dozens of goats and breeding cows with a total value of more than 200 million VND to students in especially difficult circumstances at Dinh Nup School and neighboring schools. Many families have had additional income from breeding livestock, helping to improve their lives and giving them the strength to continue studying.
From the mobilization fund, Mr. Tung also spent a part to build and hand over charity houses to poor students, with a total value of more than 200 million VND. For him, each completed roof not only helps students have a place to shelter from the rain and sun, but is also a "house of hope", helping them to be more steadfast in their learning journey.
I just hope my students have the best conditions to go to school, learn to read and write, practice ethics and later contribute to building their homeland - Mr. Tung confided.
