Coming from a professional artistic path, Ms. Phan Thi Phuc (85 years old, in Lang ward, Hanoi) used to be a drama actress and in charge of managing the Children's Drama Troupe of the Youth Theater. When switching to teaching, she had the opportunity to go to many facilities, schools, and units; meeting many children, especially those in disadvantaged circumstances.
During those trips, Ms. Phuc realized that there were many disabled children who loved arts but lacked a living environment and necessary care. Love and concern about a place that could help disabled children motivated that woman to establish a special class named Hanoi Children's Art Club (CLB) in 1995.
Ms. Phan Thi Phuc shared that in the early days of operation, the club encountered many difficulties, the most difficult of which was the meeting location. "When there was no location, we practiced in the lobby of the Youth Theater, sometimes in the yard of Trung Tu Elementary School. At times, the club was interrupted due to the loss of the practice location. Since 2016, thanks to the concern and support of Lang ward and the residential area party cell, the club has been moved to the X1 community meeting house and maintained every Sunday morning until now," Ms. Phuc said.
As a teacher for special children, each of whom has a different personality and circumstances, for Ms. Phuc, teaching art effectively to children is something that makes her worry a lot. "I alone cannot do it, but I also need other companions who love charity work to participate in teaching musical instruments and culture...", she said.
With patience and understanding, she and the club members have learned and found a way to communicate appropriately with each person, helping them get acquainted with the collective and find joy through art.
To make the children confident in practicing dancing and singing is the result of a long journey that Ms. Phuc and her colleagues always try and persevere. Ms. Phuc personally researches and develops lesson plans for each child. "The children who come to my class have their own differences, they are limited in language, and others do not have the ability to remember and communicate... so I have to find ways to teach and convey so that they understand and remember," Ms. Phuc shared.
Attached and loving the children like a shadow, Ms. Phuc participates in activities, plays and listens to understand each circumstance, and at the same time accumulates more experience in caring for and educating children with disabilities. From that dedication, she is called by the students with a simple but affectionate name: "Mother Phuc".
For more than 30 years, besides teaching arts, Ms. Phuc has also combined vocational training such as sewing, painting, taking photos, crocheting... for children at the club with the desire to help them not only integrate and love life more but also hope that they can be self-reliant, earn a living, and become useful citizens for society. Ms. Phuc happily said: "From this club, some children have grown up and have families, have stable jobs to cover their own lives.
As one of the long-term students and currently Deputy Head of the Club, Ms. Nguyen Minh Hong (41 years old, Hai Ba Trung ward, Hanoi) recounted that she came to Ms. Phuc's Club in 1997. From the early shy days of getting acquainted, she felt Ms. Phuc's care and teaching not only in study but also in her way of speaking and behaving in life.
For Ms. Hong, Ms. Phuc is not only a teacher but also a spiritual support, a second mother in the journey of maturity. "The things Ms. Phuc taught not only helped me change myself but also followed me throughout my life," Ms. Hong shared.
