Ten thousand VND is a very small amount of money, just enough for a cup of iced tea, a loaf of bread or a parking trip in many localities.
But perhaps few people think that the small bills that the mother silently gave to her child for many years contribute to creating a life-saving mission in the open sea.
It is that we are mentioning the story of a 12th grade male student rushing into the rough seas to rescue a baby girl who was swept away from the shore for dozens of meters, which has moved many people these days.
Student Le Duc Trung is very brave.
That's absolutely true.
But if we only look at the story from the perspective of courage, perhaps it is still not enough. Because behind that moment of life and death is a very long preparation journey with afternoons going to the swimming pool and repetitive training hours. It is the rescue skills learned from teachers and also the care of a mother who understands that her child is living in a land with many rivers and seas.
If he doesn't know how to swim, it's very difficult for Trung to rush out to sea. If he doesn't have rescue skills, it's very difficult for him to stay calm amidst big waves. And if he only has kindness but lacks knowledge, the rescuer can completely become the next victim.
In fact, there have been many heartbreaking stories like that. Some adults rushed down to save children and were also swept away by the water. Some students saw their friends in trouble and jumped after them, and both could not return.
The most precious thing that Trung's story left behind, in addition to the image of a brave young person saving people, is also a reminder of the value of equipping children with life skills.
In Vietnam, drowning is still one of the leading causes of death for children. According to statistics from the health sector, on average, nearly 2,000 children die from drowning each year in our country.
It is a pity that many of those accidents can be completely prevented.
In reality, parents pay a lot of attention to cultural education. We are willing to invest in our children learning foreign languages, extra classes, and aptitude classes, but sometimes we do not pay due attention to basic survival skills such as swimming, escape, or first aid.
A child who knows how to swim not only has more opportunities to protect themselves. He also knows how to react when encountering dangerous situations, knows where the safety limit is and knows how to seek support at the right time.
Looking back at the story of saving people by his student Le Duc Trung in Quang Tri, it can be seen that the ten thousand VND bills of the past have brought a much greater value than the money that his mother spent.
Ten thousand VND bills not only helped a boy learn to swim, but also helped a life be saved.
