Journey to find words

For the people of Chau Hanh commune (Quy Chau district), the image of a slim boy who, over the past 10 years, has carried his friend on his back to school, regardless of the sun or rain, has become very familiar. He is Vi Tuan Khanh (born in 2006, a student of class 12C3, Quy Chau High School, Nghe An ).

Vi Tuan Khanh was born into a poor Thai ethnic family in Dinh Tien village (Chau Hanh commune, Quy Chau district). Not as lucky as Khanh, his friend in the same village and the same age, Vi Nhat Canh, was tormented by cerebral palsy since childhood, causing Canh's limbs to be cramped, making it extremely difficult for him to walk.

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Image of Vi Tuan Khanh carrying his friend to school every day. Photo: Viet Hoa

“When he was in kindergarten and first grade, Canh was taken to school by his parents, but when he was in second grade, his illness got worse and his father left, so his family decided to let him quit school.

On the way to school, I passed Canh’s house and saw him crawling out the door and saying he wanted to go to school. When I got home, I told my parents that I would carry him to school and they agreed. My father is also illiterate so life is very difficult. From that thought, I thought about my friend, if Canh couldn’t go to school, he would have no future,” Khanh shared.

According to Ms. Vi Thi Hoa (Canh's mother): "I was sick, when Canh entered first grade, my husband also left, causing many difficulties for the family, and it was interrupted to send my son to school. My son is now 7 years old, if he did not continue to go to school, it would be a pity. Luckily, Khanh came to my house at that time to encourage him and promised to take him to school."

Since that day, the image of the skinny boy carrying his friend to school every day, regardless of the sun or rain, has moved many people.

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Every time he comes home, Khanh is diligent and helps his parents with housework. Photo: Viet Hoa

“The primary school is about 2km from home. The dirt road was very difficult to travel on at that time. Sometimes I carried my friends on my back and fell down in the middle of the road. When we were too tired, we sat down to rest for a bit before continuing,” Khanh shared.

Just like that, throughout primary school, Khanh regularly carried his friend to school every day. When they were in secondary school, his uncle, out of pity for the couple, bought Khanh a bicycle so that he could conveniently take his friend to school.

“Every day, Khanh regularly comes to my house and carries me to the gate to get on his bike. When I go to school, he carries me to class and back home the same way. I love him very much, but because I am disabled, I have no other choice,” Canh said emotionally.

Continue to accompany each other if going to university together

In high school, the school was more than 5km away from their homes. The distance to school was longer, the bicycle was no longer suitable for Khanh and Canh to go to school, out of pity for their child, Khanh's parents had to sell their cow to buy a motorbike (a motorbike under 50cc for school age - PV), so that their child could continue to take his friends to school.

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Ms. Vi Thi Sau (Khanh's mother) is always proud of her son who does his best to help his friends.

Just like in middle school, Khanh would pick up his friend early, carry him to the car, and then carry him to the classroom at the school gate. Their journey continued like that, each day like many days.

Ms. Vi Thi Sau (born in 1986, Khanh's mother) said that seeing her children riding bicycles every day made her feel very sorry. Because school was further away from home, the family had to sell the cow - the biggest asset in the house - to buy motorbikes for the children to travel more easily.

"Although Khanh and Canh's families still face many difficulties, they have always accompanied and helped each other in studying and improving in life. In grades 10 and 11, Khanh was a good student, and in grade 12, he was an excellent student.

Tuan Khanh is a shining example for young people to learn from and follow," the homeroom teacher of class 12C3, Ms. Cam Thi Hoa, proudly said.

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The friendship of Vi Tuan Khanh and Vi Nhat Canh makes many people admire. (Photo. QC)

Mr. Cao Thanh Luu, Principal of Quy Chau High School, added that due to special circumstances, Vi Nhat Canh was given special consideration and was exempted from the 2024 high school graduation exam. This year, Canh registered for university admission in Information Technology - Nghe An University of Economics ; while Khanh registered for Geography Pedagogy - Vinh University.

“We don’t know what the results will be, but if we pass, we will continue to accompany each other on our new journey. We hope that no matter where you are or what you do in the future, our friendship will always be as close and intimate as it was yesterday,” Khanh and Canh happily shared.