The teacher is like a kind mother.

In the morning, the scenery in Nam Tra My is incredibly peaceful. Looking out into the distant valley, white smoke lingers over the fields. The story that teacher Tra Thi Thu told helped me understand more about the willpower and determination of teachers who tirelessly "stay in remote villages and sow the seeds of knowledge" in this isolated highland region...

In 2014, Tra Thi Thu graduated from teacher training college and started working at Tra Tap Ethnic Boarding Primary School. She was assigned to the Tu Gia branch school, then transferred to the Rang Di, Mo Roi, and now the Tak Po branch school.

Teacher Tra Thi Thu and her students on the first day of the new school year. Photo provided by the subject.

On the day she left her hometown of Thang Binh (Quang Nam) to go to Tak Po school, part of Tra Tap Ethnic Boarding Primary School, Tra Tap commune, Nam Tra My district, Quang Nam province (now Chu Van An Ethnic Boarding Primary School, Tra Tap commune, Da Nang city), Thu was just 20 years old. Back then, the locals often called this school "the gateway to heaven" because of its location on a steep mountaintop, without electricity or phone signal, and shrouded in thick fog. During the dry season, it was still possible to reach the school by motorbike, but in the rainy season, the road was extremely difficult; teachers and students had to climb the steep slopes for about 3-4 hours, exhausting themselves before arriving.

“Back then, the Tắk Pổ school was a makeshift classroom built on the ground with a thatched roof. The dry season was scorching hot, the rainy season was bone-chillingly cold. The most challenging times were the stormy days, when the roads were muddy, and the raging floodwaters isolated the villages. Students couldn't come to class, and I could only sit there, heartbroken, watching the rain fall… At times like that, I felt very discouraged. But day after day, the innocent, pure faces and the children's sounds of spelling out words in the highlands, along with the support of the villagers, kept me going…,” shared teacher Trà Thị Thu.

Due to the difficult family circumstances of many parents, numerous students stay at the boarding school, making Ms. Tra Thi Thu's class quite special. Almost the entire day is spent together. In the morning, she teaches the main curriculum and introduces new lessons. In the early afternoon, she reviews previous lessons, provides extra tutoring, and supports weaker students. In the late afternoon, she and her students go to the forest together to gather bamboo shoots and vegetables, or to the stream to catch crabs and snails to prepare for dinner. In the evening, they huddle together to prepare learning materials, cut and paste models, and learn to sing...

Thu confided: “Up here, we are not just teachers, but also mothers and older sisters to our students. The teachers are far from their families, the students are far from home, so we rely on, support, and love each other, cherishing every word. The beginning was difficult and challenging, sometimes we felt discouraged, but the desire to bring literacy and knowledge to poor children in the highlands kept us going…”

At the Tắk Pổ school, teacher Trà Thị Thu and her colleagues care for 10 children aged 3 to 7, who live two hours' walk from the school. Due to difficult family circumstances and the long distance from home, the children stay at the school all week. Every day, the teachers care for the students, from their sleep to their studies. Many nights, the children cry because they miss home and refuse to sleep. At such times, the teachers lovingly hug them to help them fall asleep... Caring for 10 children for the entire school year, like their own siblings or children, is truly challenging for young teachers like Thu and her colleagues who live far from home.

Teacher Tra Thi Thu and her students on the first day of the new school year. Photo provided by the subject.

Contributing to helping our compatriots escape poverty.

Day after day, interacting with parents and students in the mountainous region, teacher Tra Thi Thu saw that the lives of the people were still full of difficulties, their living conditions were precarious, and their income was unstable. From this realization, Thu felt she had to do something to help the people rise out of poverty and build a better life.

Starting in 2015, Tra Thi Thu joined the "Connecting with Love" Club initiated by teacher Nguyen Tran Vy. From then on, she began her volunteer journey with the desire to contribute to changing the lives of poor students in the mountainous areas of Da Nang.

Teacher Tra Thi Thu leads her first-grade students into the new school year. (Photo provided by the subject)

From 2015 to 2022, Tra Thi Thu, together with the "Connecting with Love" Club, appealed to benefactors to support the construction of two rural bridges in Tra Nam commune worth 400 million VND; built nine schools in the former Tra Tap commune worth over 1 billion VND, and 50 houses of compassion worth over 2 billion VND. Tra Thi Thu also spearheaded and organized the monthly "Loving Milk" program for hundreds of students, worth nearly 500 million VND, and provided thousands of nutritious meals for students in mountainous areas each school year, worth approximately 400 million VND...

Not only does she care about her students, but teacher Tra Thi Thu also empathizes with and shares with families in difficult circumstances. She initiated and mobilized benefactors to build 50 toilets (total value nearly 200 million VND) for the people of Tu Nuong and Rang Chuoi villages in the former Tra Tap commune; connected with philanthropists to support the construction of a concrete road into Tu Nuong village worth over 200 million VND; and purchased hundreds of gifts and organized a Mid-Autumn Festival program for students in the commune.

Over the years, teacher Tra Thi Thu has mobilized and distributed more than 7,000 gifts to students and local people. She has also mobilized benefactors to support nearly 3 billion VND in purchasing teaching equipment such as desks, chairs, televisions, toys, computers, and printers for students and teachers. From 2023 to the present, she has actively campaigned for and implemented many charitable projects with a wide-ranging impact, such as: the "Going to School in the Mountains" program, helping orphaned students, worth over 300 million VND; the "Daily Nutritious Meals" program, helping 40 students at Lang Luong school, worth 100 million VND; and connecting with philanthropists, agencies, and businesses to support nearly 3,000 sets of uniforms, warm jackets, and raincoats for students in mountainous areas, worth nearly 300 million VND...

When asked, "What motivates you to overcome difficulties and persevere in this remote mountainous region?", Thu softly replied, "Following President Ho Chi Minh's example of compassion and love for the people, I hope to contribute my small efforts so that the people and students in this highland region can have a better and more prosperous future..."

Teacher Tra Thi Thu and her students on the closing day of the school year. Photo provided by the subject.

I love my students so much, I can't bear to leave them...

I asked Thu, "You had the opportunity to move to the lowlands to teach, but what made you decide to stay in this difficult mountainous region for the past 12 years?" She replied, "Although the students in this mountainous region still face many difficulties in their material lives, they are very affectionate, always respecting and loving their teachers. Therefore, I can't bear to leave this place..."

Teacher Tra Thi Thu's compassion, tolerance, love, and sense of responsibility towards children in the mountainous regions have a powerful ripple effect in the community.

Comrade Bui Quang Huy, Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, once stated: "The image of teacher Tra Thi Thu working at the Tak Po school in the remote village is one of many beautiful examples of the dedication, pioneering spirit, and responsibility of young people. We need to acknowledge and cherish that contribution. I hope that not only the Youth Union but also the agencies and organizations of the education sector and the local Party committees and authorities will always create conditions for young teachers to assert themselves and dedicate themselves, so that they can better develop their abilities in areas still facing many difficulties."

Speaking about her teacher, Ms. Tra Thi Thu, Ho Thi Minh Phuc, a student in class 1/2 at Chu Van An Ethnic Boarding Primary School, innocently said: “We all love our teacher, Ms. Thu. She taught us how to read, gave us beautiful clothes and delicious cakes. We love her very much!”...

Teacher Tra Thi Thu.

Dedicated to the cause of nurturing young minds in remote mountainous areas, over the years, teacher Tra Thi Thu has been honored with a commendation from the Prime Minister for outstanding achievements in studying and following the ideology, ethics, and style of Ho Chi Minh in 2023; a commendation from the Minister of Education and Training for outstanding achievements in the patriotic emulation movement of the education sector in the period 2016-2020; and a commendation from the Central Committee of the Vietnam Youth Union for outstanding achievements in the career of fostering and educating the younger generation.

She is one of 10 individuals honored with the 2023 National Volunteer Award by the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the Central Committee of the Vietnam Youth Union. For many years, Tra Thi Thu has achieved the title of Outstanding Emulation Soldier at the grassroots level and Party member who has excellently fulfilled her duties...

The afternoon in the mountainous region of Nam Tra My was strangely endearing. The sounds of voices, lullabies, and children's chanting, a blend of Kinh and Co Tu dialects, resonated deeply, reflecting the heartfelt sentiments of the people in this land. At the moment of parting, I will always remember the words of teacher Tra Thi Thu: “In the eyes of my students, I want to be the one who ignites their dreams. In the hearts of the people here, I hope to be the one who sows hope.”

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/phong-su-dieu-tra/cuoc-thi-nhung-tam-guong-binh-di-ma-cao-quy-lan-thu-17/12-nam-gieo-chu-va-lan-toa-yeu-thuong-1042087