An elderly woman in her 70s has been teaching swimming for free for two decades.

For the past two decades, Ms. Tran Thi Kim Thia, born in 1958 in Hung Thanh commune, Thap Muoi district, Dong Thap province, has been teaching swimming for free to children to prevent drowning.

Born and raised by rivers, Ms. Tran Thi Kim Thia (also known as Sau Thia) always understood the anxieties of parents when their children played near the water. Therefore, when Hung Thanh commune (Thap Muoi district, Dong Thap province) launched a project to popularize swimming among children, she readily accepted the responsibility. For her, teaching swimming is not just a job, but a noble mission.

To help children protect themselves from the dangers of water, she hopes that more and more children will learn to swim and become proficient swimmers, so that tragic drowning accidents will no longer occur.

According to her account, in her youth, Mrs. Sau Thia participated in the revolution, contributing to the struggle for national liberation. After the war, her family faced many difficulties, and she had to do all kinds of jobs to make a living, such as working as a construction laborer, planting rice, and weeding.

Ms. Tran Thi Kim Thia (also known as Sau Thia) has spent 20 years teaching swimming for free to children in the Dong Thap region.

"The intricate network of rivers and canals in the Mekong Delta always poses a risk of drowning accidents for children. In fact, there have been many tragic drowning incidents involving children, which have become a haunting memory for many families. To minimize and prevent such incidents and accidents, I am determined to participate in free swimming lessons with the hope of raising awareness and helping children avoid unwanted accidents," said Ms. Sau Thia, explaining her motivation for teaching swimming for free to children.

Initially, teaching swimming was extremely difficult. The training area was just a small, shallow canal. However, with creativity and dedication, Mrs. Sau personally built bamboo stakes and fenced off an area with netting to create a safe training space for the children. Through perseverance, she taught the children basic swimming skills, helping them become more confident whenever they went into the water.

In 2016, a benefactor invested in building an artificial swimming pool at the Hung Thanh Community Cultural and Learning Center, significantly improving the conditions for teaching and learning swimming. However, the key to the class's success remains the love and dedication of Mrs. Sau Thia. She treats each student like her own child, providing attentive guidance and encouragement. As a result, after just a few lessons, the children can swim confidently.

Anh Tuan (Thap Muoi district, Dong Thap province) shared: “Before, I was afraid of water and kept submerging myself. But since Mrs. Sau Thia taught me, I can now swim the whole length of the river! Now I'm no longer afraid of water and I even love swimming.”

Word spread quickly, and many parents enrolled their children in swimming classes taught by Mrs. Sau Thia. Mr. Le Hong Duc from Truong Xuan commune, Thap Muoi district, said that his hometown is in a riverine area with many rivers and canals. He was very worried because his children and grandchildren didn't know how to swim. Despite living far away, he still took advantage of the summer break to bring his children and grandchildren to swimming lessons because he had heard of Mrs. Sau Thia's long-standing reputation for teaching swimming.

For over 20 years, Ms. Sau Thia has been a trusted companion for more than 5,000 children in and outside Hung Thanh commune on their journey to conquer the swimming lanes. What's special is that all these lessons are completely free.

Mr. Doan Van Tuan, Chairman of the People's Committee of Hung Thanh commune, said: "Ms. Sau Thia's participation in promoting swimming and preventing drowning among children has been extremely significant. Thanks to her, the risk of children drowning in the locality has decreased considerably."

When asked about the future of the swimming class, Mrs. Sau Thia couldn't hide her worry. Due to her advanced age and declining health, she hopes to find successors to continue this meaningful work. "Teaching swimming for free must come from the heart, from a love for children. I hope to find people with the same passion to join hands in protecting the children," Mrs. Sau Thia hoped.

After many years of dedication, Ms. Tran Thi Kim Thia has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards. In 2020, she was honored to receive the Third-Class Labor Medal from the President of Vietnam . Prior to that, she was also honored to be a representative of Vietnam included in the list of 100 outstanding women globally in 2017, selected by the British news agency BBC.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/dong-thap-ba-lao-u70-hai-thap-ky-day-boi-mien-phi-373162.html