.JPG) |
| "Father" Vang Van Vinh picks up his two children from school and brings them back to his unit. |
While waiting to welcome his two adopted sons, Lu Van Hung and Lu Seo Lu, Lieutenant Vinh confided: "When I received the assignment, I immediately called home to tell my wife that I had two more children joining the unit. My wife encouraged me to do my best to complete the mission and reminded me to take care of my two adopted sons… I only have a two-year-old son, so initially, approaching Hung and Lu was quite awkward, because I'm young and haven't experienced what it's like to be a father with grown children… But luckily, both Hung and Lu have been at the Border Guard Post for a long time, and Lieutenant Giang Nha has trained them to be disciplined."
The two brothers, Lu Van Hung (a 9th-grade student) and Lu Seo Lu (a 7th-grade student), have been raised at the Si Ma Cai Border Guard Post since 2016. Their father died when Hung was only 2 years old and Lu was just over a month old. Their mother remarried, but due to difficult circumstances and insufficient funds to raise the two children, she had to take Hung and Lu to live with their grandmother in Lu Di San village, San Chai commune. According to their grandmother, Hung's father was very close to the border guards, and the name Lu Van Hung was given to them by the border guards. Their grandmother is 80 years old and no longer has the strength to work to raise Hung and Lu as they grow older. Because of their difficult circumstances, feeling sorry for their grandmother's hard work, and their family being so poor, Hung and Lu intended to drop out of school… During their work in the area, the soldiers of the Si Ma Cai Border Guard Post, specifically Comrade Ly Seo Toa and the community mobilization team, learned about the two children's situation and proposed to their commander to take them in and care for them at the post so that they could continue their education…
After Comrade Ly Seo Toa was transferred to become the Party Secretary of San Chai commune, Lieutenant Giang Nha, 27 years old, was assigned the task of directly caring for Hung and Lu, replacing Comrade Toa. In the beginning, Giang Nha was very bewildered and couldn't imagine how to take care of the two children. But by chance, Giang Nha was also a Hmong person, so approaching and talking to the two children was easier and more intimate. Because of the small age difference, to make it easier to address them, Giang Nha proactively considered the two children his younger brothers and referred to himself as their older brother. At that time, the cold season was beginning, so one day Nha suggested: "Today, I'll take you two to buy blankets!" The two boys excitedly went to choose blankets, but when they learned that Nha was paying for them out of his own pocket, both Hung and Lu chose a cheaper blanket.
.JPG) |
| "Father" Vang Van Vinh helps his two adopted children with their homework. |
On occasions when she took the two boys to visit their grandmother, Giang Nha took the opportunity to talk to them. Over time, the relationship between Giang Nha and Hung and Lu's family became like that of family members. The two boys were in a crucial stage of psychological and emotional development, making them difficult to understand. Their feelings of inferiority and self-doubt made them shy and hesitant to share. Giang Nha had to create an open and friendly atmosphere, but also be very strict to guide them. Giang Nha recounted: "One day, I saw Hung using a phone. When I asked him, he said his mother bought it for him so they could easily communicate. I explained and insisted that Hung only use it on weekends and put it away during school hours." As for Lu, one day Giang Nha made him memorize a math formula. Lu studied and studied, but still couldn't remember it. Giang Nha remained strict: "You can only go to sleep when you've memorized it."
Raising teenagers is no easy task for parents, and it's even more difficult for someone like Giàng Nhà who has no experience raising children. Therefore, Giàng Nhà simply believes that because she loves and cares for them, she must teach them to study, live disciplined lives, and strive for success in life. Giàng Nhà once told Hùng and Lử: "You don't need to achieve high grades, but you must try hard in your studies, be obedient to your teachers, and listen to the uncles, aunts, and older brothers at the police station."
After nearly two years of working together, Giàng Nhà was transferred to the Pha Long Border Guard Post due to work requirements. Before the transfer, he had a long conversation with Hùng and Lử. On the last day before parting ways, Nhà woke up early to take the two children out for pho, then dropped them off at school. Although he was far away from them, Nhà still frequently called and talked to them, and felt very reassured knowing that "Dad Vinh" was taking care of Hùng and Lử in his place…
Returning to the story of "Dad" Vinh, his daily routine became busier due to his work schedule and the need to take Hung and Lu to school. Every morning, after Hung and Lu woke up to the unit's bell, did their exercises, and finished their personal hygiene, "Dad" Vinh would check their books and notebooks one more time before taking them to school. In the afternoon, he would pick them up, guide them in physical exercise and sports , participate with the soldiers in the unit's agricultural production, and help them with personal hygiene. After dinner, he would let them watch the news for about 30 minutes, then the three of them would sit down together to study.
The room, about 10 square meters, was always neat and tidy, brightly lit every evening, and filled with the sounds of "Dad" Vinh's guidance during homework. Lieutenant Vinh confided: "This morning, while taking Lử to school, he said, 'I miss Mom so much.' Hearing that, my heart sank as I understood the boy's longing and yearning for his mother. Although life at the unit wasn't lacking in material things, and even compared to many of his peers in the village, Hùng and Lử received much more special care, the absence of a father's and mother's love is still difficult to compensate for… I told Lử, 'Try your best to study well, and Dad will take you to visit your grandmother and Mom this weekend.'"
The four-kilometer journey from the border guard post to the school where Hung and Lu are studying is a daily routine, rain or shine, cold or shine, that "father" Vinh and the other officers in the unit take turns escorting the two children to and from school.
Unlike the cases of Hung and Lu, the situation with the two brothers Ma Seo Xuyen and Ma Seo Khoa required skillful community outreach by Comrade Giang A Tru, then the team leader of the community mobilization team, to get them taken to the Ta Gia Khau Border Guard Post for care. Seeing the family's extremely difficult circumstances, when he proposed taking the two children to the border guard post, Xuyen and Khoa's mother refused. Comrade Giang A Tru then had to pretend to be the younger brother of Ms. Giang Thi Dua, acting as their uncle. Coincidentally and fortunately, Giang A Tru was from the same hometown of Sin Cheng (Si Ma Cai) and shared the same surname as Ms. Dua, so after some time getting to know each other, Ms. Dua agreed to let her "uncle" take the two children to the border guard post for care.
Captain Giàng A Trú, 32 years old, currently the Deputy Political Officer of Pha Long Border Guard Post, recounted: "When I was working at Tả Gia Khâu, I was assigned to directly raise and care for the two children, and I was very happy and proud. Initially, when they first arrived at the unit, the children were very quiet and shy, so I had to tutor them in the Hmong language, and also act as an interpreter for the soldiers at the post to communicate with them. Gradually, they came to see me as an uncle in the family. I remember one day Ma Seo Khoa had a high fever, and I had to stay up all night with the post's medical staff to take care of him. When I told my son, who is about the same age as Xuyên and Khoa, about the same age, he even 'sulked' because his father cared more about the two younger children than him… From November 2018, I transferred to Pha Long, and although it's only 5 kilometers from my old unit, the distance made the farewell a bittersweet experience." That's why whenever I have the opportunity to work in Ta Gia Khau, I always make time to visit the two children. In the evenings, when they want to call their uncle, they ask the officers at the station to make the call, and then we chat. During those times, I always encourage the two children to study hard and not let down their uncle and the officers at the station…
To date, 20 children have been brought to 11 border guard posts along the Lao Cai border to be cared for and nurtured by their military "foster fathers," who continue to support them in their education and help them pursue their dreams.
Source: http://laocai.edu.vn/tin-tu-co-so/2365c73e9f12af8917f9c8fedb592585-378561
