Coast Guard sponsors poor students

The Command of Coast Guard Region 4 sponsors and provides financial support to poor students in An Son island commune (Kien Hai district, Kien Giang province) to help them have better conditions to attend school - Photo: VAN MAN

Located more than 100km by sea from Rach Gia City, An Son island commune (Kien Hai district, Kien Giang province) is nestled in the middle of the vast ocean.

The locals here make a living year-round by fishing, selling lottery tickets, and working as motorbike taxi drivers, with unstable incomes. Some households also run small businesses serving tourists who come to visit.

Selling lottery tickets to pay for my grandchild's schooling.

Many families are facing difficulties, and their children are at risk of dropping out of school. Among them is Ly Thi Cam Thu, a 9th-grade student at An Son Secondary School (An Son commune).

Ms. Tran Thi Bang (Cam Thu's grandmother) said that the family's circumstances are very difficult, mainly relying on the meager earnings from Mr. Ly Quoc Hoa (70 years old, Ms. Bang's husband) selling lottery tickets.

Every day, Mr. Hoa sells about 200 lottery tickets, earning a profit of approximately 190,000 - 200,000 VND per day. His wife carefully calculates this amount, allocating it to food expenses and saving it for their grandchild's tuition fees.

"My husband and I have been raising Cam Thu since she was 3 years old. She's very well-behaved and a good student. Mr. Hoa's health is now failing, with a liver tumor and kidney disease. I recently fell and fractured my knee, so I can't work. Thu understands the situation, so after school she helps me with cooking and cleaning, and when she's free, she helps with babysitting and selling lottery tickets to earn extra money," said Mrs. Bang.

Ms. Bang added that previously, facing hardship and poverty, Cam Thu's parents couldn't bear the situation and left their hometown to find work elsewhere.

Mrs. Hoa and Mr. Hoa struggled to make ends meet at home, and many times they worried and considered having Cam Thu drop out of school because they no longer had the strength to care for her. Knowing the family's difficult situation, the teachers at school encouraged them and tried to find ways to mobilize benefactors to continue supporting Thu so that she could attend school.

We are very happy that the sponsored children are achieving good results in their studies. We will continue to coordinate with the local authorities and call on philanthropists to join hands in supporting more poor students in the island commune. This will ensure that the children are not left behind and can attend school to become useful members of society in the future.

Colonel NGUYEN THAI DUONG (Deputy Political Commissar of the Command of Coast Guard Region 4)

Sponsoring poor students from island communes to attend school.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huynh Tam, vice principal of An Son Secondary School (An Son commune), informed that every year the Command of Coast Guard Region 4 sponsors and supports a number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds who excel academically at the school.

This year, Coast Guard Region 4 is supporting three students: Nguyen Van Tinh (11th grade), Tran Thanh Luom (11th grade), and Ly Thi Cam Thu (9th grade). Each student receives 1 million VND per month from the unit (for the entire 9 months of their schooling).

Philanthropists also provided textbooks and gifts to the children to help them have better conditions for studying. "The children come from different difficult circumstances, but they are all good students and well-behaved. I find this timely sponsorship and support very meaningful and it helps them pursue their dreams," Ms. Tam shared.

Colonel Nguyen Thai Duong, Deputy Political Commissar of the Coast Guard Region 4 Command, said that from 2017 to the present, the unit has implemented many programs and models of civilian outreach work under the theme "Coast Guard accompanies fishermen" in island communes in the Southwest sea region (including sponsoring poor students to attend school).

To date, the Command of Coast Guard Region 4 has sponsored 12 students from island communes to attend school until they complete high school. This work is carried out continuously by the unit in the form of financial support of 1 million VND per student per month (for 9 months of schooling).

"I was so happy I couldn't sleep for several nights."

Out of love for his orphaned grandchild, Mr. Hoa sometimes felt exhausted but dared not rest, and instead tried his best to sell as many lottery tickets as possible. Regardless of the weather, he still went door-to-door, inviting people to buy lottery tickets, because every penny he earned would contribute to his grandchild's hope and faith in going to school.

"Knowing about our poverty and her elderly grandparents, Thu has considered dropping out of school many times. But I know she'd be very sad. At night, I often whisper to her father to try his best, that no matter what, we'll make sure she goes to school so she can have a future. Recently, the coast guard officers have been providing her with 1 million dong a month, and I'm so happy I haven't been able to sleep for several nights," Mrs. Bang added.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/canh-sat-bien-do-dau-hoc-sinh-ngheo-20241017081634142.htm