Father and son live together in the village.

Ms. My is the biological daughter of Mr. Tuan. Father and daughter both teach at the Nuoc Nia school (Tra Bui commune, Tra Bong district, Quang Ngai province ). Day after day, they teach, care for, and encourage each other to overcome difficulties in order to bring literacy to the Kor ethnic minority children in this remote, cold land at the foot of Ca Dam mountain.

The father and son went into the kitchen together.

The Nuoc Nia school is located on a tiny hill, nestled deep in the forest. Everything here is divided in two. The front part teaches elementary school students, while the back part teaches preschool children. There are two classrooms in the front; the daughter teaches on the right, and the father on the left. In the two classrooms, the blackboards are also divided in two; the daughter uses one for grades 1 and 2 (a total of 17 students), while the father uses two for grades 3 and 4 (a total of 13 students).

The lonely school in Nuoc Nia

We traversed the mountain pass, covered in vast stretches of white reeds, and arrived at Nuoc Nia school near noon. Yet, the mist hadn't completely dissipated, the air was still chilly, and water still dripped from the leaves and blades of grass. We were greeted by the innocent, bright eyes of the students and the gentle smile of Teacher Tuan.

Ms. Ý Mỹ holds the hand of a first-grade student and teaches them to write.

Ms. My recounted that in 2020, she came to teach at the Nuoc Nia school. When she first arrived, she was constantly worried at night, especially during the rainy season. Back then, there was no place to sleep, so parents would place a wooden board and blankets in a corner of the preschool classroom for the teacher to lie on. Many nights, the jungle rain would pour down on the corrugated iron roof, and Ms. My would huddle in a corner waiting for dawn. "The scariest thing was when I needed to go outside; leeches were everywhere," Ms. My said.

As for Mr. Tuan, for the past few years, he has had to use broken student desks, pieced together and placed planks on top to make a bed. His sleeping area is located in the corner of his teaching room. "Many days, when it rains too much and the roof leaks everywhere, I have to go to the newly built classroom to sleep. In the morning, I wake up early to rearrange the desks and chairs so the students can come to class," Mr. Tuan said.

We got used to it over time. I also felt sorry for the students and the people here, who were disadvantaged in many ways but treated the teachers with genuine sincerity. From young to old in the village, everyone yearned for literacy. The hardships of Teacher Tuan and his son continued day by day.

Teacher Nguyen Thanh Tuan teaches students how to write.

Teacher Tuan recounted that parents in this area care about their children but are too poor. At the beginning of the school year, parents don't have money to buy books and stationery, so he uses his own money to buy enough for the students. When the government reimburses the parents for policy expenses, they return the money to him. However, that's just one of many difficulties. Even in Teacher Tuan's class, there's Ho Minh Thai, a student born deaf and mute, who was also admitted to the school.

Students' meals at the school

Students at Nuoc Nia school

Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Huong, Head of the Education and Training Department of Tra Bong District, said that there are still many difficulties at remote schools like Nuoc Nia that local resources cannot fully address. Therefore, the education sector of Tra Bong District is hoping for external investment support to build infrastructure and purchase teaching equipment for schools facing difficulties.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/cha-con-cung-cam-ban-185231212205213186.htm