'Growing Up With You' – A Journey to Nurture Hope in the Border Region

Amidst the majestic mountains of Bao Lam district, Cao Bang province, at Na O school, Thach Lam Kindergarten, the eyes of Mr. Ly Van M. - a poor father with seven children - shone with rare happiness when he told us about his little daughter's words about the school lunch. "There is meat, eggs, vegetables, soup... it's delicious, I'm so full, Dad!" - the innocent story of little Ly Thi D. made Mr. M. choke up.

Meals with meat are no longer a luxury.

Mr. M. is the father of two children, D. and T., students at Na O school, one of the two schools with the most difficult conditions in Thach Lam commune, Bao Lam district, Cao Bang province. Mr. M.'s family lives by growing corn and raising cows, working hard all year round on the barren land. His family has to worry about every meal and every sleep for their children.

But everything has changed since the project “Growing Up with You” of the For Vietnamese Stature Fund came to this place 5 years ago, the lives of the children have gradually changed. Baby D. and his younger brother T. receive warm, nutritious lunches every day right at the school in the highlands.

A full meal opens up hours of safe study, and dreams grow in the children's clear eyes. That joy is also the happiness of fathers like Mr. M. "Now that my children can eat well, eat well, and study to learn, I can rest assured to send them to class," he emotionally shared.

Not only Mr. M.'s family, hundreds of children in this rugged highland are also changing day by day - from gaunt cheeks to rosy ones, from slow steps to bustling steps on the way to school - thanks to the loving lunch boxes from the project "Growing Up with You".

Ms. Ly Thi Vinh - mother of Duong Thi Anh Ngoc, a 3-4 year old student at Na O school, Thach Lam Kindergarten, and also a kitchen staff at the school - always takes care of each meal for her children as if it were her own family: "I cook for my children as if I were cooking for my own relatives, it has to be really clean and really delicious," Ms. Vinh confided.

In Lung Chang hamlet, Thai Son commune, Trang A Q.’s mornings are no longer as busy as before. If before, he had to wake up early every morning to prepare lunch for his children, worrying about the rice spoiling on hot sunny days or freezing cold winter days, now, the smiles of his children have replaced all those worries.

“Since eating at school, my child has come home and praised the delicious food and loves going to class. My family is really grateful and feels secure sending our child to school,” Mr. Q. emotionally shared.

The "Growing Up With You" project of the For Vietnamese Stature Fund has persistently sown those seeds of love since 2020. The project has silently extended its journeys through each dangerous road, to remote schools in the middle of the vast wilderness.

In the 2024-2025 school year, the program continues to expand, bringing the total number of sponsored schools to 6 in Thach Lam and Thai Son communes of Bao Lam district. 235 preschool students have received full sponsorship for boarding meals throughout the year. The total number of sponsored nutritious meals by the end of the school year reached more than 60,000 meals and the total amount of contributions from 226 individual and organizational sponsors was more than 462 million VND.

Children's meals are changed daily, with meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, etc.

Not only stopping at hot meals every day, "Growing up with you" also continuously improves learning conditions for schools in mountainous areas.

In the 2024-2025 school year, at Thai Son Kindergarten, Lung Chang school has built a new spacious kitchen to serve boarding meals for children, equipped with a generator and cooking equipment. Ban La school has added a meat grinder, Khau De school, for the first time, a television has been brought in - helping children in the wilderness to know unfamiliar images such as cars and airplanes. Not only that, Thach Lam Kindergarten also received support from the project by building a new sturdy kitchen for Khau Noong school - where rainy and windy days used to make the old kitchen corner so dilapidated that teachers could not cook a complete meal for the children. These are quiet but solid supports, giving each small dream the strength to fly far.

Improve the quality of education

Following the success of the project "Growing Up with You" in previous years, in the 2024-2025 school year, there will be a new school with students receiving free meals from the For Vietnamese Stature Fund. That is Lung Chang school, belonging to Thai Son Kindergarten, Bao Lam district, Cao Bang province.

Ms. Be Nong Thi Kim Chi happily shared: "Since the Fund's sponsorship, the rate of children going to school has increased significantly. They no longer want to drop out of school, they are happier, healthier, and their learning quality has also improved."

Students at Lung Chang school are excited to go to school every day, where there is Ms. Chi and nutritious meals.

Thai Son Kindergarten has 4 schools sponsored for lunch by the For Vietnamese Stature Fund, which are Sang Xoay, Ban La, Khau De and Lung Chang. In addition, Thach Lam Kindergarten has 2 sponsored schools, Khau Noong and Na O.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Liem, Principal of Thach Lam Kindergarten said: "The children go to school more regularly and are happier. That is not only their joy, but also the happiness of all of us."

Hearts that sow hope

On the journey to light up dreams in the highlands, we cannot help but mention the sponsors - those who silently laid the first bricks, so that children in the border areas have another reason to go to school.

For the past 5 years, Ms. Luu Thi Hai Chau has been regularly accompanying the project “Growing Up with You” by sponsoring one child each year. Having been with the Fund for Vietnamese Stature since the very beginning, Ms. Chau shared that her faith grew with each monthly report and each image of the growth of the child she sponsored.

Ms. Chau and volunteers have fun with the children at Na No school.

On her second return to Cao Bang, she was moved when she heard a little child chattering: "I love going to school because the food at school is better than at home."

“I realized that my small act not only helps the children have a full meal, but also motivates the whole family to continue going to school. Life is still difficult and to change it will require more investment in the education of the younger generation. Therefore, if today's meal can keep the children in class, then that is the first brick to build a brighter future," said Ms. Chau.

Sharing the same concern, Ms. Bui Thi Thu Yen - a volunteer and sponsor who has accompanied the project for the past 4 years - also shared unforgettable emotions. "When I arrived, saw the bright eyes of the children, witnessed them eating meals with enough vegetables and meat, I felt extremely happy. What I remember most about this trip is the image of the children playing, their laughter echoing through the mountains and forests. I hope that there will be more hearts accompanying, so that the journey of helping children go to school never stops."

"Growing Up With You" - a passionate project of the For Vietnamese Stature Fund - not only gives children in the highlands nutritious meals every day. More preciously, the project has been sowing in the children's hearts faith, determination and aspiration to change their lives.

And who knows, from those small schools, one day, strong people will grow up, capable of repainting bright colors for the poor land in the great forest.

PV

Source: https://tienphong.vn/cung-em-khon-lon-hanh-trinh-uom-mam-hy-vong-noi-mien-bien-gioi-post1739519.tpo