13-year journey with the son who writes with his feet

There are mothers who can do everything from selling lottery tickets to washing dishes to earn money to support their children's dream of going to school.

Early winter morning, on the winding village road in the countryside of Duc Phu commune (now Mo Duc commune, Quang Ngai ), Mrs. Do Thi Be, with her small figure, carried her son Nguyen Tan Sang, the disabled boy who "wrote with his feet" years ago, to school. Nguyen Tan Sang is now a second-year student at Pham Van Dong University (Quang Ngai).

Sang's 13-year journey to knowledge was paid for with tears and the love of his poor mother.

MOTHER'S TEARS

Nguyen Tan Sang was born with a physical disability, his hands were so weak that he could not even hold a pen. From the very first years of his life, he could only watch his friends play, carrying their school bags as they happily went to class.

Mrs. Do Thi Be never let her child go to school alone. Every morning she took her child to the lecture hall.

"Back then, every time he saw the kids going to school, he would cry. The teachers told him that with his disability, he wouldn't be able to study. It hurt me so much!", Mrs. Be said.

But the disabled boy refused to give up. Every day, he would stalk to the school gate, sit under a tree and watch his classmates. One day, after being scolded by the security guard, Sang hurried back, fell and got scratches all over his body. But the next day, he still went back just to hear the teacher's voice lecturing...

When Sang was 15, thanks to teacher Thuy at Quang Ngai Province School for the Disabled, Sang was officially allowed to go to class. At that time, his legs were still very stiff, so the teacher held his legs to practice writing. Each word he wrote was worth the sweat that soaked his shirt.

Now, looking at the neat lines in the notebook, no one would think that it was the handwriting of a person without hands. Sang held the pen between his toes, carefully writing each stroke. For him, each letter was a dream of living like a normal person. Sang's study table was also different: it was both a table and a chair, specially made by his parents in first grade. On the first day of school, Mrs. Bé even bought him a mat to sit on. Feeling sorry for him, the teacher mobilized the whole class to help Sang have a proper place to study.

At school, Sang was quiet and still had a lisp, but his smile and clear eyes warmed everyone's hearts. "He was very diligent, writing slowly but neatly. On the biology test, Sang got an 8, and the whole class clapped loudly," Ms. Tran Thi Kim Oanh, Sang's homeroom teacher when he was in elementary school, said proudly about Sang.

Sang’s youngest sister also asked to transfer to the same class to help him. Every day, the two siblings rode their old bicycles to school, carrying with them a simple dream: to study, to write, to live.

Sang can type on the keyboard with his feet as fast as a normal person using his hands.

Photo: Pham Anh

In the small house in Phuoc Loc village (Mo Duc commune), Mrs. Be still remembers clearly the first days of teaching her son to hold a pen. "I held his hand to teach him to write, but his hand was stiff and unable to move. Seeing him try but fail, I felt as if someone was squeezing my heart," she choked up. She never gave up. After holding his hand, she switched to teaching him to use his feet. Day after day, Sang diligently held a piece of chalk to his foot to practice writing on the blackboard. Drops of sweat fell onto the table, mingling with his mother's tears.

One time, she gave her son a piece of cake and said, "You eat it yourself. When I'm gone, who will make it for you?" Sang bowed his head, his voice choked up: "Mom, I'm sorry, I can't do it..." Mother and son could only hug each other and cry. From those tears, a miracle sprouted. Sang began to write. The first strokes were shaky and distorted, but for Mrs. Bé, it was the most beautiful moment of her life. "When he was able to write, I was happier than if I had won gold," she smiled, but tears rolled down her thin cheeks.

WITH YOU THROUGHOUT THE JOURNEY

Mrs. Be's family is poor in every way. Her husband, Mr. Nguyen Tan Trai, works as a hired hand in a faraway province all year round. She stays home, peeling acacia bark for hire, raising three children to go to school. At night, she stays close to her son, watching him do his homework while holding a pen with his foot, with a secret worry. "I'm worried that when I'm weak, who will take him to school, who will take care of him... But anyway, I'll try my best every day," she said.

Nguyen Tan Sang, a second-year student majoring in information technology, uses his magical feet to type on the keyboard.

PHOTO: PHAM ANH

In the following years, Sang passed each class and each exam. The boy who wrote with his feet is now a 28-year-old man, a second-year student in information technology. In the university lecture hall, Sang still uses his magical feet to type on the keyboard. When he first entered the lecture hall, all his classmates were curious and stared at Sang typing on the keyboard with their feet as fast as the wind. But Sang was used to those looks so he just smiled.

For more than a year now, Duc Phu residents have become accustomed to the image of a small woman carrying her son on an old motorbike early in the morning, traveling 30 kilometers to the Quang Ngai administrative center to study.

Mrs. Bé never let her child go to school alone. In the early days, afraid that Sang would fall, she tied a rope around their waists so that he wouldn't fall off the bike. Regardless of the scorching sun or storms, the journey was still regular. Sometimes, they left at dawn and didn't return home until dark. "The teachers told me to stay in the dormitory to save time, but I have to go back to work in the fields, raise chickens, and earn money for the children's education," Mrs. Bé said.

Not to mention, every time Sang goes to class, when the fields are free, Mrs. Bé takes the opportunity to ask to wash dishes, clean houses, and do other jobs to earn money to buy books for her children. The 51-year-old woman is petite, has a tanned face, but her eyes shine with confidence. "I am poor, but I am happy because my children study hard. I can endure any hardship," Mrs. Bé smiles gently.

Under the porch, the cactus pots were blooming brightly, Sang's favorite plant. "Cactus is thorny, but it still blooms. I see it as my life."

Photo: Pham Anh

MOTHER AND SON WITH THE SAME DESIRE

According to Mr. Pham Van Trung, Head of the Information Technology Department of Pham Van Dong University, Nguyen Tan Sang is a student with a rare strong will, never skipping any class, always trying as if he were racing against his own fate.

Those comments were a great encouragement to both mother and son. Sang said: "The happiest thing in my life is to study, to touch the computer, to live my dream. Mom is the most wonderful person, because of her I have today". Once, seeing his mother working until exhausted, Sang said softly: "Mom, why don't I skip school today so you can skip school too". Mrs. Be shook her head: "No, you have to study. Study so that you can take care of yourself later, when Mom is no longer around". Sang never forgot those words.

Remembering the late autumn afternoon in Phuoc Loc village, next to the small house, Mrs. Be was busy doing housework in the yard, while Sang was busy helping his mother with small tasks. Under the porch, the cactus pots were blooming brilliantly, the plant that Sang loved the most. "Cacti are thorny, but they still bloom. I think it's like my life," Sang laughed.

Sang said: "The happiest thing in my life is being able to study, to touch the computer, to live my dream. My mother is the most wonderful person, because of her I have today."

Photo: Pham Anh

In the house, birds were chirping. Sang said he liked to raise birds so that every morning he could hear their chirping and life would be more joyful. The boy who used to learn to write in tears has now grown up, but he still retains his gentle, innocent features.

The story of Nguyen Tan Sang and his mother is like a gentle melody about determination, love and never-ending faith. From his small feet, Sang has written an extraordinary journey. Behind that miracle is the figure of a hard-working mother, silently enduring all hardships.

In the small house in the middle of Quang Ngai countryside, the sound of feet typing on the keyboard still resounds. Outside, the cactus pots are still blooming, and in the mother’s heart, the belief in a brighter tomorrow for her son has never faded.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hanh-trinh-13-nam-ben-nguoi-con-viet-chu-bang-chan-18525101320203939.htm