Excellent student from the province lives with his grandmother in a 'very poor neighborhood', works 2 extra shifts a day to earn money to go to university

The family scattered to make ends meet, Anh Thu lived with her grandmother on the banks of the Long Xuyen River, An Giang . Her grandmother sold lottery tickets, and her niece worked part-time. The girl was still an excellent student in the province, a national team player, and an excellent all-round student of the school.

Grandmother is the spiritual support that helps Anh Thu feel secure in studying even when it rains or the house is flooded - Photo: DANG TUYET

The summer days of female student Le Thi Anh Thu (living in My Binh ward, Long Xuyen city, An Giang province) are full of part-time jobs in the morning and afternoon. The girl has just received the results of her admission to the transport exploitation major at Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport.

Living with grandma in a poor neighborhood

Under the porch next to the Long Xuyen river is the open sky, where Anh Thu sits reading books every day - Photo: DANG TUYET

Thu lives with her grandmother in a house in Nguyen Du alley, Long Xuyen city, which locals often call the "slum" of the city. Layers of houses are close together with no beginning or end, there is only one path wide enough for one person to walk.

From Nguyen Du Street, go into the alley about 30m, turn right, go another 20m and continue to turn right, the path gradually narrows on 0.8m wide woven panels, go about 50m towards the river bank, there is a small door leading to Thu's house.

The makeshift house faces the Long Xuyen River, sitting under the porch you can see Duy Tan Bridge and the high-rise buildings in the city. The stuffy atmosphere in the alley gradually dissipates, cool breezes from the river rush in to dispel the sweltering heat of the midday summer.

Thu said that this porch is where she sits every day reading books, nurturing her dream of changing her life. This porch is also the most ideal place in the house, helping her see the beautiful sky outside, even though there are still many uncertainties. And the most precious thing to her right now is that she still has her grandmother by her side.

Mrs. Le Thi Hue (72 years old, neighbors often call her Mrs. Tu) has determined eyes, a tanned face, deeply marked by time. Her family settled on the banks of the Long Xuyen River since 1968. Through many changes, many times pushed by flood waters, fortunately the whole family still stands firmly on the riverbank.

"Every year during the rainy season, the water rises to the knees, we have to move our eating and drinking to the bed or table, and barely make it through. These past few years have been better, the water only floods when there is heavy rain and then recedes quickly. The house leaks in a few places, but luckily we still have a warm place to sleep," Ms. Hue told the program "Tiep Suc Den Truong".

The house was flooded, waiting for the water to drain, Thu cleaned the mud, rearranged the furniture. When it rained, the house leaked wherever it did, so she covered it. Mrs. Tu Hue's face was full of worry. "I'm old, I'll see what happens. I love my grandchildren but I don't know what to do. The day I received 60 lottery tickets, I went to Duy Tan bridge to sell from 7pm to 9pm. Sometimes when they didn't sell, I went around the neighborhood the next morning to sell them all to get 60,000 VND to buy fish to eat with rice," Mrs. Tu said.

Mrs. Tu said that when she was young, she studied in grade 5 - which is now grade 1, then had to stop after grade 4, so she wanted her grandchild to study properly so that life would be better. If he stopped studying now, he would have to sell things on the street, which would be very difficult.

Provincial excellent students, national competition team of An Giang

Lack of family affection and difficulties in life could not defeat the strong will of the little girl. Because for Thu, she had already overcome the most difficult times.

That was after the national excellent student exam, after a whole month of studying in the school library, being exempted from studying in class, Thu lost knowledge of some subjects. After that, she had to try many times harder to catch up and maintain the top rank in the class at the end of the school year.

"The passion of that period is not to bow down to failure, despite the tearful failures. And because we are still alive, countless good things are waiting for us ahead, just keep going and they will come" - Anh Thu concluded when the final results of grade 12 helped her be voted as an honor student of the whole school.

In addition, she was also the best student in class for three consecutive years, third prize in the provincial geography competition.

Perhaps for this little girl, no external influence can erode her will to study and her dream of changing her life through letters. When asked about her plans for entering university, Thu smiled, her eyes filled with hope.

"My family has always been my motivation to study, work part-time, and overcome difficulties, hoping that one day I can take care of my younger sister so she can finish school. I will apply for a scholarship, and if I don't get one, I will find a way to borrow from a bank with a student policy," Thu said.

Work two extra shifts every day to have money to go to school

With constant efforts, for the past three years Anh Thu has always been the best student in class - Photo: DANG TUYET

When the COVID-19 pandemic passed, the coffee shop - the family's only source of income - had to close due to losses. Thu's father left his hometown to work as a construction worker in Con Dao. Thu's mother went to Phu Quoc and has not returned for several years. The family has been separated for all these years, and hardship has not stopped haunting them for a single day.

Away from her mother since she was 10 years old, her father and younger sister also left when Thu entered high school. Her grandmother was her only spiritual support. Whenever she was exhausted, Thu would come home and lie down next to her grandmother. Just the silence and warmth that her grandmother gave her helped her become stronger.

Currently, Thu works two extra shifts at a coffee shop and a restaurant, earning 800,000 VND per week. After nearly 2 months of summer vacation, she boasts that she has nearly 3 million VND to cover her upcoming studies.

"When I go to university, I will still work part-time, but studying is the main thing. If I don't study well, it will be a waste," Thu affirmed.

Thu's biggest wish right now is to save enough money to buy train and bus tickets for both grandmother and granddaughter to go to Con Dao to visit her father and younger sister. It has been more than 3 years since Thu left her father and younger sister, about 7-8 years since she left her mother, the family has not been reunited once.

"When my studies are stable, I will work part-time and have money to take my grandmother by boat to the island to visit my father and younger brother," Thu said.

To have money to go to school, Anh Thu works part-time at many coffee shops and restaurants - Photo: DANG TUYET

Full of difficulties, also full of energy and desire

Mr. Tran Ngoc Huy - owner of The Coffee 3X Central, Long Xuyen city - said Anh Thu has been working part-time at the coffee shop for a year, in parallel with working part-time at another restaurant to earn extra income.

"At work, Thu is very enthusiastic and dedicated to contributing to the restaurant in taking care of customers and managing the restaurant's income and expenses," said Mr. Huy.

Mr. Huynh Long Tien - Secretary of the Youth Union of Long Xuyen High School, An Giang Province - shared that Anh Thu, in addition to being an excellent student, is also the secretary of the class's Youth Union, a member of the school's Youth Union executive committee, and a Youth Union officer who actively participates in many movements.

"Knowing Thu's family's difficult circumstances, the school has reduced tuition fees and introduced scholarships. Before that, the school's Youth Union directly introduced her to work part-time at a lottery company, earning 200,000 VND per shift. However, because she was not old enough to work, Thu could only work for one year before quitting," said Mr. Tien.

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hoc-sinh-gioi-tinh-song-voi-ba-trong-xom-rat-ngheo-ngay-lam-them-2-ca-kiem-tien-vao-dai-hoc-20240827150053292.htm