Western students 'cross flood waters' to go to school

GD&TĐ - Every flood season and high tides, the journey to school of many students in the provinces and cities of the West becomes more difficult than ever.

Don't let students miss school because of flood water.

In the upstream area of ​​An Giang province, rising floodwaters have submerged many roads, making it difficult for people to travel and live. Especially in Phu Huu commune - the most heavily affected area during the flood season, there are sections with water nearly 2 meters deep, students have to struggle to get to school in the middle of the immense water.

To ensure absolute safety and maintain learning, the local government has proactively organized transportation for students to go to school every day, supporting their persistent spirit of learning. Mr. Vo Van Dua - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Phu Huu Commune (An Giang Province) said: This year's flood water is higher than previous years. Through surveys, many roads in the WB9 project (Integrated Climate Resilience and Sustainable Livelihoods Project in the Mekong Delta) in the commune are partially flooded, making it difficult for students to go to school.

As an immediate solution, the People's Committee of Phu Huu Commune has assigned hamlets to announce and propagate the organization of transporting students to school from October 6, lasting for about 1 month. The locality has mobilized and hired 6 vehicles including vo lai (small motorboats) and ferries, carrying out 4 to 6 trips a day for students.

During the flood season, the entire Phu Huu commune had about 150 students in the hamlets of Phu Hiep, Phu Loi, Phu Quoi, Vinh Thanh, Vinh Hung and Vinh Loi who needed to be picked up and dropped off at school every day. Of these, about half of the students were picked up and dropped off by their families…

According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung - Principal of Phu Huu Secondary School (An Giang province), most of the students' families in the commune are in difficult circumstances and work hard. The locality's arrangement of pick-up and drop-off has created convenience for the students, and at the same time helped the families and the school feel more secure.

During the implementation process, the locality requested that families, vehicle owners and schools closely coordinate and count the number of students going from home to school and vice versa. At the same time, vehicle owners coordinated with families to fully equip students with life jackets to ensure absolute safety...

Mr. Vo Van Dua - Vice Chairman of Phu Huu Commune People's Committee (An Giang Province) added that parents are very sympathetic and supportive of the local school pick-up and drop-off system. Thanks to the proactive coordination, this year's flood season, in the commune, there were no students having to drop out of school due to the impact of the flood. The children were supported by the locality, school and family, creating favorable conditions to go to school safely, as well as ensuring a good program for the school year.

Boat camp along the river, a place for students in the Mekong Delta to rest after school. Photo: Quoc Kha

Boats carrying dreams

In My Phuoc commune ( Can Tho city), although not directly affected by the flood, high tides and low terrain still make the journey to school difficult for students. My Phuoc A Primary School (My Phuoc commune) has two locations in Phuoc An B and Phuoc Ninh hamlets. The whole school has more than 60 students who have to "cross the waves" on boats, sampans or ferries to get to school.

At Phuoc An B, because their houses are far away and along canals, about 20 students have to stay at the boat camp at noon to wait for the afternoon to continue studying. With a daughter studying at My Phuoc A Primary School, Ms. Dang Thi My Tien (Phuoc An A hamlet, My Phuoc commune) emotionally shared that for over 4 years, every day she has woken up at 4 am, prepared meals and then taken her child to school. At noon, the mother and child hang hammocks to rest right at the boat camp, parked in front of the school gate...

Nguyen Thi Nha Ky - a 4th grade student at My Phuoc A Primary School is Ms. Tien's daughter and has been an excellent student at the school for many years. Despite her young age, she is always aware of her family's situation and tries to study well to make her mother happy. This is a clear demonstration of her will to overcome difficulties.

The campus of My Phuoc A Primary School, at Phuoc An B (My Phuoc, Can Tho) is often flooded during high tides. Photo: Quoc Kha

Mr. Nguyen Van Hao - Principal of My Phuoc A Primary School said that because it is located on low-lying land, the school in Phuoc An B is often flooded when the tide rises or there is prolonged heavy rain. This greatly affects the teaching and learning of teachers and students.

“There were times when the school was flooded for more than two months, making it more difficult for teachers and students to travel. Physical education classes had to be taught in the classroom. Although the school mobilized machines to pump out the water, the improvement was not significant,” said Mr. Hao.

In the 2025-2026 school year, Phuoc An B will welcome 146 students. Among them, many are in difficult circumstances, their parents have to work far away and leave them to their grandparents to take care of. "Despite the long distance and the water waves, students still come to class regularly, especially many of them have high academic achievements. However, due to limited resources of the school, we cannot support much", said the Principal of My Phuoc A Primary School.

Faced with the difficulties of teachers and students, My Phuoc A Primary School hopes to receive support from local authorities, philanthropists, and donors to help teachers and students have a safer and more spacious learning environment, contributing to preserving the journey of spreading knowledge in the river area more persistently and firmly.

The timely support from the locality and the school has helped students confidently go to school, despite the difficulties of natural disasters. The images of small boats loaded with white shirts and books crossing the vast "sea of ​​water" have shown the studious spirit and the ability to overcome difficulties of students in the West.

Nha Phuong, a student at Phu Huu B Primary School (An Giang Province), emotionally said: “My house was flooded, but thanks to the staff who took me to school safely, I was able to go to school regularly and without being late. I am very grateful to the staff for supporting us during this flood season.”

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/hoc-sinh-mien-tay-vuot-nuoc-noi-den-truong-post756656.html