A “special” class in a “special” place

When the cicadas chirp, it is also the time for students to put away their books and pens to enjoy a summer vacation after a year of hard work. However, at the CNMT Facility, students start a new semester with many new things. Teacher Do Thi Oanh - President of the Association of Former Teachers of San Thang Commune ( Lai Chau City) has been away from the blackboard and chalk for 15 years. Her old age is to rest and help her children take care of their grandchildren.

However, when the CNMT Facility and the local government asked her to spare some time to teach literacy to the students there, she immediately agreed because she thought: “This is a good, benevolent and very humane thing to do. After many years of retirement, the knowledge and teaching methods are not the same as before, but I will try to research to teach the students in the easiest and most memorable way possible” – Ms. Oanh smiled gently.

A "special" class in a "special" place.

In addition to teacher Oanh, there are 10 other teachers in the class taking turns teaching and an assistant student named Tan Xoang Son. Mr. Son used to be a teacher, but because of a moment of mistake, he let down those who loved and trusted him, including many students in the mountainous area of Sin Ho - where he devoted all his youth toeducation in the disadvantaged area.

Mr. Son confided: Once, when I foolishly helped a friend buy heroin, I paid a very high price with 5 years in prison. In 2015, I was released from prison, but because I lost my job, lost direction, and was bored with life, I was lured into drug addiction by bad friends. After 3 years of addiction, I felt that I needed to quit that evil substance, so I asked the Party Committee and the government to do the procedures to go to drug rehabilitation. I have been here for 4 months. I used to be a teacher, so teaching is my job. Many people are drawn into drug addiction because they are illiterate, which is extremely regrettable. Looking at the students, I see that I need to give up all my past mistakes, try to quit, and practice well to return to the bright path.

The literacy class for drug rehabilitation students, where those who have fallen into mistakes are patiently rewriting their lives from the first words. The words and the journey to rebuild life at the age of 35 of student Vang Mo Cho (La Hu ethnic group, Pa U commune, Muong Te district) is truly a strange thing. His hands, which were used to holding a knife to clear the fields, then got stuck in a syringe, trembled for the first time when he carefully wrote each stroke.

Vang Mo Cho (La Hu ethnic group, Pa U commune, Muong Te district) is a left-handed student. After the first two lessons, he learned to write with his right hand.

But what was more strange was that he didn't know which hand he held the pen in, he held it when he saw that his left hand was dominant. The first, then the second, and the third lesson, he knew how to switch the pen to his right hand and recognized the numbers from 1-9. Telling us his life story with broken words and an unconfident look, Mr. Cho said that he had been addicted for 3 years, his wife left him, and he had been here for 5 months for rehab. Living in a particularly difficult area, since he was a child, he had never known what books, pens, paper, and ink were. Now, holding chalk and a pen were completely new things.

The class at the provincial CNMT facility has 31 students, taught by members of the Lai Chau City Retired Teachers Association 3 sessions/week. The class started on June 2 and was immediately maintained. They come from all over the province, each with their own circumstances, but all have the same desire: to learn to read and write to rebuild their lives.

The idea of “sowing the light of awareness” from the first literacy class came from the idea of Major Bui Van Tuong – Director of the Facility. “Learning to read and write is to learn to be a human, to know right from wrong, to reach for bigger and further dreams, so that they can give up the mistakes of life. Because knowing how to read and write is the key to opening the door to integration into society. Therefore, in parallel with performing the function of drug addiction treatment, the unit has coordinated to teach reading and writing to improve the students’ knowledge and awareness, so that they can write their names and take control of their lives” – Major Tuong affirmed.

The path to "the light" of drug rehabilitation students is gradually "revealed" with each word.

It can be seen that the organization of literacy classes for drug rehabilitation students, along with the attention to improving, repairing, upgrading, and rearranging the infrastructure system, investing in standardized equipment; career guidance, vocational training; raising awareness, equipping knowledge, skills, and discipline... have helped make drug rehabilitation work more effective. This once again affirms the correct policy of the Party and State in rearranging the organizational apparatus, avoiding overlap when handing over the functions and tasks of the CNMT Facility under the Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs (formerly) to the police force for management. After only 3 months of handover with 188 students, it has now increased to 277 students and will continue to increase to a maximum of about 400 students.

With the new management model, the police force not only organizes systematic, scientific and effective drug rehabilitation but also organizes many meaningful and practical activities, equipping students with a solid handbook when reintegrating into the community. The province's CNMT facility is contributing to lighting up new rays of hope for each student to embark on the journey of rebuilding their lives more strongly than ever.

Source: https://baolaichau.vn/xa-hoi/lop-hoc-dac-biet-o-mot-noi-dac-biet-738642