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| Teacher Nguyen Tan Tai (in charge of the C3 charity class, hamlet 4, Ma Da commune, Vinh Cuu district) and students from the floating village in the "lifted" house area. Photo: D.Phu |
Charity class in the neighborhood "lift"
Although the rain poured down on the "lift" roof (a type of house used by villagers living on rafts in semi-flooded areas, made of iron frames and corrugated iron roofs, easy to move), a few 5-8 year old children in the C3 raft village (Hamlet 4, Ma Da Commune, Vinh Cuu District) still gathered together to play with pebbles on the floor, wandering around barefoot at the fishing wharf.
In this group of children, there is a boy named Hung (9 years old), the son of Mr. Minh and Ms. Le - a Vietnamese Cambodian who recently moved to C3 floating village to temporarily reside for a few years. His family was supported by Phu Ly parish with a "lift" house located right on the sandbank of C3 floating village.
When we asked about his summer fun, Hung said he played with his friends for a bit and then went home to help his parents catch fish. In the summer, he also went to a charity class to review his knowledge.
| "The villagers are good swimmers so we are not worried about drowning, we are only worried that because of their circumstances, they are too busy working to earn money" - Head of the Front Committee of Hamlet 4 NGUYEN VAN THU expressed. |
Head of the Front Committee of Hamlet 4, Ma Da Commune, Nguyen Van Thu, said that Phu Ly Parish has supported the villagers in the hamlet with more than 60 "lifted" houses and more than 40 rafts, the cost of each "lifted" house or raft is about 25 million VND. Because he just arrived, his parents' paperwork was incomplete, so Hung did not register to study at School Point C3 (Ma Da Primary and Secondary School) but chose the charity class at the C3 village raft Point, managed by Mr. Nguyen Tan Tai and Sister Kim Lan (Passionate Jesus Congregation).
The charity class of Mr. Nguyen Tan Tai - Sister Kim Lan at the C3 floating village has more than 50 students (universal from grade 1 to grade 5). According to Mr. Tai, the class is divided into 2 sessions, if you cannot go to school in the morning, you can go to class in the afternoon and vice versa, aiming to popularize primary education for Vietnamese Cambodian children living in the floating village who do not have the conditions to study officially at the C3 school. However, during the summer, this charity class is often more crowded than usual, because it has to accept more students studying at the C3 school to review their knowledge.
In Hamlet 4, Ma Da Commune, there are currently 4 charity classes. Thanks to these charity classes, overseas Vietnamese Cambodian children in the floating villages and shallow areas along the forest can read and write and have a place to play.
“In addition to summer classes at charity classes, children here also help their parents catch fish and do housework. When it comes to swimming, they are like otters, because their parents teach them swimming skills in rivers from a young age, so they don’t have to worry about drowning,” said Mr. Nguyen Van Thu.
Earn a living to help parents
Leaving the village of “lifting” in the middle of the rain that had not yet stopped, we visited the floating village of Cay Sung (Hamlet 3, Ma Da Commune) when it was already noon. The fishing port of Cay Sung floating village was deserted, so there were no children wandering around.
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| Some children in Ward 4, Vinh An Town (Vinh Cuu District) participate in cutting cajuput cuttings for hire during the summer. |
Party cell secretary and head of hamlet 3, Ma Da commune, Nguyen Van Trung, said that he had recently mobilized 33 scholarships worth about 40 million VND to reward students with excellent academic performance, advanced achievements, and difficult circumstances. Although the value of the scholarships is not large, they still contribute to motivating students in their studies.
According to Mr. Trung, in the floating village of Hamlet 3, Ma Da commune, there is no extra study or extra teaching during the summer. Therefore, in addition to the time for self-study and self-study, depending on the family's conditions, children participate in helping their families with work such as: babysitting, gardening, fishing. Therefore, there is no such thing as children hanging around during the summer or being forced to study too hard, or needing someone to look after them when their parents go to work in companies or urban areas.
On the way back, we visited the Melaleuca cuttings growing area in Ward 4, Vinh An Town (Vinh Cuu District). Along the green Melaleuca cuttings hills, there were glimpses of white hats as big as winnowing baskets (0.5m in diameter) of women cutting Melaleuca cuttings and also the figures of a few children aged 10-15 years old participating in the labor.
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| Nguyen Van Trong (class 7/3, Ma Da Secondary School, Hamlet 3, Ma Da Commune) came to the house of Party Cell Secretary, Hamlet 3 Chief Nguyen Van Trung to receive a scholarship for his younger brother. |
Pham Van Tung (5th grade student, Cay Gao B Primary School, Ward 4, Vinh An Town) said that he had free time during the summer so he asked his mother and aunts in the neighborhood to go cut cajuput cuttings. After a few hours of labor, he received a salary of 30-40 thousand VND. He calculated that if he worked a few days a week, by the end of the summer he would have saved up a million VND to help his mother buy school supplies.
Not only Tung, in the land specializing in growing cajuput for cuttings in Ward 4, Vinh An town, students are familiar with cutting cajuput cuttings to earn a living during the summer.
Pham Thi Ngoc (grade 10, Hung Vuong Secondary and High School, Ward 8, Vinh An Town) said that she did not attend summer classes at centers, but studied on her own or in groups. In addition to her time studying on her own and in groups, she also cut cajuput cuttings for garden owners near her house. Thanks to that, from grade 6 until now, Ngoc has used the money she earned from cutting cajuput cuttings in the summer to buy clothes, books, and shoes for the new school year without having to ask her parents for money.
Ngoc confided that in the summer, being able to play with nature, work, and take the time to review her old school lessons helps her feel more relaxed than running from one extra class to another.
“Hamlet 4, Ma Da commune has electricity and internet, so my summer self-study is much more convenient than before. For me, the most meaningful summer is studying by myself, helping my parents with housework and having fun,” said NGUYEN VAN TRONG (grade 7/3, Ma Da Secondary School).
Doan Phu
Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202506/mua-he-y-nghia-cua-tre-em-vung-sau-vung-xa-7601840/
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