Poor male student skips breakfast to go to school, hoping to continue studying

Due to his family's difficult circumstances, Dinh Phu Vinh, a 12A3 student at Thoi Long High School (O Mon District, Can Tho City) can only pray for a miracle so that his studies will not be interrupted.

Once lived in a house like a chicken coop

The small, narrow house in Tan Loi 2 area (Tan Hung Ward, Thot Not District, Can Tho City) is the shelter for 4 people in the family, including: grandmother, father, mother and Vinh. The sun in the early summer days makes the house as hot as a fireplace, because it is covered with corrugated iron on all sides, there is only one fan to cool down but it is not enough.

Vinh often skips breakfast and cycles home to cook at noon to save money.

Thanh Duy

In the sweltering heat, Vinh still diligently reads each page of the book, despite the sweat running down his face and soaking his back… But according to Vinh, having a place like this to live and study is already lucky. "The house was built with financial support from a charity about 3 years ago. Before that, my family lived in a shabby shack. People passing by commented that it looked like… a chicken coop because it felt like it was about to collapse," Vinh said.

Vinh's family is near-poor, his father is a construction worker, his mother does many jobs such as weaving nets, picking chili peppers, growing melons... The desk has been broken for a long time, the family still cannot afford to buy a new one for Vinh. These days, in addition to the pressure of the high school graduation exam, Vinh is always worried about where to get money to continue studying. The family is too poor, making daily meals difficult, so Vinh's dream of becoming a student is even more distant. Perhaps that is why, although he loves Plant Protection very much, Vinh still does not dare to think about which school he will choose to study.

Every day, Vinh cycles more than 5 km to school. He usually skips breakfast, and at noon he goes home to cook rice to save money. The day we visited Vinh's house, his lunch consisted of only white rice and soup. It was called soup but there was no meat or fish, just boiled wild vegetables seasoned with salt and MSG to make it easier to eat. At home, Vinh takes care of the meals and takes care of his grandmother because his parents work far away all day. At around 1 pm, the young man with a gaunt face and a body "as thin as a rice leaf" goes to school again. According to Vinh, having lived with hardship for so long, he has become used to eating every day.

Vinh reviews to prepare for the 2023 high school graduation exam

Desire to continue learning

Vinh confided that if he had the opportunity to continue studying, he would only dare to dream of going to college because the training time is short and the tuition is lower than university. "My family has struggled to send me to school for the past 12 years. Now, I really want to continue studying. If I have the opportunity, I will try to study quickly to graduate and go to work to help my parents," Vinh said emotionally.

Every day, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lam (44 years old, Vinh's mother) and her husband work hard to make a living, but fate is unpredictable. Illness and unemployment keep surrounding the family, making them even poorer. Mrs. Lam and her husband are not afraid of hardship, but they are worried that they will not have enough money to send their only child to school.

"I earn about 80,000 VND a day, my husband earns 200,000 VND but it is very unstable. After running errands and living expenses, there is not much left. Therefore, the university tuition fee is high, so I am afraid that I will not be able to afford it in the long run. It is also very difficult to borrow money for my children to go to school, because the family does not have any assets to mortgage," Ms. Lam confided.

All contributions and support to help Dinh Phu Vinh, a 12A3 student at Thoi Long High School (O Mon District, Can Tho City), please send to the account holder: Thanh Nien Newspaper. Account number: 10006868 - Eximbank - Saigon branch. Content: help Dinh Phu Vinh; or Thanh Nien Newspaper will receive directly at the editorial office, representative offices nationwide. We will transfer the amount of money from readers to Dinh Phu Vinh as soon as possible.

For nearly a month, while his peers have been focusing on studying for important exams, Vinh is still undecided about whether to continue studying or stop. Sometimes that question becomes an obsession, constantly intertwining in his mind, making it impossible for the poor student to sleep.

Mrs. Lam said that Vinh once confided that he really wanted to go to university, but was afraid that his family would have to run around and get into debt. One day, Vinh was awake all night, sadly turning to her and asking: "Should I continue studying, Mom? Or should I quit school now and work as a factory worker, then when I have money I can go back to school later to ease the family's suffering." Hearing her son's question, Mrs. Lam's heart ached but she could only swallow her tears.

According to Ms. Le Thi My Duyen, Secretary of the Youth Union of Thoi Long High School (O Mon District, Can Tho City), Vinh is kind and gentle, although his circumstances are difficult, he rarely shows it. It was not until the school's Youth Union and homeroom teacher came to his house to find out that he was one of the examples of strong will in studying. Vinh's family is very poor, his parents also support his elderly and weak grandmother. In the past, Vinh had to put his notebooks on the corner of his bed to write his papers, but last semester he got a good grade. About a month ago, the school mobilized a scholarship of 500,000 VND for Vinh and he used it to pay for his tuition and exam preparation.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nam-sinh-ngheo-nhin-an-sang-den-truong-mong-duoc-tiep-tuc-viec-hoc-185230609035330588.htm