The one who sowed letters in the great La Eê forest

Teacher Le Canh Phuong Hanh and students in the highlands.

With nearly thirty years of dedication to mountainous education , Ms. Hanh chose to stay with her highland students with all the love, perseverance and rare devotion of a silent sower in the wilderness.

I met her on a late October afternoon, in the middle of a heavy rainstorm. That day, I called to inquire about the flood situation in the highland schools. On the other end of the line, her voice was soft and warm: “It’s raining heavily, but the children are still safe. Teachers and students are trying to maintain cooking and studying as usual…”

It was from that brief conversation that I began to learn about the woman who devoted her life to education in the mountainous areas, silently spreading knowledge at the source of the Bung River.

Born in 1970 in Hue, following her father to work in Thang Binh district (former Quang Nam province), Ms. Hanh dreamed of becoming a teacher. After graduating from the University of Education - Da Nang University in 1996, while many friends chose to stay in the city, she volunteered to work in the highlands of Nam Giang.

In the early days, the roads were winding and steep, sometimes you had to push your bike through streams and mud; the electricity was unstable, the phone signal was intermittent, but she said simply: "I study to teach, and wherever my students need me, I go there."

Having worked in mountainous education, Ms. Le Canh Phuong Hanh has held many positions, from teacher, then vice principal, principal of schools in remote areas of the old Nam Giang district.

Her footprints are imprinted throughout the villages of Ta Bhing, Cha Val, Thanh My, Ca Dy, and then to the border point of La Ee... Everywhere, her students remember her and her colleagues love her.

Many teachers currently working in the commune were her former students. Even her students who are now doctors, police officers, border guards, and vice chairmen of the commune People’s Committee… still call her by the affectionate name: “My Teacher Hanh”.

In April 2024, she was assigned to be the Principal of La Êê Primary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities, a school located in the Vietnam-Laos border area, far from the center, where most of the students are children of the Co Tu ethnic group. After only a few months, this place became warm, orderly and full of vitality thanks to the caring hands of the new principal.

Teacher To Ngol Nho, a colleague and former student, emotionally spoke about Hanh: “She said that the highlands not only require knowledge, but also perseverance. To teach students, first of all, you must truly love them.”

For Ms. Hanh, staying at school for a whole week is a daily occurrence. During the rainy season when roads are cut off, she and the teachers organize cooking, divide meals for the students, and put them to sleep.

Not only is she a manager, she is also an inspiration to the people here. The school she works at has built a self-managed boarding school model, grown a vegetable garden, and taught students life skills and independence.

During nearly three decades of dedication to the education sector, Ms. Le Canh Phuong Hanh has never thought about getting married. Someone once asked: "Don't you feel sad being alone in the middle of the mountains and forests?" She just smiled: "I'm not lonely. Every day when I go to school, I see all the students in class, and see the steaming pot of rice from the boarding school, I feel warm enough."

For many years, the schools where Ms. Hanh worked as a manager have been awarded the title of Excellent Labor Collective; received Certificates of Merit from the Prime Minister , ministries, branches, and the former Quang Nam province. She personally received many certificates of merit for her achievements in working in ethnic minority areas.

In particular, in 2017, Ms. Hanh was honored to receive a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister for her achievements in education and training, contributing to the cause of building socialism and defending the Fatherland.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/nguoi-gioo-chu-giua-dai-ngan-la-ee-3309956.html