Money of love helps the unfortunate

If you type the keyword "Lam Dai Loc" into Google, you will see the first result being an article from Thanh Nien Newspaper titled "Brilliant male student from Yen Bai may have to drop out of school because of Covid-19: 'I'm very worried'!" (April 20, 2020).

Thanks to this article, a poor Tay ethnic student who almost had to drop out of school has now become a top-performing student at the Political University (also known as the Political Officer School). The story of Lam Dai Loc from Lang Chieng village (Ngoi A commune, Van Yen district, Yen Bai province) took a turning point in his life thanks to the generosity of Thanh Nien newspaper readers.

In April 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, many schools had to close and switch to online learning, leaving many students in mountainous areas struggling due to a lack of resources for studying. Lam Dai Loc, one of the top students at the Yen Bai Provincial Ethnic Boarding High School, found himself in a desperate situation due to extreme poverty. His father passed away early, his mother was seriously ill (stage 4 heart failure), and he had to live with his older brother, whom his mother had raised since childhood, leaving him without money to buy a phone for studying. Because he was preparing for the high school graduation exam and had to stop studying, Loc was very worried about whether he could continue. At times, he even considered dropping out of school to work and help his brother support his mother.

The dilapidated house of Lam Dai Loc and the new house built thanks to the support of readers of Thanh Nien Newspaper.

Upon learning of this situation,   Thanh Nien newspaper published an article about Loc, calling on the community to join hands in helping. After the article was published, an anonymous donor contributed 50 million VND to Loc so that he could finish 12th grade without having to drop out of school to earn a living. The author of the article also raised funds from friends to buy Loc a phone with internet access to help him study online. Notably, readers from all over the country and even from abroad, such as the US and South Korea, sent gifts and words of encouragement to his family. One reader from the US, during a visit to Vietnam (after Covid-19), even came to visit Loc at his home.

Thanks to this support, Loc continued his studies and was admitted to the Political Officer School with a very high score (29.75 points). However, Loc's constant worry was that his mother was frequently ill and had to live in a dilapidated house that could collapse at any moment. The Thanh Nien newspaper published an article titled "Poor Yen Bai student almost had to drop out of school due to Covid-19 but scored exceptionally high on the exam" (August 28, 2020), hoping the community would join hands to help this poor, filial, and studious student build a small house for his mother before he goes to university in the lowlands.

Following the article, a benefactor donated another 50 million VND to the family to build a house. "Perhaps this is a turning point, opening a new chapter in my life, a chapter with more color and meaning...", Loc shared emotionally.

A couple who are readers of Thanh Nien Newspaper in the US visited Lam Dai Loc's family during their trip to Vietnam.

To date, Loc has entered his fourth year at the Political Officer Training School. During his time there, Loc has achieved many accomplishments. At the end of his first year, Loc excelled, earning the title of "Outstanding Soldier," and was trusted and loved by his commanders and comrades. With his continuous efforts, at the end of 2021, Loc had the honor of joining the ranks of the Communist Party of Vietnam .

For two consecutive years, Loc achieved the title of "Outstanding Student at the Grassroots Level," "Party Member Who Excellently Completed His Duties," and "Outstanding and Exemplary Youth Union Member." In addition, Loc participated in many competitions organized by his unit and school, achieving high results in various competitions such as the Olympic competition in Marxist-Leninist sciences and socio-political awareness, and the competition for telling stories about President Ho Chi Minh…

Besides his efforts in studying and training, this poor young man also serves as the Secretary of the Youth Union Branch of Battalion 10, Political Officer Training School, demonstrating passion, dedication, and dynamism. In the 2022-2023 academic year, Loc was honored to receive the title of "Outstanding Young Person" from the school's leadership...

Lam Dai Loc is currently an outstanding student at the Political Officer Training School.

"I am extremely grateful for the care, help, and support of Thanh Nien Newspaper readers, which have given me wings to realize my dreams. Throughout my time studying and training in the military environment, I have continuously strived, worked hard, and grown more mature every day."

"In particular, I will never forget the affection that the readers of Thanh Nien Newspaper have given me, and I take that as encouragement and motivation to push me to progress and succeed even more," the future political officer confided.

Over the past 20 years, among the people I've written about, there have been many young people who were orphaned, working odd jobs to earn money for their education, and who have now graduated and found stable jobs. What's impressive is that readers of Thanh Nien Newspaper have helped these individuals not only domestically but also internationally.

I still vividly remember the story of Le Thi Thanh Tam, an orphaned student in class 12A5 at Quoc Oai High School, Quoc Oai District, Hanoi. Tam lost both her parents at a young age. Her circumstances were very difficult because her parents died early, when she was in 7th grade. As a result, Tam and her sister had to work to earn money for food and education. Her older sister, two years her senior, had to drop out of school in 10th grade to work and support her younger sister's education. Tam also studied and worked at the same time, dreaming of attending university.

In 2017, Tam passed the entrance exam to the University of Foreign Languages ​​(Vietnam National University, Hanoi), but her dream seemed to end when the tuition fee was over 10 million VND per year, plus the significant cost of studying far from home.

A reader in the US returned to Vietnam to give gifts to Le Thi Thanh Tam, the subject of an article published in Thanh Nien Newspaper.

After Thanh Nien Newspaper published the article "Orphan Girl Without Money for University " (September 5, 2018), many readers sent money to help Tam. In particular, a reader from the US returned to Vietnam to donate money to support her. What was touching was that three months after the article was published, the author received an email from a reader inquiring about Tam's situation and offering help.

A reader stated that he is a Vietnamese expatriate who has lived and worked in the US for over 40 years, retired nearly a decade ago, but still saves his pension for charity. He recently returned to Vietnam and wanted to personally deliver his gift to support Tâm.

I arranged a meeting and took him to the school where Tam was studying. The conversation was very short; he only asked Tam how much tuition she needed to pay each month, then gave her an envelope. When she got back to her accommodation, the student opened it and realized the amount was enough to cover her tuition for a whole year.

The author, along with Vietnamese-American readers, presented gifts to Le Thi Thanh Tam at the University of Foreign Languages ​​(Vietnam National University, Hanoi).

In addition, the donations from readers nationwide helped Tam cover her tuition for all four years of university. She studied diligently while also working as a tutor to earn an extra 800,000 VND per month to cover rent. Her older sister saved her 5 million VND/month factory worker salary to give her 2 million VND for her studies. Now, Tam has graduated and is working as a high-paying English lecturer in Hanoi.

Sharing her feelings about the support from Thanh Nien Newspaper readers through the published article, Tam emotionally said: "That was very timely, practical, and meaningful help, which has allowed me to turn a new page in my life."

The support from readers not only domestically but also many abroad demonstrates the widespread reach of Thanh Nien Newspaper. Only as an online newspaper could Thanh Nien be so responsive and reach such a wide audience. It is through this support that many lives and destinies have been transformed.

Thanhnien.vn