The Relay to School ticket took me to the lecture hall and changed my fate.

Han (left) with her mother, younger brother and teacher Pham Dinh Duoc (right) - Photo: BD

That scholarship from "Tiep suc den truong" helped the poor female student through the difficult journey, and exactly 10 years later, that student became an engineer.

At noon in late August, teacher Pham Dinh Duoc - a teacher at Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted ( Da Nang ) - took us back to the house of Phan Thi Ngoc Han's mother, who is currently an engineer at an environmental company with a branch in Da Nang City.

Unexpectedly seeing the teacher enthusiastically helping her child register for the Tuoi Tre Newspaper's "Tiep suc den truong" scholarship, Ms. Vo Thi Ngoc Thuong (55 years old) - Han's poor mother - stood hesitantly in front of the door and tears just kept flowing.

Mother's arduous yet courageous journey of raising children

Han with her mother - Photo: BD

Han is now an environmental engineer, has a stable job and income. She also just got married and moved to her husband's house.

Missing her mother, even though the road was far, Han still made time to visit her every week. Sometimes she had a bunch of vegetables, sometimes a fish, sometimes a cake that her mother loved to eat. Every time she saw her daughter come home, Mrs. Thuong felt sad. She felt sorry for what had happened, a difficult journey but also full of courage.

Returning to his former student's house after nearly 10 years, teacher Pham Dinh Duoc was also moved to see that everything had changed. The most obvious thing was that everyone was no longer as sad and worried as before, but instead there were tight hugs mixed with sadness.

Mrs. Thuong's house now has some very "strange" things that would be hard to have if she didn't have the courage to raise her children to study. There's a motorbike, a steam fan, even a rice cooker, a washing machine, a refrigerator... These things weren't bought by Mrs. Thuong, but were from her daughter's savings that she bought for her mother after she graduated and started working.

Mrs. Thuong barely said anything when she saw Mr. Duoc again, but only sobbed. When asked why she was crying, she could not say anything. The daughter sitting next to her looked over, held her mother's hand tightly, and said that her mother was happy and sad to see her old teacher come to visit the house.

Teacher Pham Dinh Duoc said that in 2014, when he was still teaching at Ngu Hanh Son High School (Da Nang), a colleague told him that there was a female student in the school who had just passed the university entrance exam but was unlikely to be able to fulfill her dream of studying.

He rode his motorbike to find the house of three, including Mrs. Thuong, Ngoc Han and Han's younger brother, empty in the housing area of ​​Da Nang city rented to single mothers.

Mrs. Thuong had a husband, but when Han was 8 years old, he died of a serious illness. When her husband died, Mrs. Thuong was burdened with having to take care of the whole family. She picked up trash and pushed a cart to sell sticky rice, but she could only manage to get by. The mother and children moved from place to place.

The situation of renting a house continued like that until Da Nang city had a policy for single mothers to rent a house for 100,000 VND/month. At that time, Mrs. Thuong brought her two children to a house with a roof and brick walls that can protect them from the rain and sun, and has been stable until now.

Scholarship "Tiep suc den truong": A ticket to university that changes fate

Han works at the company now - Photo: NVCC

Phan Thi Ngoc Han recalls the most difficult time and was lucky enough to have a teacher at school, even though he did not directly teach her, connect her to the Tiep Suc Den Truong scholarship. At that time, Han was admitted to Da Nang University of Technology, but the house was empty.

To have money to go to college, Han's mother had to sell the gold ring that was a wedding gift. But the entire amount was only enough for the first semester's tuition. Luckily, at that time, Han was guided by her teacher to complete the procedures for the Tiep Suc Den Truong scholarship.

"At that time, my mother's money was only enough for the first semester's tuition. After I had been in school for more than a month, Mr. Duoc told me that I was going to receive a scholarship from Tuoi Tre newspaper. My mother didn't know how to ride a motorbike, nor did she know how to ride a bicycle, and I was still in school.

"My mother hitchhiked through the Tuoi Tre newspaper representative office at 9 Tran Phu, Da Nang to go with the delegation to Hoi An City to attend the award ceremony. Holding the scholarship in her hand, she kept crying with joy when she got home," Han recalled.

Han said that the scholarship that year helped her pay an extra semester of tuition in her first year of study. It was all like a dream, like a seed drifting aimlessly on the water and then clinging to fertile soil, Han got through her first year of study in hardship.

From the second year onwards, Han taught extra classes to make ends meet. Although there were still difficulties, she was very lucky. She was more confident in her path and went through all her years of university.

Environmental engineer love for mother

In 2019, poor student Phan Thi Ngoc Han graduated with honors and was accepted into a contract at a unit in Da Nang City. With a salary of only 3 million VND per month, Han saved up and that year was able to buy her mother new clothes and a rice cooker.

After a while, Han changed jobs and was accepted into the position of environmental engineer where she has been working to this day. Her main job is to design wastewater treatment systems and drainage systems for environmental projects.

Having a stable job, Han was happier, finding ways to make up for her mother and help raise her younger sibling. The first time she saw the washing machine, refrigerator, new motorbike and a new-smelling folding mattress appear in the house, Han's mother could only hug her child with joy.

Not only did he help Han register for an important scholarship, when Han's younger brother entered high school, he was admitted to Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted (Da Nang City). Seeing the difficult circumstances, teacher Pham Dinh Duoc also wrote an article about Han's younger brother and published it in Tuoi Tre newspaper. The article went viral and readers of the newspaper donated 100 million VND to help Han's younger brother complete high school, and now he is a 4th year student at Da Nang University of Technology.

"Now I have a family, a stable life and job, but I still remember the hardships I have gone through. Thank you, Mr. Duoc, thank you, the benefactors of Tuoi Tre newspaper, for helping me through the difficult journey. The scholarship is not only a tuition fee, but also a gift that gives me and my mother confidence in difficult times" - Han said.

Invite you to join the School Support Program

Tuoi Tre Newspaper's 2024 School Support Program launched on August 8, expected to award 1,100 scholarships with a total cost of more than 20 billion VND (15 million VND for new students with difficulties, 20 special scholarships worth 50 million VND/scholarship throughout 4 years of study and learning equipment, gifts...).

With the motto "No young person can go to school because of poverty", "New students encounter difficulties, there is Tuoi Tre " - as a commitment to support new students in the past 20 years of Tuoi Tre .

Please scan this QR code to register and introduce new students in need of support to school. The program will accept information until September 20, 2024.

New students can register online to apply for the 2024 School Transfer Scholarship at: http://surl.li/fkfhms or scan the QR code.

The program received contributions and support from the "Accompanying Farmers" Fund - Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company, Vinacam Education Promotion Fund - Vinacam Group Joint Stock Company and the clubs "Nghia Tinh Quang Tri", "Nghia Tinh Phu Yen"; the clubs "Supporting School" Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam - Da Nang, Tien Giang - Ben Tre, Quang Ngai and the Tien Giang - Ben Tre Business Association in Ho Chi Minh City, the German - Vietnamese Mutual Aid and Cooperation Association (VSW), Nam Long Company, Nestlé Vietnam Co., Ltd. ... along with businesses, philanthropists and a large number of readers of Tuoi Tre newspaper.

Businesses and readers who want to support scholarships for new students, please transfer to Tuoi Tre newspaper account:

113000006100 Industrial and Commercial Bank ( VietinBank ), Branch 3, Ho Chi Minh City.

Content: Support "Support to school" for new students or specify the province/city that you want to support.

Readers and businesses abroad can transfer money to Tuoi Tre newspaper:

USD account 007.137.0195.845 Ho Chi Minh City Foreign Trade Bank;

EUR account 007.114.0373.054 Foreign Trade Bank, Ho Chi Minh City

with Swift code BFTVVNVX007.

Content: Support "Support to school" for new students or specify the province/city that you want to support.

In addition to sponsoring scholarships, readers can support learning equipment, accommodation, jobs... for new students.

Graphics: TUAN ANH

Video instructions on how to register for new students in need of help, as well as how to contribute to the program.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tam-ve-tiep-suc-den-truong-dua-em-vao-giang-duong-doi-thay-so-phan-20240903202816732.htm