Lighting up the dream of going to school for poor students

For Major Cam Ba Thanh, Deputy Political Commissar of Chieng On Border Post, Yen Chau District: “The post is home, the border is homeland” is no longer a slogan but a belief, a support, and a responsibility of border soldiers in protecting sovereignty and border security. In addition to work, he is also the one who “sows the seeds” for the model “Nurturing green border shoots, firmly stepping towards the future”, sponsoring poor students in border areas, lighting up their dreams of going to school.

Major Cam Ba Thanh (third from right in the front row) received the Vu A Dinh Award organized by the Central Youth Union and the Vu A Dinh Foundation in 2023.
Photo: Character provided.

Worrying about unfinished letters

Having worked for many years at the Long Sap Border Guard Station in Moc Chau town, Major Cam Ba Thanh understands the difficulties and deprivation of the people here. Many children born into families with drug addicts, imprisoned parents or orphans have had to give up their dreams of education. These circumstances have inspired Major Thanh to conceive of a model to support poor students in the border areas to go to school, be nurtured, nurture their dreams, and build their future.

Mr. Thanh shared: On June 25, 2021, I consulted with the Party Committee and the Command Board of Long Sap Border Guard Station, in coordination with the Khai Tri Fund (Apec Group), to deploy the model "Nurturing green border seedlings - Firmly stepping towards the future". The model aims to sponsor ethnic minority students with difficult circumstances, overcoming difficulties to study well, from grade 8 and above until they go to university, college, learn a trade and find stable jobs. The goal is to help them study, become useful citizens, and contribute to building their homeland and village to develop more and more.

Immediately after building the model, Mr. Thanh coordinated with schools and local authorities to review, select, and prepare sponsorship profiles for 25 students. He and his teammates directly went to each family to propagate, mobilize, sign commitments between the parties, and guide parents to effectively use the support resources. Not stopping at financial support, he also mobilized socialized resources to buy bicycles, books, school supplies, clothes, etc. to ensure that the children had the best conditions for learning. Even from the unit's increased production resources, the children were also supported with green vegetables, meat, and fish, improving their daily meals.

Major Cam Ba Thanh visited the children who are "Foster children of the Border Guard Station".

Major Thanh also set up a zalo group connecting schools, parents, and sponsors to promptly grasp the thoughts and aspirations of students. Along with that, closely monitor the learning and living results of each student during the school year. When students enter grade 12, Major Thanh organizes surveys of aspirations, supports university entrance exam registration, searches for scholarships, or contacts vocational training institutions and businesses to create job opportunities.

The numbers speak for themselves.

After 5 years of implementation, the model has brought about clear and touching results. Of the 25 sponsored students, 9 have graduated from high school and found jobs; 16 are still being supported, of which 6 are studying at universities and colleges, 1 student is studying at T78 Friendship School ( Hanoi ), the rest are studying at middle school and high school in Moc Chau district.

Major Cam Ba Thanh at the "Outstanding Young Faces" Commendation Ceremony organized by the Border Guard in 2022.
Photo: Character provided

All students have good academic performance and good morals. The total value of support, equipment, and learning tools... is nearly 700 million VND. In particular, the model from Long Sap and Chieng Khua communes, Moc Chau town, has now been expanded to the border communes of Yen Chau district. In particular, the Chieng On Border Guard Station, where he currently works, has 10 more students who continue to be sponsored.

Not only stopping at the model of "Nurturing green border seedlings", Major Thanh also advised on the implementation of the project "Calling for resources to eliminate temporary kitchens and classrooms for border students", directly calling for the construction of 10 classrooms, 5 kitchens, 3 playgrounds, 2 clean water wells, 5 "Lighting up the border area" works and many learning equipment at border schools, with a total value of about 3 billion VND. He is also the core to connect and effectively implement the programs "Helping children go to school - Adopted children of border stations", "Breakfast for children", the project "Army officers and soldiers help children go to school"...

Colonel Pham Tung Lam, Party Secretary and Political Commissar of the Provincial Border Guard Command, shared: Behind those numbers is a heart full of responsibility for the people, the image of a border guard soldier who always keeps in mind "Only when the people in the border area have a prosperous and happy life, will the border area be peaceful and the people's hearts will be strong"; Major Thanh's specific actions have contributed to building a solid "People's Hearts Battlefield" and "People's Hearts Landmark" at the front line of the Fatherland.

The story of Major Cam Ba Thanh and the model of “Nurturing green border seedlings” - is a vivid proof of the noble qualities of soldiers in green uniforms, always attached to and devoted to the people. They are the belief and strong spiritual support for the people, so that the border is not only a defense belt, but also a land full of hope and a bright future.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/xa-hoi/thap-len-uoc-mo-den-truong-cho-hoc-sinh-ngheo-IAFQpOfHR.html