Miss Mai's love

Ms. Mai with the students of the charity class in Con Khuong.

The cultural house of Song Hau area 3 has two rows of desks along two walls, the students sit neatly, attentively writing. The students are from grade 1 to grade 5, and are taught by Ms. Mai and her colleagues each stroke of the hand, each math problem, each writing exercise describing their loved ones, hometown, and beloved country. Ms. Mai is gentle, kind, and patient in teaching each student. Some students do not sit in the right posture, some write wrongly, some do math wrongly, Ms. Mai explains and guides. "I am very happy that the children sit and study well, diligently like this. I slowly teach them, a little bit each day" - Ms. Mai confided.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai is 61 years old this year, a former teacher at Cai Khe 2 Primary School, retired early 10 years ago due to health reasons. Moving her Party activities to the locality, the local Party cell saw that she had pedagogical expertise, so they proposed that she teach a charity class that had existed before. Ms. Mai happily accepted, and for more than 10 years, Ms. Mai has been regularly attending class on time. The class has no podium, no blackboard and white chalk, just children looking for knowledge and a retired teacher with a good heart.

Most of the children are from families who live far away and come here to work, or are in difficult circumstances, their parents are no longer together, their families are struggling to make a living; many children do not have birth certificates... "In general, each child has a different situation, this class wants to teach them to read and write so that they can go out into the world and help themselves," Ms. Mai added. That is, most of the children in the class do not go to school, but attend charity classes to learn to read and write. Ms. Mai said that before the COVID-19 pandemic, the class had over 30 students, after the pandemic, their families went to work, now the class has about 12 students, about 8-9 students attend school, from grade 1 to grade 5. Nguyen Van Ngh., 14 years old, a grade 5 student in the class, said: My sister and I have been attending this charity class since grade 1, now we know how to read, write, and calculate. Ms. Mai teaches very carefully and also takes care of and supports the two brothers.

With the goal of teaching children to read and write, to work in the world, and not to be disadvantaged, for each student who grows up, that is Ms. Mai's happiness. She said, like the case of Hua Nhat Tr., a student in the class who has difficult circumstances, his parents left him, leaving him with his old and weak grandmother, who had a traffic accident and had difficulty walking. While studying in class, Ms. Mai encouraged him to learn to read and write fluently, so that it would be easier to find a job later, and to study for a motorbike driving license, as a means of making a living. After a few years, Tr. found Ms. Mai to inform her that he had taken the driving license exam, bought a motorbike to drive a technology taxi, and worked part-time at a restaurant. Thanks to that, the life of the two of them has stabilized. Seeing the joy of the little student, Ms. Mai was very moved. She said: "For many people, having a driver's license is a small matter, but for you, it is a process of effort". Not only that, Ms. Mai also mobilized from many sources to provide notebooks and clothes for the children.

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Although retired, Ms. Mai is busy every day. She is a member of the Ngo Gai volunteer group. Wherever there are any donated items, clothes, or necessities, she immediately drives to receive them to hand over to the group, and then deliver them to people in remote, disadvantaged areas. Ms. Mai is also the President of the Cai Khe Ward Education Promotion Association, dedicated to the local education and talent promotion work. She regularly mobilizes benefactors to support students in difficult circumstances, including notebooks and scholarships, with a total value of nearly 50 million VND over the years. According to the leader of the Cai Khe Ward People's Committee, Ms. Mai's contributions have contributed positively to the education promotion work and building the cultural life of the ward.

For many years, Ms. Mai’s family has been a typical cultural family in the ward. She and her husband, Mr. Truong Van Hoang, have been together for 40 years and now have 2 daughters, both of whom have settled down. Her family is loved by the neighbors because of “warmth inside and peaceful outside”, “harmony between elders and juniors”. Ms. Mai shared that her volunteer work is also a lesson to teach her children and grandchildren about love and compassion in life.

Article and photos: DANG HUYNH

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/tinh-thuong-cua-co-mai-a186912.html