Learning cannot be interrupted.

Students in Lang Nu village enjoy a meal with plenty of meat and vegetables after days of food shortages due to floods - Photo: VU TUAN

"The children in Nu Village now have hot rice, fresh meat, and green vegetables," these photos of a heartwarming meal at a boarding school in Bao Yen, Lao Cai, warm the hearts of everyone concerned about the post-flood situation in the North and those contributing and sharing everywhere.

Once the danger had passed, and food was no longer a critical need in the flood-stricken areas, amidst the overwhelming task of reconstruction, the focus shifted to something absolutely essential: ensuring the education of the students.

Restocking essential items for a student's beloved school bag, equipping a warm and nurturing school environment to foster their future, and providing livelihood support so that no student is forced to leave school.

It's so simple and humble, yet it requires so much care, love, and sustained resources, as the lyrics of a song say: "Tables and chairs, books and notebooks / Ink and pens, chalk and blackboards / The joyful birdsong on the high branches / The star-spangled flag in the golden autumn light / How much we love our school..."

For many years now, students, teachers, and schools have always been at the forefront of concerns and social programs that Tuổi Trẻ has chosen as a mission alongside its journalistic mission. And the program to rebuild schools after Typhoon Yagi was born out of that practical concern.

During our work, the children we met were all living in difficult circumstances – sometimes harsh, having just experienced a disaster – sometimes catastrophic – like the raging flood that swept through Nu Village, but the vitality of childhood is incomparable.

Very soon, the sparkle will return to their eyes, to their smiling lips. Very soon, their steps will be carefree again, their hearts will be open once more...

We've witnessed this so many times, and that's why the school must quickly become warm and welcoming, the schoolbags must quickly be full to await those hands, and the lessons must quickly be opened, written, and taught to meet those souls.

There can be no disruption. We cannot allow the devastating flood, which has already caused loss of life, to further jeopardize the future – even if it's just one student having to drop out of school.

Very quickly, books, pens, rulers, backpacks, uniforms, shoes... were handed out to the children. The joy of receiving gifts may not have completely dispelled the shock after the storm and floods, but it was truly a source of happiness.

And this joy will surely bring with it many other joys and hopes each day that schools reopen, and students pick up their books and pens and rulers again.

Having experienced the storms and floods, witnessed the devastation, and overcome the losses, each child has grown up to understand how fragile yet precious life is, to know that they must learn and live for the sake of their classmate who was swept away by the flood, and to learn how to protect their family, home, school, and village.

Many teachers, students from kindergarten, primary, secondary, and high school, and university students have visited the Tuoi Tre newspaper office in recent days.

It's not just about money; the youthful, vibrant energy of love and hope is gathered and shared, sent to areas affected by floods and storms, so that schools submerged in mud can be revived, students can happily return to school, and future paths can continue to open up.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/viec-hoc-khong-the-dut-doan-20240920092333718.htm