Young teacher sows letters on Ngoc Linh peak

Ignoring the opportunity to work at lowland schools, young teacher Tra Thi Thu has spent 11 years working at highland schools in Tra Tap commune (Da Nang city), while calling on philanthropists to help hundreds of households and students on Ngoc Linh mountain range.

Challenge with the girl in the lowlands

To contact and reach Tak Po school, Tra Tap primary boarding school for ethnic minorities, was extremely difficult. Because the phone signal was intermittent, sometimes there was no signal, the road was steep and slippery, and no vehicle could pass, only on foot.

Teacher Tra Thu has been with students in the highlands for 11 years.

Ms. Thu and the children at the opening ceremony

Photo: NVCC

Yet, the young teacher Tra Thi Thu (31 years old, commonly known as Tra Thu), has been walking to school with her students for the past 11 years. "Tra Tap Primary Boarding School has 11 separate schools, all of which are difficult to get to and require walking. As for the school where I teach, Tak Po, it takes about 1.5 - 2 hours to walk, the dirt road is very steep and steep, and I slipped and fell countless times before getting there," said Ms. Thu.

Tra Thu is from Thang Binh District, Quang Nam (now Da Nang City). After graduating from the teacher training college, she worked at Tra Tap School and was assigned to Tu Gia School, then transferred to Rang Di, Mo Roi and currently Tak Po School in Tra Tap Commune. No matter which school, the teaching, learning and living conditions are very poor, the road to school is a huge challenge for a girl born in the lowlands.

"Every day, I see students eating rice with salt and vegetables. First graders have to carry their younger siblings to class, study and help their families take care of their younger siblings. When a baby cries for milk, I take a pebble and clean it for the baby to suck on. It makes me feel very sad," Tra Thu said.

On the first day she arrived at Tak Po school, she saw that the school was very dilapidated, built only of bamboo. The sun shone directly into the classroom, and when it rained, water splashed into the room, wetting all the desks, chairs, and books. Many people said that the school "looked like a cowshed in the lowlands", which made her feel extremely sad and determined to stay and help the children.

"At first, I had a language barrier because the children spoke the local language, so I didn't understand. Then, I learned basic words in the Ca Dong language. After a while of interacting with the people, parents and students here, I began to feel close and familiar. Everyone gave me a lot of love, so I gradually got used to life in this highland area," Tra Thu shared.

Connecting loving hearts

Teacher Tra Thi Thu's class is very special. The teacher and students gather together all day because many students stay at the boarding school with her. In the morning, she teaches the main subjects, in the afternoon she tutors the weak students, and in the afternoon she goes with the students to find vegetables, bamboo shoots, and snails to prepare for dinner. In the evening, the teacher and students gather together to prepare school supplies and cut and paste samples. Tra Thu and another teacher also take care of 10 students from 3 to 7 years old at the school because their homes are too far away, taking up to 2 hours on foot.

Tra Thu gives Tet gifts to students

Teacher Tra Thu regularly organizes volunteer activities to support students in mountainous areas.

In 2015, Tra Thu joined the Love Connection Club founded by teacher Nguyen Tran Vy. From there, she began her volunteer journey with the desire to contribute to changing the lives of students in remote areas with countless difficulties. In 2023 alone, Thu has carried out countless volunteer projects with great influence, such as: the Going to School in the Mountains program to help 48 orphaned students worth 288 million VND; Daily nutritious meals to help 30 students at Lang Luong school worth 100 million VND; Connecting 500 uniforms, 500 warm clothes, 500 raincoats for students at Tra Tap Primary Boarding School worth 115 million VND; Connecting 2,000 uniforms for children in mountainous areas worth nearly 300 million VND...

"Before, there was a lot of shortage here, there was no electricity grid and we used solar panels, then it was struck by lightning, teachers and students lit candles to study together at night. Many times I felt like the mother of the students, that was very happy," Tra Thu said.

In particular, not only caring for her students, Ms. Thu also shares with people in difficult circumstances. Therefore, she initiated and mobilized the construction of 50 toilets for people in Tu Nuong and Rang Chuoi villages worth nearly 200 million VND and connected to build concrete roads to Tu Nuong village worth more than 200 million VND; Connected 100 gifts such as duck, rice, noodles, oil, fish sauce, sugar, solar electricity, etc. for people in Lang Luong village, Tra Tap commune worth 70 million VND; 300 gifts, organized a Mid-Autumn Festival program for students in Tra Tap commune worth 60 million VND; Connected thousands of plant and animal varieties for people to develop their livelihoods...

Previously, Tra Thu and the Love Connection Club built 2 bridges in Tra Nam commune worth 400 million VND, built 9 schools in Tra Tap commune worth more than 1 billion VND, and more than 50 houses of gratitude worth more than 2 billion VND. She also implemented the monthly Love Milk program for hundreds of students worth about 500 million VND and thousands of nutritious meals for students in mountainous areas each school year worth about 400 million VND...

Highland teacher

On social networks, Tra Thu is known as a "highland teacher". "All the schools give me a lot of love and in return, I give that love to the students. I always keep in mind that if you give, you will receive. I came here at the age of 20, as a young teacher who had just graduated from school and had no experience, for me a place like this was difficult to adapt to. My parents asked me why I didn't move to the lowlands where there were better conditions to teach, parents also cared more about teachers, and the facilities were much better than in the highlands. However, I decided to stick with this place and now I have become a highland teacher", Tra Thu confided.

Tra Thu presented the project of Bookcase to illuminate morality

Tra Thu - a young girl who has devoted her youth to teaching children in the highlands of Tra Tap commune, always has a gentle and optimistic smile on her lips. She always knows how to create happiness even in the most difficult and miserable places and feels it naturally. "My wish is that the lives of the people here will be better, and that students will have better conditions to study," Tra Thu said.

Currently, Tra Thu is connecting to create tours to experience and explore the legend of Ngoc Linh ginseng, contributing to promoting the natural image of Tra Tap, preserving indigenous culture and creating more jobs for local people. "As long as the young people here dare to stand up, dare to confidently tell the world : "This is my village, and this is the story I want you to hear", then one day in the near future, the village will not only be a place to pass through, but a place to stop, to feel and to remember", Tra Thu shared.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/co-giao-tre-geo-chu-tren-dinh-ngoc-linh-185250822193447375.htm