Summer is here, but charity classes still have a "light" of hope.

At the charity class (Long Xuyen ward), the daily life of 12 children is nurtured with letters and knowledge. However, when the summer sun spreads across the streets, the harsh cycle of making a living pulls the children away from school, leaving only 8-9 children remaining.

Visit the charity class, listen to the reading of lessons on a summer day

The place where the pain is recorded

Every summer, my footsteps find their way back to the small classroom nestled at the corner of Nguyen Du. More than three decades ago, no one called this place a classroom, no one believed that this place would become a support for so many small people. Nguyen Du at that time was just a poor, noisy working-class neighborhood full of worries about making a living. A place where makeshift houses were crowded together, the sounds of arguing, children crying or adults drinking were familiar sounds, seeping into every small alley.

“Most of the children’s families are poor laborers, working hard all year round, struggling to earn every penny. Due to various circumstances, most of the children do not have birth certificates and cannot go to school like their peers. Being busy and miserable makes parents give up and no longer have enough energy to care about their children’s daily life, morality, and education. Some families even ignore them, leaving their children to their fate, accepting them to grow up amidst the temptations and dark corners of life. The children do not go to school, wander around, sell lottery tickets, collect scrap metal, and are even drawn into mischief and social evils,” Mr. Nguyen Huu Thoi (the founder of the charity class) shared with us many times about that past.

Nurturing love

After many sleepless nights, Mr. Thoi decided to ask for the opinion of the leaders of My Binh ward (old), hoping to open a charity class right in Nguyen Du hamlet. With the support of the local government, the Nguyen Du hamlet charity class was officially established in October 1992, currently located in Long Xuyen ward. At that time, the class was just old tables and chairs, a blackboard with chalk stains placed in the hamlet office, but the children's eyes lit up with new hope.

Gradually, the children’s melodious reading and clear laughter resounded in the poor working-class neighborhood, dispelling all the heaviness and gloom. In the blink of an eye, the charity class has now entered its 33rd year and has been built very spaciously. I still keep the habit of visiting every summer to see the children grow up, some become workers, some become traders, but no matter what they do, they are still “nourished” by the love of the teachers in this poor neighborhood.

“The classroom is not only a place to impart basic knowledge, but also a place to nurture love and nurture the willpower of many generations of students from poor working-class neighborhoods. Many children who were once forgotten by their families and society, thanks to the classroom, have not fallen into the dark vortex of social evils. Our goal is not only to impart basic letters and calculations from grades 1 to 5, but alsoto educate students on personality and human ethics. Fortunately, on that journey, we received a lot of attention and support from local authorities and philanthropists. That is the motivation that helps “unpaid” teachers like us to stick with the classroom for a long time,” confided Ms. Phan Thu Thuy (born in 1964, residing in My Thoi ward), who has been with the charity class for more than 10 years.

Faith for the future

In recent years, the appearance of Nguyen Du has changed. The poor working-class neighborhood now has concrete roads, and many families have better conditions. However, there are still unfinished lives, children who need a school, a guiding hand. The charity class still persists, becoming a bridge to bring children closer to knowledge, to dreams that seem far away.

As a retired primary school teacher, at the age of nearly 70, Ms. Tran Kim Phuong (living in Long Xuyen ward) still spends time going to class, teaching letters in the charity class. “I have known and started teaching here since 2018. The more I teach, the more I sympathize with the children's circumstances and efforts to overcome their fate. Each child has a different situation, a different story, which just hearing it makes people feel sorry. In each of my lessons, I always incorporate life skills and ethics to help the children develop their thinking. Here, the youngest child is 9 years old, the oldest is 16 years old, but they still consider each other as family. That is something we are very proud of!” - Ms. Phuong shared with a deep feeling.

Every time I return to this place, I hear the old teacher's voice telling stories, the students reading their lessons, and the mumbling of numbers adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing amidst the sweltering summer sun. 33 years - not a long time, but enough to write a beautiful story about kindness, about the desire to change fate with simple words.

“With support for my birth certificate, I will be attending Le Van Nhung Primary School (Long Xuyen Ward) when I start school. This is a great joy for me. I promise to study well at the new school so as not to disappoint the love and guidance of the teachers in the charity class!” - Le Thi Lan Anh (9 years old) said excitedly.

PHUONG LAN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/he-ve-lop-hoc-tinh-thuong-van-sang-den-hy-vong-a424227.html