Dreams of fishing village children

One summer day, Nguyen Van Thang from Thuy Long fishing village was taken out by his brother.

More than 100 households in Thuy Long fishing village, who used to live on the water, now have solid houses, electricity, and can listen to loudspeakers every morning and evening in the resettlement village. However, due to limited land and no land for production, people's lives are still difficult. Many households still have to make a living on the river by raising fish in cages.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thiet, a resident of the fishing village, shared: "My family has been supported by the government to resettle ashore for nearly 20 years, but we have no fields. Many families are like that, so some work as construction workers, some drive for hire, some go to the market to sell fish... The elderly stay home to look after their grandchildren and raise fish in cages."

According to Mr. Thiet, every household here has many children. In the summer, when people had not yet been resettled on land, the children mainly played on the boats and made up their own games. Now, they are on land, they run from one end of the village to the other, and the games are more diverse, such as kite flying, soccer, marbles...

On a small cement yard by the river, Nguyen Van Thang, a fourth grader, is playing with his older siblings. “This year I have summer vacation at home, I don’t have to go to extra classes. During the day I play with my friends, in the afternoon my dad lets me go out on the boat with my grandparents, he goes fishing,” Thang said, pointing to a small boat on the other side of the river where his grandparents are looking after the fish cages. The boy said that when he grows up, he doesn’t want to be a fisherman: “I want to be a construction engineer to build houses and bridges. I hope my house will be taller and wider so that the whole family doesn’t have to get on the boat anymore.”

In the solid houses of the resettlement area, many children like Thang are nurturing dreams of going beyond their parents' boat. Some want to be engineers, some dream of being teachers, soldiers... Nguyen Van Manh, a 6th grader, hopes to become a football player for the Thanh Hoa team in the future. "He has a talent for football, so every summer his family sends him to the Viet Hung Football Training Center in Thanh Hoa City (the name before July 1 - PV) to practice," said Nguyen Thi Dao, Manh's mother.

In the summer, in the fishing village of Thuy Long, although there are no trips to the beach or amusement parks like children in the city, there is a volleyball court filled with laughter and a warm neighborhood relationship after many years of sharing the same water. Talking about the changes after resettlement, the people of Thuy Long cannot help but be proud that from 100% of poor households, without houses, having to live on boats floating on the water, now most households have escaped poverty, have stable housing, and have electricity from the national grid. In particular, the education of children is of concern, when 100% of children go to school at the right age, many of them have passed the entrance exams to colleges and universities.

Late afternoon in Thuy Long fishing village, children gather around a simple meal with their families. Dishes of river fish, crab soup, garden vegetables... are simple but cozy. Down the river, the sound of water lapping against the boat grows louder, the electric lights from the fish cages light up the whole area. I believe that although life is still full of hardships, the dreams of the children here will soon come true.

Article and photos: Dinh Giang

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/uoc-mo-cua-nhung-nbsp-dua-tre-lang-chai-253800.htm