“Sowing Seeds” Class Brings Literacy to Underprivileged Children
Ten years ago, Hoang Thi Diu was a normal girl like everyone else. She worked at Dong Hung District General Hospital, Thai Binh. But her health gradually declined and an incident happened that made her unable to walk on her own, and her life was tied to a wheelchair, causing her to collapse.
Hoang Thi Diu confided: “My best days were in my twenties. Then, when I was 18-19 years old, I realized that my body was not normal like my peers. I went to the doctor and found out that I had Kallman syndrome (a genetic disorder that hinders puberty or does not develop puberty) and impaired sense of smell. I fought the disease for 10 years and when my health was no longer good, I was forced to quit my job at the hospital.”
| Hoang Thi Diu and the “Sowing Seeds” class in Ha Giang commune, Dong Hung district, Thai Binh province |
At the age of 27, Hoang Thi Dieu saw her joints in her legs and arms swollen, her legs were so weak that she could not walk and had to use a wheelchair. On days when the weather changed, her legs and arms ached even more. “I saw my old and weak parents taking care of me every day, I felt that I was making them suffer so much, there were times when I wanted to escape from that life. But thinking back, I encouraged myself to try to live, to live well to make my parents happy. My legs were weak but I still had knowledge, I thought of opening a class to teach free to children in the commune,” she shared.
From idea to action, the “Sowing Seeds” class was born in 2022 in a 10m2 room of Diu’s family in Ha Giang commune, Dong Hung district, Thai Binh province. Elementary school students who come to class are taught math and Vietnamese for free by her.
Chu Hieu Lam from Ha Giang commune, Dong Hung, Thai Binh – a student of the class shared: “My favorite subject is Vietnamese. Ms. Diu teaches me to write beautifully. If I don’t understand any lesson at school, she will teach me when I come here.”
The children’s desire to learn and the joy of their daily progress are the motivation for Hoang Thi Diu to continue her fight against the disease. Along with teaching, Ms. Diu has built a free library with more than 2,000 diverse books suitable for many ages, not only serving the children in the classroom but also many people in Ha Giang commune (Dong Hung, Thai Binh) can come to borrow and study.
The determination to overcome and not surrender to fate of teacher Hoang Thi Diu is a shining example for many young people. With the spirit of “nothing is impossible”, the girl, despite the hardships of using a wheelchair, still does meaningful work for society every day, sowing the seeds of knowledge for many children in difficult circumstances.
Free bookshelf motivates disadvantaged students to study
The first impression of Huynh Thanh Thao (born in 1986, Lap Thuong commune, Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City) is optimism, love of life, always thinking positively. Although she was unlucky to have brittle bone disease since childhood – a consequence of Agent Orange, Thao has to use a wheelchair and needs help from her parents in daily activities, but she is always happy with the concept that “happiness is a journey, a journey of courage”.
Thao did not go to school every day but studied and wrote by herself. Thao expressed herself through her writings and collaborated with some newspapers and radio stations to write articles. Thao did not care who laughed at her but believed that what others could do, she could do too. Just like when people listen to music and stand and dance, she lies down and listens to music and dances happily in her own world.
 |
| Huynh Thanh Thao and the bookshelf bringing the big world to children in Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City |
Mr. Huynh Van Ru, Thao’s father, shared: “My daughter suffered from Agent Orange from her father when she fought in the Tay Ninh battlefield. Although life was difficult, she always tried her best to live well.”
Thao is aware that she will live well to make up for the efforts her parents have made to take care of her. Thao enjoys social activities and the idea of opening a bookshelf was born, where local young people can come to interact and participate in activities. With the support of many people, Thao has also raised a scholarship fund to support children in difficult circumstances. On special occasions, Thao and everyone organize Children’s Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, give white shirts on the occasion of the new school year, organize Christmas celebrations… for children.
Receiving a gift from the program “White shirt to school” implemented by Huynh Thanh Thao, little Tran Nguyen Bao Thy (Cu Chi, Ho Chi Minh City) emotionally shared: “I am very grateful to Ms. Thao for helping me have a new uniform for this school year. The stories Ms. Thao told me gave me more motivation in studying and in life.”
Thao’s bookshelf has more than 5,000 books, helping many children have more valuable materials for their studies. “When I first opened the book library, many people said I must be crazy, having money but not doing profitable game business. But seeing the children excited about the library, about learning knowledge, I feel very happy. That is great happiness,” Thanh Thao confided.
The little girl has opened up a big world and colorful space for the children. Thao has received many awards in her journey of volunteering for the community, she wants to dedicate that gift to her parents, so that they can be proud of the girl with brittle bones who is still constantly striving to do useful work for everyone.
The “5 no” class is always full of love
There is a special class built in Nam Dinh by the determination and love of teacher Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tam of Yen Quang commune, district of Y Yen, Nam Dinh province. She is also known by the nickname Ngoc Tam Thuy Tinh. Ngoc Tam was born with brittle bone disease, although she longed to go to school, she was not able to go to school until she was 8 years old. Due to poor health and having to move around in a wheelchair, her desire to become a teacher prompted Tam to open a special class to tutor students from her hometown of Y Yen, Nam Dinh. Over the past 16 years, Ngoc Tam Thuy Tinh’s class has had hundreds of students.
 |
| Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tam and free classes for children in Yen Quang commune, district of Y Yen, Nam Dinh province |
“I opened a 5-no class (no chalk, no blackboard, no podium, no lesson plans and no tuition). As long as I can still speak and the students still love me, I can do it,” Ngoc Tam shared.
The journey of spreading love and sowing knowledge of Hoang Thi Dieu, Huynh Thanh Thao, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tam has left a strong impression in the community. In the program Connecting love, Vu Phuong Thanh – Representative of Tan Hiep Phat Company expressed her admiration for the girls who, although confined to wheelchairs, possess extraordinary willpower and share the spirit of “nothing is impossible”. Not only giving gifts to encourage the characters, the Company representative said that they will continue to accompany the program, meet more characters to spread the precious spirit and willpower to the community.
With the desire to serve society and inspire all difficult lives across Vietnam, Tan Hiep Phat has accompanied Nhan Dao Television Channel in the program “Connecting Love” from 2019 to present, honoring those with extraordinary determination and the courage to overcome adversity to create useful values for society. The episodes that have been broadcast are special stories left by the characters, spreading many meaningful values to the community, contributing to building a better and better society.
With the same spirit of service, sowing love, and giving strength to those in difficult circumstances, Tan Hiep Phat constantly strives to contribute value to activities to care for and help the community become better, such as sponsoring 50 children orphaned by Covid-19 until they are 18 years old, caring for and supporting Vietnamese heroic mothers from policy families… In 2023, Tan Hiep Phat coordinated with local authorities in 4 provinces of Binh Duong, Hau Giang, Chu Lai, Ha Nam to organize the program “Connecting love – Helping to go to school” to award 600 scholarships, total value of 1.2 billion VND to encourage students in difficult circumstances to strive to excel in their studies.