VietNamNet Bridge – National university entrance exams are not the exams of examinees only, but of the whole country. A lot of parents have decided to stop vending for several days to bring their children to exams.

Thu is preparing for the exam

Tang Thi Thu, 14, from Thanh Ha district in Hai Duong province, related that she has been living at the pagoda since she was 14. Thu’s parents are both seriously sick and they could die at any time. Thu related that she has a brother, but she does not know where he is.

Thu’s parents told her to seek support from the pagoda. Thu can have meals here and can go to school, to Viet Duc High School in Hanoi.

Thu said that she has decided to take exams to enter the Hanoi Agriculture University. Tomorrow, July 3, she, unlike other examinees, will have to go to register for exams, alone.

“I feel sad because my parents cannot go with me to the exam rooms,” Thu said.

If Thu fails the university entrance exam, she will study at junior college. “Monks at the pagoda will not allow me to give up learning,” Thu said.

Besides Thu, Bo De Pagoda also has two other examinees, Nguyen Thi Nga and Phan Thi Huong, the highest number of examinees in the last five years.

Monk Thich Dam Lan said that three students at the pagoda have passed the exams to universities and junior colleges so far. “If they want to learn further, we will create the best conditions for them to fulfill their dreams,” he said.

The pieces of life

Phan Thi Lien’s lodging in Hanoi has become noisy these days as Ha Thi Hong, her daughter, yesterday morning left for Hanoi to attend the university entrance exam.

Lien said that she supports her daughter’s decision to take exams to enter two universities.

Lien related that she has to pay 6,000 dong per day for lodging. Moreover, she has to pay for meals and other expenses. Lien has estimated that it will cost some 800,000 dong for the 15 days Lien stays in Hanoi, a sum of money which is equal to her income for one month of vending on Hanoi’s streets.

Lien has been living in that 12 sq m lodge with four other people for eight years and she has been working hard to earn money to send to her family in her home village.

As Hong has come, the room has become narrower. However, this does not bother any one. They all love and share experiences with Lien and the daughter.

“I have to bear difficulties for my daughter and I work for my daughter’s future. She will not have to be a vendor like me,” she said.

The lunch to welcome Tuat’s daughter

Dinh Thi Tuat, who is living at a lodging on Tran Quy Cap street, has the same plight. She today has prepared a special meal to welcome her daughter, who has come to attend the upcoming exams. Tuat and the other eight people in the same lodging just have rau muong and tofu for dinner, only Tuat’s daughter has meat.

Tuat, who earns money by collecting scrap, related that she has been working in the morning only for the last two days. She has spent the remaining time taking care of her daughter, the one who will take the most important exam in her life in some days.

Duc Chinh- Van Chung