They come from different villages in Vietnam, but they have one thing in common: they hope their children can become university students.
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Leaving their distant villages, many parents must sell buffaloes, pigs and rice, and temporarily leave their farm work, all to travel to big cities. They must go with their children for this year’s university entrance exams.
Though they cope with a lot of difficulties, these farming families dream of a brighter future for their children.
A daughter’s education
On the morning of July 3, aTien Phong reporter met Le Thi Teo, 56, at the entrance to the Economics-Law University (under the HCM City National University).
Teo looked worried. She was waiting for her daughter, Dang Thi Thu, who was completing procedures for the entrance exams.
She came from Thanh Hoa province to the city for the first time to bring her daughter to the university entrance exams. She and her daughter have spent 600,000 dong since July 1 and they have only 500,000 dong left. She still does not know where she can earn money for the next days they must stay in HCM City.
Though worried, Teo is proud of her daughter. None of Thu’s brothers and sisters could study at universities, but she hopes that Thu will pass the exam to become a university student, because she studies hard and well.
“If she passes the exams, I will stay in HCM City. I will work for others to earn money to feed us. Thu’s father must work the family’s four sao of rice fields (a sao is equal to 360 square metre) in the village to earn money for her tuition,” she explained.
Everything for the children
At a free rental room in HCM City, at 5am, Nguyen Thi Duyen Binh was reviewing her lessons. Her father, Nguyen Duc Hai estimated that, in order to have enough money for her to sit the exam for HCM City Economics University, he has had to save money for a month. Now he only has 500,000 dong and he had to borrow 600,000 dong from relatives.
Hai admitted he is poor. Every day, he can earn only 20,000 dong, which is not enough to feed the whole family. However, “though we are poor, we will still try our best, so that the children can go to school. Only knowledge can help us change our life,” he concluded.
Traveling 200 km to exam room
Phan Van Sy, 54, from Quang Nam province, was seen waiting for his daughter Phan Thi Van Chau in front of Da Nang Economics University on the morning of July 4.
Sy is a wounded soldier, who lost his left hand in the war in 1973. However, for the last three years, he has still been taking his children to their exam rooms.
“It took me four hours to carry Chau to Da Nang because the road is very rough. Though we live in difficult conditions, we always try our best so that our children can go to school,” he remarked.
Grandfather carries grandson to exam room
The scene of an old man with white hair who pushed a wheelchair, carrying the grandson to the exam room in front of the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, touched many onlookers.
He is Le Van Khoi, 70, from Binh Phuoc province, while the grandson is Le Nguyen Hoang Trung, who is taking the exam for Information Technology at HCM City University of Natural Sciences.
Trung’s parents left him when he was four and he lives with his grandparents. Khoi carries Trung to school every day, no matter if it is sunny or rainy.
Luckily, Trung always studies very well, so, he hopes to pass the exam to become a university student, the utmost hope of his grandparents.
Source: Tien phong
