A wonderful journey into the mountains to see CEF children ~ Guest blog by Ngoc

I have joined in on many home visits trips to distant areas to see the CEF children and I know that the further away areas that we visit have the poorer families there. Nevertheless, on the most recent home visit trip with our 'mountain' education project coordinator, Kim Chi, I  was left with very strong impressions, more than on any other trip. Although it was a rainy day and we all got wet as well as having some obstacles on the way, I am grateful to have had a chance to do these visits in order to have more understanding about different areas of this province and the different aspects of poverty that the families face.

Can you imagine how they have lived in such a leaky house like this for many years?

Because their home leaks, when it rains heavily in the night, the mother has to wake up at midnight and find a plastic sheet to cover the mosquito net with in order that her beloved daughter can have a deep sleep.  The one thing of value to a single mother is her child, so the reason why the mother works so hard is so she can give the best things to her daughter in the circumstances.

This sweet girl nurtures a dream to be a teacher, so little by little she makes efforts to improve her school standard by working harder. 

Despite living in such hard circumstances, they always seem happy, perhaps because they have each other. I have a strong impression of the girl’s wonderful attitude and her beautiful smile.  Her smile is likely to be the motivation for her mother to overcome obstacles and make huge efforts.

As it was rainy season and a very wet day, when we visited another house we had to walk along a muddy and slippery path and walk around water-filled fields to get there. The little girl is in grade 3, but she is so mature and clever. Every day her father has to carry her on his back along the muddy paths and around the fields to the road so she can find a way to get to school from there. Her house is rather far from the school so when she gets to the main road, she has to find someone and persuade them to take her to school on their motorbike.

She is interested in becoming a teacher in the future and she wishes to then return to her hometown to teach. She told us that she wanted to live with her family and contribute her knowledge to her community. What an admirable spirit! She gives us confidence in her plan and belief in her having a bright future when we see and talk with her. Although she lives in a poor family with lots of obstacles in her life, she always sounds optimistic about her life and her lovely face always has a smile on it.

These two girls are both in poor situations but are very different girls with different situations; however they are always smiling brightly and understand that their future is in their hands. They are both determined to be successful in the future and have a strong belief that a good education will bring about changes for them.

We wish to support them and encourage them to attain their goals and help their dreams become true.