New Nu Village, afternoon of December 21, 2024. Welcoming teacher Nguyen Xuan Khang was the clear laughter of children at the village gate. Coming to the new Nu Village now, if you have never heard the story, no one can imagine that this land has suffered so much tragedy due to the landslide in September 2024. The small stream hugs the sturdy village, and new crops appear throughout the fields.
Since 2018, Chairman of the Board of Marie Curie Hanoi School Nguyen Xuan Khang has never gone far. However, in the last days of the year, the 75-year-old teacher decided to make the hundreds of kilometers journey to the place he now considers his second home. According to Mr. Khang, the purpose of this trip is to “My grandfather and I recognized each other and signed a special commitment“.
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Many people in Nu Village immediately recognized “grandfather Khang” when the group stopped the car. The first child to welcome him was Nguyen Van Hanh, a 12th grade student whom Mr. Khang had repeatedly called, encouraged, and provided for him to continue going to school. On his part, teacher Nguyen Xuan Khang also immediately recognized and remembered each person's name: “This is Hanh, that is Khanh Ngan's mother – one of the two youngest grandchildren I adopted.”.
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Teacher Nguyen Xuan Khang met Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim – mother of baby Khanh Ngan.
Back to more than 3 months ago, right after storm No. 3 Yagi passed, landslides and flash floods claimed the lives of 57 people in Lang Nu, making the whole country sad. Teacher Khang held in his hand a list of students highlighted in yellow and red, in the dead of night. The yellow line is the surviving children, only about 1/3. 75 year old man crying. From here, he came up with the idea to raise the children who survived the disaster. Continuing to ask for information, Mr. Khang learned about the situation of Hoang Ngoc Lan (6 years old), who lost both parents and both brothers in the family. The 75-year-old teacher confided: “This is the girl who makes him cry the most”. The image of a 6-year-old child in the hospital further motivated Mr. Khang to “do something” to ease the pain of all children who survived the flood in Lang Nu.
As a teacher, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Khang simply wants children to continue to go to school. Decide to do it. After many days using all communication channels, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Khang received a list and complete information about the 22 surviving children in Lang Nu, who he could adopt until they were all 18 years old. By providing each child with 3 million VND for school fees every month.
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Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim, mother of baby Khanh Ngan, still vividly remembers the moment she heard that a teacher would adopt her child.
“The day I learned that Mr. Khang had adopted a child was when both my mother and I were at Viet Duc hospital. My husband said there was an old teacher in Hanoi who adopted the children of Lang Nu. I still didn't believe it because of the number of children. There were quite a lot of people to raise for such a long time, how could they raise them? But then, one day, two brothers and sisters came to visit and talk, then sent gifts to mother and child and said they were from Mr. Khang's school. I just got curious and went online to see if there was such information But before that, I half believed it and half doubted it because I thought it was my husband who heard it wrong.
After that day, Khanh Ngan's spirit was quite panicked, partly haunted by being swept away by the flood, partly because stitching and changing bandages on the infected wound was too painful, so she was afraid of contact with others. However, after hearing that I will have another grandfather, I am very happy.”.
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Not only Khanh Ngan, but 21 other children in Lang Nu also share this joy. Gia Bao and Xuan Phuc are two brothers, their parents are no longer there, they live with their grandparents. During this meeting, Gia Bao sat on teacher Khang's lap, happily accepting “grandfather”. The bright smiles on the children's faces made witnesses both happy and sad…
On this special trip, Mr. Khang not only came to meet and visit the accommodation and activities of his 22 unrelated grandchildren, but also brought with him a piece of paper called “Promise”. Specifically, Mr. Khang personally composed and printed out an appointment, which was his dream, brought it to Nu Village and read it to the children and everyone. If the godfather and the children agree with this “Promise”, then everything will be done. There are things that can be done every year, but there are things that must be done after many years, and must strive and try very hard to achieve. There are even some very difficult things – for Mr. Khang himself.
Grandpa Khang read aloud:
“The promise of 23 grandchildren. Today December 22, 2024 in Lang Nu village, Phuc Khanh commune, Bao Yen district, Lao Cai province.
One, every year on December 22, grandfather and grandchildren take pictures and send them to each other to know each other's health and maturity. So, take photos at least once a year on December 22. This day is easy to remember because it is the founding day of the Vietnam People's Army. You guys send me photos to let me know how is this Bao and Thao Ngoc's health? How do the weakest, most severely injured, and youngest children grow up? Then how do other brothers and sisters study?
Two, this is the second promise. On December 22, 2039, that is 15 years later, when grandfather is 90 years old, the two youngest grandchildren, Gia Han and Khanh Ngan, 18 years old, will all meet in Hanoi at his house to take the second photo together. two…”
23 grandparents signed the “Promise Agreement”. Children who cannot write yet will “point” with their parents.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong expressed her gratitude to her “grandfather” when her 16-year-old daughter, Hoang Thi Hiem, was adopted by Mr. Khang. At the same time, she brought her youngest son, 14-year-old Hoang Van Huyen, who has had an illness since birth and has never been to school. Therefore, I was not among the students introduced to Mr. Khang by the schools in the list of 22 children he adopted. After this short meeting, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Khang contacted Ms. Hong again to propose a monthly support of 3 million VND for Huyen's treatment. Huyen will also start receiving support from October 2024 like other children, and will receive support this December.
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Throughout his life in the teaching profession, what Mr. Nguyen Xuan Khang has worried about more than money and food is the moral qualities and future of children. He affirmed that for a child to grow up and become an adult, he must have education. I want to not only support the children with money to clothe themselves and pay for school, but also care about how they learn and what their moral qualities are.” He takes care of whether the children will study until the end of high school or not. In 8th and 9th grade, girls drop out of school, get married and have children, then sell their faces to the earth and their backs to the sky?
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That's why, along with sending the allowance, from the end of September 2024 until now, Mr. Khang has coordinated with the sponsors and teachers, especially the children's homeroom teachers. He also offered to ask Mr. Hoang Van Thoi to be the children's godfather, but he did not accept. “Every time I see children I can't hold back my tears” – Mr. Thoi said.
For the older children, on this trip, Mr. Khang encouraged the family to create conditions for the children to finish high school, and he told the children themselves to strive.
Nguyen Van Hanh is the oldest grandchild of “grandfather” Khang. According to Ms. Ban Thi Hat, subject teacher, whom Hanh calls “mother” and calls “child”, Hanh has changed a lot after the incident, receiving a lot of attention from everyone.
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Nguyen Van Hanh (left) and Hoang Xuan Phuc (right) brought their “grandfather” to visit his new home.
“I no longer have the habit of being naughty, sleeping in class or busy playing like before. Currently, I have more mature thoughts and focus on studying.”Ms. Hat said.
However, Teacher Hat still has many concerns: “First, he is influenced by outside influences. Meanwhile, Hanh has no one to guide him, so he easily falls into inappropriate things. For example, there are days when Hanh releases livestream to sell until 11 – 12 o'clock at night. I said that I do it for money. Second, Hanh often goes to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, which directly affects his studies..”
In just a few months, teenager Nguyen Van Hanh will officially turn 18 years old. In front of me are the thorny challenges that await me: choosing a career that is right for me and choosing the right path. Hanh himself also expressed: “I'm afraid of becoming a bad person, because I'm not mature enough yet, and society has too many traps. In the short term, I feel like I'm not suitable for the livestreaming profession, because I'm not confident. Perhaps, I will find a job and study to take care of my future life.”.
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Although he was only “raised” by Mr. Khang for a few months, Hanh did not forget his grandfather's promise to meet again 15 years later. I'm sure I will come back for the reunion, along with more than 20 other children. In that appointment, Mr. Khang also jokingly mentioned: “15 years from now, 23-year-old Gia Bao will have to bring his lover to visit his grandfather, and Hanh will probably have 2-3 children at that time, Phuc also has 1 child…“
At the age of 75, Mr. Khang begins a long journey ahead. This was an appointment that he himself was not sure about “I don't know if he was still alive at that time.”. Before the promise, Mr. Khang thought that if he could live another few, ten years, it would be good. But since he had 22 more children in Lang Nu, he wished he could live longer, not only to take a photo in 2039, but more importantly, to see his children grow up with his own eyes.
To do that, teacher Nguyen Xuan Khang himself is more conscious of maintaining his health. The teacher admitted: “I have to tell myself, eat a little more, sleep a little more, work a little less. Before, I ate less, slept less, worked more, but now I have adjusted it to live a little longer. Trying to be in the second photo is not easy for him. In 15 years, for Gia Han and Khanh Ngan, 18 is the most beautiful age of his life The most beautiful age of life, but that is life at sunset.“
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To prepare for 2039, not only Mr. Khang, but the children and their parents also need to make great efforts.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim shared: “My husband is a teacher and I myself was once a pedagogical student and taught for a while. Since I was young, I only wanted to get out of the village, out of the village's bamboo ramparts, to explore many regions. Even now that I am a mother, I still want my child to go to college. If he follows the teaching profession like his father, it will be a fate. If he does not pursue the teaching profession but pursues another profession, I Still agree, but I will definitely create favorable conditions I also hope that you will keep your health and accompany you to see your children grow up every day.”
Mong Hoang Thao Ngoc's mother, Hoang Thi Dip, also reminded her daughter: “Doctors have saved me to be alive and healthy like today. I am the luckiest person to have been saved, so I must study well so that one day when I grow up, I can be a doctor to cure diseases and save people.”. She taught her children to study hard so that when they grow up, they will do good and honest work to help society and not disappoint their grandfather's care and nurturing.
That is also what Thao Ngoc shared with the writer. I still remember the doctors promised that if you want to be a doctor, you must be good at Math, Biology…
No one dares to predict the future. However, one thing is certain: the children of Nu Village will live in the love of their parents, guardians, teachers, and support from “grandfather” Nguyen Xuan Khang.
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