School lights up dreams

Where the wind never stops blowing

In the first year of its establishment, the school had only 200 students, divided into 4 classes. At that time, the facilities were extremely poor. The small school had no fence, and all four sides were just vast fields. The school yard was covered with dust, and every gust of wind blew, creating a cloud of dust. In the rainy season, the old corrugated iron roofs were not enough to cover the water, causing it to leak drop by drop into the classrooms. In the dry season, the sweltering heat poured down like a stove. However, what made teachers most concerned were the bamboo shoots growing up in barren land, coming to class with the baggage of poverty. Each story of the children was like a low note in the midst of a stormy life.

Le Van Duy from Trieu Tai commune is a 10th grader but is not as tall as an adult. Although small, Duy knows how to light a fire, chop firewood, cut vegetables, and raise chickens. His father died early, and his mother left the countryside when he was 6, without a trace. He lives with his grandparents. His grandfather suffered a stroke and is bedridden, leaving only his grandmother, who is old and weak, but has to diligently pick up bundles of vegetables to bring to the market every day. Every afternoon after school, Duy rushes home to cook, wash dishes, and clean up to help his grandparents. One time, his homeroom teacher came to visit. On the tray there was only a bowl of white rice, boiled vegetables, and a bowl of pickled eggplant. His grandfather lay on a rickety bamboo bed, his eyes cloudy and tearful. Duy did not talk much. He just worked quietly, studied quietly, and grew up quietly like a wild sprout growing among the cliffs. There were days when he came to class in a faded white shirt with the seams no longer intact.

Visiting Phuong Linh's family in Trieu Son, the teachers' hearts were broken. On the barren sandy land was a cramped, rickety house. The walls were unpainted, the doors were made of old corrugated iron, and there were no valuable items. Since the age of 3 months, she had lived with her grandmother, over 70 years old, her figure bent like an old bamboo bed. Linh was quiet, often sitting quietly in the corner of the classroom, working hard alone. Her eyes were always filled with tears, just a random question could make her cry. One day, when her grandmother was sick, she came to class late, sat in the last row, her shirt still had a few stains of mud that she had not had time to wash.

Duy and Linh are just two of countless quiet lives under the roof of Vinh Dinh school. Behind each life is a heartbreaking story. They are like wild grasses in a land where the wind never stops blowing, still nurturing their dreams through each page of a book, each stroke of a hand, each day at school.

Mái trường thắp sáng những ước mơ - Ảnh 2. — Students sell flower bouquets on holidays to raise funds for "Lighting up Dreams"

Journey to light up dreams

Concerned about the difficulties of students, in 2013, the fund "Lighting up the dreams of Vinh Dinh youth" was born. Establishing a scholarship fund is not only an idea but also an arduous journey. Without big sponsors, without a steady budget, everything starts from zero. Teachers and students of Vinh Dinh High School chose to start the journey with their own hands.

Since the fund was established, the resources mobilized mainly come from the hearts of school staff and teachers. Gradually, small actions have touched the hearts of the community. Parents, former students, and local people, upon learning about the fund, have gradually come to support. Some people donated fabric, some brought books and notebooks, some quietly transferred a few hundred thousand dong without leaving their names. The pieces of love were pieced together to form a large, warm carpet that stretched along the path to school of poor students.

Mái trường thắp sáng những ước mơ - Ảnh 3.

Mái trường thắp sáng những ước mơ - Ảnh 4.

Students raise piggy banks to raise funds for "Lighting up dreams"

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY VINH DINH HIGH SCHOOL

But every journey has its twists and turns. The scholarship fund, despite its widespread popularity, is always faced with the constant question: How to sustain it in the long term? During the years of storms, crop failures, pandemics, and economic turmoil, the amount of money raised was so much less than expected that the school thought it would have to stop. Not giving up in the face of difficulties, the School Union began to build a fundraising plan through various forms of experience: selling lucky money envelopes on Tet holidays, selling flowers to raise funds on holidays, organizing stalls at village fairs, raising piggy banks, souvenir shops... The lucky money envelopes sold at the school gate, each bouquet of flowers wrapped by clumsy hands, each souvenir meticulously designed, each coin saved to raise a piggy bank... are proof of the tireless efforts of both teachers and students of Vinh Dinh High School.

In particular, every Sunday morning, teachers and members of the Youth Union gather at the coffee shop. Not for entertainment or chatting, but to wear aprons, roll up their sleeves, and work as parking attendants and waiters. Each cup of water made, each table wiped, each smile given to a customer... lights up in the students' hearts a simple thought that they are helping to prevent someone from dropping out of school due to lack of money to pay tuition. The owner respectfully puts the profits from selling coffee into a wooden box, on which is engraved the words: "Delivering trust, receiving dreams".

Mái trường thắp sáng những ước mơ - Ảnh 5. — Green house model, collecting plastic and paper waste to sell to raise funds

Not only stopping at traditional fundraising activities, the school cleverly incorporates the message of environmental protection into every small action. A special plan was born: collecting scrap to raise funds. After each cleaning session, festival, sports or art activity, scraps of paper, plastic bottles, soft drink cans... are no longer trash, but become "treasures" that students diligently collect and sort. Heavy sacks of scrap are sold, contributing every precious penny to the "Lighting up Dreams" fund. That small journey sows in the hearts of the students great lessons about the meaning of labor, about sharing, saving, and above all, responsibility for the living environment around them. From those seemingly simple things, the students are quietly lighting the warm fire of love and hope.

Impressive numbers

From the first steps, Vinh Dinh High School's fundraising journey has quietly grown over the years, creating a humanitarian journey, bringing light of hope to hundreds of students in difficult circumstances.

Mái trường thắp sáng những ước mơ - Ảnh 6. — Teachers' representatives and the school's Youth Union visited the home of the scholarship recipient.

After 13 years of persistent development, the program has raised a total of more than 1 billion VND, a meaningful number for a rural school. Thanks to this valuable fund, more than 700 scholarships have been given to poor students who have overcome difficulties. In addition, hundreds of practical gifts such as books, bicycles, warm clothes... have also reached those in need. In particular, the program has become a bridge connecting many philanthropists across the country, proactively detecting cases in need of emergency relief, from a dilapidated house in the middle of the storm and flood season to the flickering study light next to a mother's sickbed. Each time like that, the whole community joins hands to support the children so that their learning journey is not interrupted.

Mái trường thắp sáng những ước mơ - Ảnh 7. — Representatives of the school board and the school union visited the home of the scholarship recipient.

"Lighting up dreams" is not only a support program, but has become a beautiful symbol of love and community strength in education . From the small school in the countryside of Quang Tri, that light is still spreading, warm and lasting. Looking back on the journey, Vinh Dinh High School can be proud of a humble and magical journey - a journey to write the most beautiful pages of life with kindness.