Dong Nai female teacher wins the 2025 Youth Living Well Award: Committed to "sticking to the forest", sowing seeds of love

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Nga (second from right) received a Certificate of Merit from the Central Committee of the Vietnam Youth Union with the title of Beautiful Living Youth in 2025. Photo: NVCC

With her love for her job, her love for children and her desire to contribute, Ms. Thu Nga has been spreading the spirit of living beautifully and usefully in the community. Her efforts not only contribute to bringing knowledge but also sow the seeds of love and hope for young students with difficult circumstances in the remote areas of Ma Da (now Tri An commune) of Dong Nai province.

More than words - is the heart of a gentle mother

With nearly 11 years of dedication to her profession, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Nga (born in 1993), currently a teacher, Secretary of the Youth Union, and Head of the Association of Ma Da Commune Kindergarten, has portrayed a vivid portrait of the spirit of tireless dedication: Sowing green seeds of hope in lands with many difficulties and shortages.

Young teacher Nguyen Thi Thu Nga (right) takes a souvenir photo with her young students in the leaf class at Cay Sung branch, school year 2024-2025. Photo: NVCC

Ma Da Kindergarten is located in a remote area in Tri An commune, Dong Nai province. The school currently has 1 main campus and 5 branches, of which 2 branches are located deep in the forest. In addition, most of the children's parents are farmers, hired workers (seasonal), with unstable income, including overseas Vietnamese from Cambodia, so they are not fluent in Vietnamese. Many children only live with their grandparents, while their parents work far away in Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Tinh... so the teachers face many difficulties in communicating, contacting and coordinating to care for and educate the children. Understanding that, Ms. Nga not only teaches but also becomes a friend, a second mother to the children.

In the 2024-2025 school year, a colleague was assigned to Cay Sung school, but due to an urgent family matter, Ms. Nga did not hesitate to volunteer to take over her colleague's duties. This school is also the most difficult and deprived place in the commune.

As Secretary of the Youth Union, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Nga (left) has strongly encouraged donors to donate personal lockers and other items to the children in the leaf class of Cay Sung branch. Photo: NVCC

Although Ms. Nga herself has certain circumstances when she has 3 young children of school age, her husband works far away, and her children have to rely on her elderly parents who are nearly 70 years old for housework and children, thanks to the encouragement from that solid rear, she is still steadfast in her mission of "staying in the forest, spreading knowledge".

The journey to school for her and her colleagues is compared with two challenging words: “going to the forest”. Because to reach the children in Cay Sung, she has to run 25km on the road and nearly 8km on the forest road covered with trees and red soil with potholes on the road. The road to school is really not easy, there are days when she goes to class, her whole body is covered in red dust when she walks behind a truck or another motorbike.

Sharing about the most memorable memory of the "jungle" journey was the moment of "encounter" with wild nature, Ms. Nga recounted: The first days crossing the deep forest road, she and her colleagues suddenly encountered a group of monkeys jumping out on both sides of the road. It was an unexpected experience that made them extremely worried and scared.

“However, amidst that fear, an even stronger thought urged me. If we do not overcome it, we will not be able to reach our children. At that time, they will be deprived and will not be able to go to school,” Ms. Nga confided.

It was on that difficult path, where there were hidden dangers, where there was sun, dust, rain and mud, that the love and heart of a "kind mother" became the light and strength that urged Ms. Nga to keep going every day.

For Ms. Nga, the journey of being attached to the profession, especially the past school year with the children at Cay Sung school, was filled with happy memories.

Ms. Nga confided: “Every day coming to the children at Cay Sung is a happy day. Because each child has a story, a special situation, they are much more disadvantaged than others. That affection has turned the difficult path into a happy path. The smiles and love of the children are the warm sources of light, helping us to keep the fire of the profession burning and soothe the fear on the challenging path, continuing to persevere with the mission of sowing green seeds in remote areas” - Ms. Nga confided.

No glory and title equals the mission of youth

Ms. Nga’s family has a tradition of teaching, and it is this love for the profession that has motivated her not only to complete her tasks excellently for many years but also to do better and better. Teaching is not just a simple job, but for her, it is also the mission of youth.

In her role as Secretary of the Youth Union, in recent times, Ms. Nga has organized many meaningful activities for children in remote areas such as: Full Moon Festival, School Day, Spring Connection - Tet Sharing... She also built many models of "Green Youth Union", "Friendly Youth Union", organized effective volunteer activities, attracting union members and young people to participate.

In addition, Ms. Nga is also a tireless “activist” and “connector”. With her prestige and enthusiasm, she has proactively connected with donors in many places, mobilizing thousands of gifts and materials for schools and children.

It is the sturdy corridors, the roofs, the shelves, the blinds, the fans, the swings, the playgrounds that make the school more spacious. It is also the necessities, the tuition support and the valuable meals for disadvantaged students.

In her professional work, Ms. Nga constantly innovates methods to suit preschool children in remote areas. Her initiative "Measures to improve the effectiveness of letter familiarization activities for 5-6 year old children in preschool" has been recognized, bringing about clear results: 100% of children are interested, confident in learning letters and remembering 29 letters.

Ms. Nga said: In the 2024-2025 school year, she was in charge of teaching the leaf class at Cay Sung school with a total of 20 children. At first, the children could not remember the letters correctly, their pronunciation was not clear, and their writing, sitting, and pen-holding skills were all limited. Moreover, the children's families were all in difficult circumstances, so taking care of each letter for the children was quite difficult.

“I have to be patient little by little. From building an environment for learning to write letters, focusing on children, to changing the way of organizing activities to make them familiar with letters rich and diverse. Above all, I have to create for the children an environment, an open space and enough love and patience for them to gradually get used to, remember and prepare a solid foundation of Vietnamese to enter grade 1 most smoothly” - Ms. Nga shared.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Nga received a certificate of merit from the People's Committee of Tri An commune for her outstanding achievements in the emulation movement for the period 2020-2025. Photo: NVCC

Ms. Nga's "forest" volunteer journey has brought home noble certificates of merit from the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Education and Training (2024-2025 school year) and the following certificates of merit: Outstanding young Party member of Dong Nai province for many consecutive years, Outstanding youth following Uncle Ho's teachings of Dong Nai province in 2025, Outstanding teacher for excellently completing tasks for many consecutive school years...

And especially, last night, October 11, at the program "Youth living beautifully" in 2025 organized by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Youth Union, Ms. Nga was honored to be one of 20 outstanding young faces of Vietnam to be proudly honored as "Youth living beautifully" in 2025.

Ms. Nga's happiness now is thanks to the support of the locality and generous donors. The schools of Ma Da Kindergarten are becoming more spacious and the children have a better learning environment. Photo: NVCC

However, for her, happiness is multiplied every day, thanks to the support of the locality and generous donors, the Ma Da Kindergarten campuses are becoming more and more spacious. That is when the children have a better environment, can go to school without worrying about food and tuition. In particular, the most precious "prize" that no title or certificate can compare to is the love and absolute trust of hundreds of students that she has worked hard to educate. That strong affection is the strongest motivation, helping her to constantly study, practice and contribute.

“I believe that if we just live, work hard, and give love, we will definitely receive love in return. Only when we are positive and give without thinking will we create joy and love for our children, as well as be more attached to our profession,” Ms. Nga shared.

Her simple wish is that the bridges of love from benefactors and local people continue to spread, helping children in remote branches, where teachers have to "go to the forest" to get to class, have enough material conditions to write down their dreams...

Young teacher Nguyen Thi Thu Nga. Photo: NVCC

Sharing about the title of Youth Living Beautifully in 2025, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Nga said: The Youth Living Beautifully Award 2025 is not only an honor but also a great responsibility and a call of youth mission. That mission urges her, no matter how busy and hard she is, to still strive to contribute to continue spreading and carrying out more practical actions to help children in remote areas, with the determination: no child has to drop out of school.

Ha Le

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/giao-duc/202510/nu-giao-vien-dong-nai-dat-giai-thuong-thanh-nien-song-dep-nam-2025-dan-than-bam-rung-gioi-mam-yeu-thuong-bea146f/