Tuổi Trẻ Newspaper, in collaboration with the Phu Yen Charity Club, the Provincial Youth Union, and generous donors, has awarded 160 scholarships to incoming and underprivileged students, along with 20 special gifts to teachers facing particularly difficult circumstances who still remain dedicated to their schools and classes. The touching dream journey of scholarship students is filled with challenges, yet it is the motivation helping them overcome adversity and continue their pursuit of knowledge.

Representatives of the organizers and sponsors donating laptops and special scholarships to freshmen

Overcoming adversity

Although the scholarship program was scheduled to begin after 9 a.m, Mr Tran Trung Trinh (Son Ha commune, Son Hoa district) and student Y Quoc (grade 9, Nguyen Trung Truc Secondary and High School, Son Hoa district) were already present at the Phu Yen Youth Activity Center early in the morning.

Clad in the traditional attire of his compatriot, student Y Quoc huddled close to his uncle. The circumstances of this student from Doc Cat village are heart-wrenching. Just days after his birth, Quoc was abandoned by his mother on the side of the road. In an act of compassion, Mrs Ho Cuu took him in and raised him as her own. Two years ago, Mrs Cuu fell seriously ill and passed away. With no family left to turn to, Quoc went to live with Mrs Ho Sao, Mrs Cuu's mother. They now rely on state subsidies and the love of their relatives and village.

 “Being awarded a scholarship, I am truly happy. I will spend this money to buy rice for my meals. I promise to work hard in my studies and not take advantage of my adoptive mother's nurturing and everyone's concern", Y Quoc said.

At the program, the touching dream journey stories of two freshmen, Ho Thi Bich Thuan (Phu Yen University) and Le Quang Dat (Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, National University Ho Chi Minh City), deeply moved many attendees. For Ho Thi Bich Thuan, a freshman from Ward 9, Tuy Hoa City, the greatest shock of her life was not figuring out that she and her brother were not her biological parents' children but the day her adoptive father fell seriously ill and passed away less than six months later. Thuan shared, "I will work hard in my studies and find a job to help pay for my mother's medical treatment so that my father can smile with pride at my efforts, no matter where he is". 

Le Quang Dat, an orphan with both parents from Ward 5, Tuy Hoa City, experienced the profound pain of losing both parents, yet his unusual strength and composure compared to his 18-year-old age. When the host asked what motivates him to keep going despite the tragic loss of both his parents to illness within a short span, Dat responded succinctly: "If you keep feeling inferior about your circumstances, you will never move forward. I choose to keep striving and not let myself dwell too much on past losses". 

Accompanying the development of the program

In 2024, marking its 21^st year, Tuổi Trẻ Newspaper cooperated with 63 provinces and cities to award scholarships to over 1,100 new students facing challenging circumstances across the country, with a total funding of more than 20 billion VND. Phu Yen served as the 10^th award point in the program, providing 60 scholarships for freshmens in difficult circumstances, 100 scholarships for secondary and high school students from orphaned and remote mountainous areas, and 20 gifts for teachers in extremely difficult circumstances, in celebration of Vietnamese Teachers' Day on November 20. The total budget of the program is more than 1.67 billion VND, sponsored by the Phu Yen Charity Club.

Mr Duong Minh Danh, Vice President of Phu Yen Charity Club, said: From the initiative of comrade Nguyen Thai Hoc, Acting Secretary of Lam Dong Provincial Party Committee, successful individuals from Phu Yen, who have reconnected and established Phu Yen Charity Club to lend a helping hand and provide support to children facing difficulties in their hometown.

Over the past 4 years, the club has sponsored more than 260 freshmen and supported more than 350 disadvantaged students, orphans, and teachers with difficult circumstances to stick to their education with a total budget of more than 5.67 billion VND. After 4 years of accompanying Tuổi Trẻ Newspaper’s "Lift Up the School Path" Scholarship, we realize that this is a program that is pervasive and motivating for students to rise up and constantly strive in life and study.

Source: Phu Yen Newspaper

Translated by HAI LOAN