Vietnam: Educating Girls in Tra Cu, pt. 2

One of the many narrow muddy roads we motorbiked down.

En route to visiting the homes of four girls in the GEP program, weather was complicating our travel plans yet again. The roads to the villages were narrow, unpaved balance beams cutting through the rice paddies, and after an enthusiastic rainy season they were too muddy for our minivan to safely pass through. Undaunted, the fast-thinking RtR Vietnam staff somehow rustled up a flotilla of motorbike-riding teachers, and down we went on soupy, hilly paths full of meandering children, livestock, and other vehicles as alarmingly ambitious as ours. I spent a lot of time thinking about the things I loved most and how I would really like to see them again.

RtR entourage interviewing Lien's mother

At each of the girls' homes, I felt bad for intruding in such a spectacular manner. Since we (there was another donor with us) were considered Important Guests, we had a huge entourage: 3 representatives from the district, 2 teachers and a principal, and 4 Room to Read staffers. When the motorcade pulled into the hamlets, we couldn't help but attract a throng of observers who crowded around the door as we talked to the families. Furthermore, as many of the families spoke only Khmer, we had to set up a Khmer to Vietnamese to English translation conga line. Needless to say, this was more of a high-pressure situation for the girls and their families than I would have hoped, but it was nevertheless an amazing experience to visit the girls and see just how much they have to overcome. All of the girls lived in one or two room houses with mud floors and few facilities, and all woke up very early to get to school. The amount of effort they--and their families--were putting forth just to stay in school was humbling.

Lien answering a question

Thach Thi Lien was a small Khmer girl in grade 6 at Don Chau Secondary School. She was quite shy when we met, probably because she came home from school to find her house full of strangers. Like many children in the district, Lien's Vietnamese is not proficient because her mother speaks only Khmer, which leads to academic problems because courses are taught in Vietnamese only. Her mother explained that Lien had many medical issues which frequently prevent her from being able to attend school or study, a common plight of rural children given the lack of adequate health care options. When asked if there was anything she didn't like about her school, she told us that a few months ago, she broke her arm after falling on the way to school because road conditions were so bad. Nevertheless, she and her family understand the importance of education and are committed to staying in school.

So Phia with Tra Cu education officers in the background

Dao Thi So Phia's cheerful energy was contagious as soon as we arrived. An orphan, So Phia was raised almost entirely by her aunt and uncle, who fortunately seem to be supportive people with an appreciation for education. A vivacious girl, So Phia admits to struggling with school (she's currently in 6th grade) but enjoys the opportunity to attend. When we asked her what she wanted to do when she grew up, she replied quickly and simply: "get a job that makes a lot of money so I can support my aunt and uncle." Her answer was heartfelt and gracious, but it was also gestured towards a responsibility that drives so many girls into early manual labor that was difficult and abuse-laden with minimal rewards. In their communities, teachers were probably the only profession that the girls came in frequent contact with besides manual labor, so how could they know to dream of other jobs? When I brought this up with the GEP staff, they mentioned that in 11th grade, the GEP scholars would go through career orientations where they could learn about different career options; I wondered if even earlier exposure was necessary.

Thao with her family

Thach Thi Thao drew some laughs when she told us she wanted to become a teacher when she grew up...because it was an easy job. But it's easy to think why she might think so: to supplement the food from their own small rice field, her mother makes sticky rice cakes for a living while her father sprays pesticides for other rice fields, an occupation which often leaves him too sick to work. Thao joined the Girls Education Program last year in Long Hiep Secondary School and is continuing this year. Though both of her parents are illiterate, they are strongly supportive of Thao attending school, although they have few resources to help her along the way. Like other Khmers, Thao's family does not have to pay school fees, but Room to Read provides them with all other school needs including a bicycle to help Thao get to school--Thao still leaves for school at 5:30 AM, but now she gets there with half an hour to spare for extra studying. Thao dreams of going to the province or the city one day to study so that she can get a better job and provide for her family.

A Khmer teacher/social mobilizer (right) translates for Binh An's family

Kim Thi Binh An had left for school by the time we got to her home (we were quite late), but I was quite surprised to find that her house was spacious and solidly constructed of bricks--turns out it was a government-provided house for the very needy, and I wondered if that meant their previous house was in worse condition than even the others we'd visited. With reliable shelter taken care of, Binh An's family now lives a bit more comfortably, though Binh An's grandmother is still the primary provider for the whole family since Binh An's mother passed away when she was a baby. Her father, considered well-educated in the area for having completed 7th grade, remarried and lives next door, occasionally providing financial assistance when he can from his meager earnings as a day laborer. Her grandmother said that Binh An, now in 7th grade, is an independent, self-driven scholar who spends most of her free time studying hard, earning good grades as a result. To show their support for her endeavors and her dream of attending university, the family has excused Binh An from helping out with housework--a big concession in a society where this has been a mandatory burden on girls for so long.

Whether these four girls will make it all the way through to high school graduation is uncertain, but it's clear that Room to Read has eliminated at least some of the many obstacles in their paths.