Supporting disadvantaged students

GD&TD – The mental and physical support that disadvantaged students have received has helped them to overcome the challenges of daily life, as well as strengthen their faith and hope for a brighter future so that they will continue to be encouraged to continue their studies.

The support of individuals and collectives have encouraged many young people to study

The support among community, the chance to study further

Prior to the finishing of her first year the University of Economics, Ngo Vu Nhu Hien and her family endured a tragic event: Her father took his own life to put an end to the painful days of fighting against gastric cancer. The condition of poverty prevented him from receiving necessary medical care. Additionally, some seven years previous to her father’s death, a landslide accident took the life of Hien’s mother. Though Hien and her younger sister have faced a difficult life, they still had the love and accompany their father. Thanks to his hard work, Hien and her sister, Ngo Vu Ngoc Han, can still go to school like others.

The presentative of University of Economics, The University of Danang gave a money donation to Ngo Vu Nhu Hien

Acknowledging their difficult situation, Mr. Ngo Nhat Cuong tried his best to raise his two daughters. When Hien passed the entrance exam to university, Mr. Cuong had to spend less and save more so that Hien could to study away from home. Unfortunately, following his daughter’s acceptance into college, Mr. Cuong found he had stage-IV gastric cancer. However, he did not go for a treatment and silently endured the pain. In his suicide letter, the father wrote that: “I did not want to go to hospital for treatment because it will be a vain effort, also, it would be very costly. I decided to let you two be painful once instead of seeing me staying in bed until I died”. Having lost both their parents, Hien and her sisters are like little birds straying from their mother. After finishing the funeral of their father, Hien and Han told each other to continue studying to fulfill their father’s last wish, though the twenty-year-old girl still has not figured what she’d like to do as a career. Luckily, Hien has received much love and support to help her overcome these obstacles.

Mr. Bui Trung Hiep – Deputy of Department of Students Affairs – said: “After acknowledging the situation of Hien, the University agreed on few of ways to support Hien given her situation, such as: awarding her a scholarship of Prof. Takahashi for the academic year 2017 – 2018, including tuition fee and living allowance (1.000.000VND/ month); donating her a sum of 3.000.000VND to overcome unexpected difficulties, and supplying Hien free lunch at canteen for the May of 2018. In her studies, if Hien wants to take a loan from Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, the University will help her to pay the interest. In addition, the University also called benefactors, staff, teachers, and students for support. Because of this help, Hien and Han can continue with their studies. Hien shared that in her remaining years at University of Economics, she will focus on both her studies, and obtaining part-time work to help care for herself  and her 7^th grade aged sister.

Supporting program for disadvantaged students

For the past two years, Committee of Vietnam Fatherland Front of Danang City has  offered scholarship programs for high achieving disadvantaged every summer. The applicants for these scholarships are students from poor households with academic achievements of at least “Good”standings. They are publicly selected from each Ward. If the students continue to meet the scholarships baseline achievement status, their scholarships will be renewed at the end of every academic year.

During her second renewal phase of the scholarship, from Committee of Vietnam Fatherland Front of Danang City, Tran Thi Thu Hien (Hoa Hai – Ngu Hanh Son District), student of University of Foreign Languages (The University of Danang) stated: “My father is a blacksmith, his job is not stable so he cannot always earn enough for our living. Due to an accident, my mother has become disabled and is unable to work. My family faces many difficulties so this scholarship is really meaningful to me. I will do my best to maintain my grades so that I will still receive the scholarship next year”.

In 2017, in addition to Thu Hien, 30 other students received this scholarship. Up until 2018, there only been four students who dropped out of the program: one already graduated, two received scholarship for studying abroad and only one did not meet the requirements for  academic achievement. Moreover, 25 students have been added to the program with a scholarship of 5.000.000VND, sponsored by “Funding for Poverty”.

According to Mrs. Dang Thi Kim Lien – Chairman of Committee of Vietnam Fatherland Front of Danang City, following the guideline to combine poverty reduction with talent encouragement, scholarship for disadvantaged students with high academic achievement aims to motivate them to overcome difficulties in studies and acquire good results. “Studying well is also a way to sustainably end poverty” – Mrs. Lien claimed. More than the mental support, this scholarship program has helped students to generate and maintain their motivation for studying.