Sister Nguyen Thi Hao oversees the school’s activities (Photo VNA)HCM City (VNS/VNA) - At the endof the school day, students at The Sacred Heart in Ho Chi Minh City oftendash home without taking the time to change their uniforms or even take ashower so they can help their parents sell lottery tickets or cassava.
The charity school, located in Tan ThongHoi commune in the city’s Cu Chi district, was opened in the 1990s byVietnamese nuns who belong to the Catholic congregation Sisters of Our Lady ofthe Mission, which is dedicated to helping poor women and children around theworld.
Around 180 primary school students aretaught English, maths, literature and arts in addition to Christian values atthe school five days a week. Textbooks and clothes are either bought by theschool or donated.
The school also pays school fees, books andclothes for 36 students who are now attending public secondary school, and ifthe students later decide to attend university, Sacred Heart tries to help themfind jobs while they study.
Because of a limited budget, the school canprovide lunch on only two days of the week.
In the past, some of the children evenfainted in class because of hunger. For the past three years, donated milk hasbeen given to students every other morning, which has helped relieve any hungerpains.
However, the school recently ran out ofmilk and is waiting for more donations.
Many of the children’s families areVietnamese who were forced to flee from Cambodia where they were living.
The families cannot afford public school inVietnam and some of the children are not eligible for public school since theirparents cannot get birth certificates for their children. Some of thechildren’s parents have either separated or divorced.
Because many families are poor and wanttheir children to work, the nuns try to encourage the parents to enroll theirchildren in school.
Sister Nguyen Thi Hoa, who oversees theschool’s activities, said: “We work really hard to educate parents about theimportance of education, but some of them do not understand. Sometimes we haveto support them and give them rice so their kids can go to school.”
“Occasionally parents just force their kidsto quit school. Some kids cry when that happens. We feel sad because there’snothing we can do about it,” she added.
“We try to have meetings with parents toteach them how to raise their kids and encourage their kids to go to school,and give them information about family planning methods.”
Charitable souls
Since the school has little publicity, itoften relies on word-of-mouth information. Donations are made by the nuns’friends, outside sources, and past students who are now working stable jobs.
Former students also return to the schooland help out with activities such as cooking, fixing electronic equipments anddecorations.
Still, without stable sources of donations,the school struggles to provide for all of the children
Some children as old as 12 years old cannotread. “When I see that these kids don’t know how to read and write, I have todo what I can to teach them these skills and about morals,” Sister Hoa said.
Meals at the school are cooked byvolunteers who refuse to accept payment, while teachers receive very littlesalary and often have to work extra jobs.
Tran Thi Kim Sang, a teacher who has workedat the school for 10 years, said: “I used to work at a supermarket, but when Iheard the school was short on teachers, I decided to quit. This school actuallypays some teachers to get a higher education so we can return and be betterteachers. I’m 50, but I went to university to get my degree.”
“My family fled from Cambodia, too. Wemoved to Vietnam when I was five years old. That’s why I sympathise with thesekids and I want to give them love and the education they deserve.”
Sister Hoa said: “Some people ask us how wecan live since we have so little money. It’s because we have very strong faithand we (nuns) pray together for hours. Because we pray a lot, we receive giftsfrom ‘above’. We also do not misuse donations, so donors have faith in us.” -VNA
VNA
