Teachers and students helped each other during the pandemic.

Ly A Nhia is a second-year student majoring in Tourism and Travel Service Management at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. After the Lunar New Year holiday, even though the university suspended classes to prevent the spread of Covid-19, Nhia still went to Hanoi to study online because there was no internet access in her hometown. Furthermore, only in the capital could she find part-time work to help support her family.

Nhia is the tenth child in a family of eleven siblings in Hua Thong village, Dua Mon commune, Song Ma district, Son La province. Her mother passed away early, and her older siblings have already started their own families, each raising one to three children and providing for their education. Her 63-year-old father has no stable income, relying only on farming and livestock raising, yet he has to support Nhia and her youngest sibling, who is in 8th grade, through school. Seeing her father's struggles, Nhia decided to work extra to support herself in the capital. "I'm lucky enough to be able to go to university, I can't keep asking my father for money forever," Nhia said.

Ly A Nhia was forced to stay in Hanoi to have internet access for online learning. Photo: Provided by the subject.

Since arriving at the school, Nhia has been working as a parking attendant at the dormitory's parking lot. Each month, she earns between 1.2 and 2 million VND, depending on her working hours and school schedule. Because her family is poor and she is of the Hmong ethnic group, she doesn't have to pay tuition fees. Therefore, the money she earns each month is enough for her daily expenses and allows her to send 400,000-600,000 VND back home to support her father and pay for her tuition.

After the Lunar New Year, even though schools were closed, Nhia continued working at the dormitory's parking lot. However, on April 1st, when the social distancing order was implemented, she lost her job. Without income, and still needing to eat two meals a day costing a total of 50,000 VND, Nhia ran out of money by April 10th.

"I can't call home and ask my dad for money. Once, I had to go on a field trip with my class and didn't have any money. I called home and asked my dad and siblings to get me a million dong, but my dad had to borrow it at a high interest rate. One million dong turned into 1.5 million dong when he repaid it. I don't want to be a burden to my family," Nhia explained.

Instead of spending 50,000 VND a day on two meals, Nhia switched to instant noodles. One packet per meal, costing 3,000 VND. On many days, Nhia would go to the table at the dormitory gate of the volunteer teams to hand out free noodles, sausages, and eggs to improve their meals.

In Nhia's dorm room, three other friends stayed in Hanoi because they were in similar circumstances. They came from poor rural areas of Yen Bai and Son La provinces, studying online and working part-time in Hanoi. But since March 6th, when Hanoi reported its first Covid-19 case, they all lost their jobs.

Worried about where to get money to buy instant noodles to survive, Nhia and her roommates received an email from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. According to the email, students in need who were still stranded in Hanoi could register to receive support from the university. Two or three days later, Nhia received a package containing instant noodles, sausages, pickles, eggs, fruit, rice cakes, and milk.

Nhia was overjoyed and focused on online learning, sometimes attending two sessions a day. Before and after classes, she also helped teachers at the school pack and transport gift packages to other underprivileged students.

Ly A Nhia participated in organizing the supply of aid at the school on the afternoon of April 17th, transporting gift packages to students in similar circumstances. Photo: Provided by the subject.

As of April 18th, over 640 students in Hanoi had registered to receive support from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, with nearly 200 residing in the university's dormitories and the rest living in rented accommodations scattered throughout the districts.

Professor Pham Quang Minh, the school's principal, said that the majority of registered students are ethnic minorities from northern mountainous provinces such as Son La, Lang Son, and Lai Chau. They have to work part-time to make ends meet, but are now unemployed. In addition, the school also supports many students from Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Laos, China, and Mongolia who are still in Vietnam.

Teacher Minh shared that initially, seeing many students facing difficulties, the school's labor union held a meeting to discuss ways to help. The teachers unanimously contributed money to buy food for the students. After the students' stories and the school's collective efforts spread, many philanthropists and businesses offered to provide support.

"A doctor from Saint Paul Hospital called and said that some doctors and nurses there wanted to support the students. The abbot of a temple near the school donated a ton of rice and many bottles of fish sauce. The woman who runs the grocery store next to the school brought over 5 boxes of instant noodles," Mr. Minh said.

Thanks to everyone's collective efforts, the gifts delivered to students on April 18-19 were more substantial, including 5 kg of rice, 10 packets of instant noodles, a bottle of fish sauce, a pack of milk or a can of sweetened condensed milk, a can of canned fish, 10 sausages, 10 eggs, along with face masks and hand sanitizer. Teacher Minh said that whatever the benefactors donated, the school would distribute it.

Professor Minh personally delivered the support packages to the students. Photo: USSH.

Currently, the school doesn't have to worry much about the supply of food for students; they only need to pack the gifts and transport them to each student throughout Hanoi. Teachers at the school volunteer to participate in this work. Many students also volunteer to ship the goods to the right people. Seeing their teachers and classmates bringing food and encouraging them in their studies, many students are deeply moved.

"Some argue that only doctors, police, and the military need support during an outbreak, not students, but I think differently. The school still supports frontline disease prevention efforts, but we must also care about the students' well-being. Only when their lives are stable and they don't have to worry about daily meals can they focus on their studies," said Mr. Minh.

Not only the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, but many other universities and academies also organized food donations for students remaining in Hanoi, such as Hanoi University of Science and Technology and the Academy of Journalism and Communication.

Nguyen Thu Ha, a third-year student at the Academy of Journalism and Communication, received packets of instant noodles and face masks from the school. "While I've been unemployed (for over a month) and unable to return home, the school's support, however small, makes us feel more secure," said the student from Bac Kan.

According toVnexpress