Mai Đại Thành – The Boy Whose Academic Achievements Are Known Throughout Bình Phước

(A child eligible to continue receiving Y Tam Scholarship Fund sponsorship, September 2016)

Full name: Mai Đại Thành

Year of birth: 2005

Academic achievements: Completed 5th grade with excellent results; now a 6th grader at Tân Lợi Lower Secondary School – Đồng Phú – Bình Phước

Father: Mai Văn Nam, Kinh ethnicity

Mother: Trương Thị Tươi, Khmer ethnicity

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Family circumstances: His father is ill and his mother works as a hired laborer. The family has neither land nor a home of its own. For now, the whole family is staying temporarily on a state-owned cashew plantation. Besides going to school, Thành uses his days off to work alongside his mother as a hired laborer to help support the family

Our Visit to Thành

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After crossing more hills and streams than we could count, we reached Thành's house, tucked away amid the vast forested hills of Đồng Phú – Bình Phước. He wasn't home at the time; he had gone out to work with his mother and hadn't come back yet. While his father called him home to talk with us, we walked around the house where the boy and his family are staying for now. That rented house was just as before: old, tattered and run-down.

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Portrait of a bright, devoted and polite boy whose achievements are famous throughout Đồng Phú – Bình Phước

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Thành is the second of four children. However, in 2015 his older brother died of a serious illness, so Thành is now the eldest child in this poor family in Thạch Màn commune, Đồng Phú district, Bình Phước province. His father's health is frail, so the family's main income depends on the hired work done by his mother and Thành. Perhaps because he has grown up in hardship and understands how hard his parents work, Thành has always been a diligent, well-behaved and devoted son. Every day after school he runs out to the fields to help his mother earn a little more to put food on the table, without a single complaint and without ever neglecting his studies. Thành is the hope and the pride of his whole family.

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While we were deep in conversation with Thành's father, we heard a motorbike engine and looked out. Thành and his mother were back. Seeing us, he broke into a radiant smile that made us completely forget the hard journey we had just made.

A year has passed, and Thành hasn't changed much. He is still the same sturdy, tough boy with sun-browned skin, bright eyes and a dazzling smile. When we asked about his results over the past year, he didn't hesitate to run into the room and bring out the certificates of merit he had received. Those are the achievements he earned last year; not every child his age could do as well as he has.

Thành's mother said: “Thành is such a good boy. Besides going to school, he also works a lot to help me. The way to school is very long, but every morning he gets up early and walks there. He has never missed a single day. Thành is an excellent student; everyone in this area knows him. And because of his achievements, people are always willing to help him.”

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We asked him: If one day Y Tam could no longer sponsor you, and your family couldn't afford to send you to school, what would you do?

Thành answered: I would work as a hired laborer, and when I had enough money I would go back to school. I will never give up on my education!

We fell silent at his answer, and we are certain that sponsoring him so he can keep studying is something truly precious and meaningful.

As night was falling, we said goodbye to him and his family, not forgetting to encourage Thành to try harder every day. He is not only the pride and joy of his family but also a source of pride for Y Tam, which has sponsored him through the past school years. With Thành's will and determination, we believe he will grow up to be someone who gives back to society.

Investing in education is always a long-term, sustainable investment that leads to change and to the growth of people and communities in the future. That is why Y Tam is so committed to this investment.

Y Tam very much hopes everyone will join hands and share <3

ALL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EDUCATION SUPPORT PROJECT CAN BE SENT TO:

Y Tam Charity

Office address: No. X1, CMT8 apartment complex, Thép Mới Street (near the Hoàng Hoa Thám – Trường Chinh intersection), Ward 12, Tân Bình District, Ho Chi Minh City.

Phone: 098 567 4772 – 0934 197 772

Bank accounts:

1/ DongA Bank: Account number: 0101607577 – Account name: Đào Thị Minh Lệ, Branch: 343 Lê Văn Sỹ – District 3 – Ho Chi Minh City
2/ Vietcombank: Account number: 044 1000 664 969 – Account name: Đào Thị Minh Lệ, Card opened at: 188B Lê Văn Sỹ, Ward 10, Phú Nhuận District, Ho Chi Minh City, Tân Bình District Branch.
3/ Vietinbank: Account number: 711AA7741285 – Account name: Đào Thị Minh Lệ, Branch where the card was opened: 207 Lê Văn Sỹ – District 3 – Ho Chi Minh City

Note: When transferring, please clearly state: Donor's name + Support for the Y Tam education support project

Sincerely
Y Tam Charity