(VOVworld)- For many years, a small room of 15 square meters within the house of Culture of Tan Mai ward in Hanoi’s Hoang Mai district has become a familiar venue for some unfortunate children. This is where teacher Nguyen Thi Coi offering free classes to her students, most of whom are children with disabilities, or affected by Agent Orange.

a class for disabled children

Exactly at 8 am every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 15 children start their lessons at Ms. Nguyen Thi Coi’s class. Desks and chairs for the students are provided by the local authorities while the teacher herself bought the students books, notebooks and other school equipments. It’s not easy to organize such a class, but it’s even harder to maintain its existence. Nguyen Thi Coi has over the years spared no effort to bring literacy to the disadvantaged children with her great compassion. She told us: "I just want to join my effort with the government and society to bring these unfortunate children opportunities for a better life. I consider them my family and I’m happy to see them progress."

Nguyen Thi Coi is a former head teacher of Hoang Van Thu primary school in Hoang Mai district. For more than 20 years, Ms. Coi has been teaching many generations of students at this class, some of them are from the same family. 12 out of 15 students of Ms. Coi’s class are mentally disabled with limited ability to study and the remaining are from families with difficulties. It takes Ms. Coi much more time and effort to teach these special students. 22-year-old Nguyen Duy Long is mentally retarded. Although having difficulties in communication, he loves to talk with other people. Long said: "I love going to this class as I have so many friends here. I live with my grandparents who found this class for me. Now I can read and write and even do some maths exercises."

In addition to teaching the students read and write, Ms. Coi also provides them with physical education to help them stay healthy. She even organizes picnics for her class, with which her students can interact more with the outside world, thus better integrating with the community. A parent with child attending this class shares her thought with us: "Thanks to Ms. Coi, the children here have progressed a lot. My son would be very sad if he can not go to class. He even cries and asks us to take him to class. Some retarded children can now do maths and learn by heart the multiplication table. As parents, we want our children know how to read and write and better communicate with people around them."

Some students who graduated from this class have become workers while others take part in handicrafts to earn their livings and lead an independent life.