The August birthday celebration for soldiers at Tung Vai Border Guard Station was livelier than usual. Along with flowers, cake, and birthday wishes, the station also said goodbye to a special “member”, Vang Van Hoang, who is about to start a new school year at Quan Ba Ethnic Boarding School in Tuyen Quang province.
Hoang lost his father when he was little and now lives with his mother and grandparents in a modest home in Ta Van village. After primary school, he had to travel more than 16 kilometers a day to a secondary school on a winding mountain road. When Hoang first came to the Border Guard station, he was a shy boy, unsure of his new surroundings.
Hoang is in seventh grade and has living at Tung Vai Border Guard Station for almost two years. When he first came here, he was shy and didn’t know what to do. The soldiers taught him and helped him.
“When I’m not studying, I help them clean up", Hoang said, adding that he received a certificate of merit for excellent academic performance in primary school and did quite well in sixth grade. Studying at the boarding school is a little harder, Hoang added.
Giang Thanh Pao from Tung Vai Phin village also lives at the Border Guard station. His parents separated when he was born, and he was raised by his grandparents. Poverty forced him to stop going to school. Four years ago, Tung Vai border guards came to his home and took him in. Since then he has lived and been cared for at the station. The soldiers bought him a bicycle to ride to school.
Pao said that when he first came, he was nervous. Over time, the station became his home. "I help the soldiers with the farm while they make sure I have enough food and help him with his studies. When I don’t understand something, I ask them for help,” Pao said.
Tung Vai border guards now support 22 students, including two who live and are cared for at the station. Deputy Political Commissar Van Xuan Men said that at first, the children were not used to the new environment.
"We teach them life skills, help them with their studies, and work with their schools," Men said, adding that each child has a soldier who looks after them every day. "We stay in touch with their schools and families, and attend parent-teacher meetings.”
The children at the Border Guard station follow a daily routine like young soldiers. Political Commissar Le Dinh Trong said that the children exercise in the morning, cycle to school, help grow vegetables and raise animals in the afternoon, and continue to study in the evening with the help of soldiers.
The children’s progress doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and patience from the whole station. The mass mobilization team takes care of their daily needs, including meals and sleep. Major Vang Van Sang, the head of the team, said after about a month, the children started to get used to life there and feel more comfortable. “They are now well-behaved.”
With discipline and care from the soldiers, Hoang and Pao have made clear progress in their studies. And they are starting to dream bigger. Both want to become soldiers and will study hard to repay the border guards' care and support.
In Tung Vai, the mist may hide the mountain roads, but it can’t obscure the way forward for Hoang, Pao and other children the area. Once at risk of dropping out, these children are now growing up with the care of the soldiers. Their time at Tung Vai Border Guard Station will help them build a better future.
