CEF staff member Ngoc writes about one of the girls who really impressed her when interviewed. We would love a US$150 scholarship for her:

"I met a lovely girl, who comes from a warm and caring family. She lives with her mother and siblings in a small house in Phuoc Son district. Her unhealthy mother is the breadwinner of the poor large family and she is trying to support the education of her 4 daughters who are all of school age. Although their life is one of struggle and challenge, her mother pursues a dream of sending all her girls to school because she is aware of how important education is. 

The mother wishes her heath was better in order to work more, to help raise her children more easily and pay for them to go to school and have tertiary education. Her mother has had 4 operations and at present she is still on medications. She makes ends meet by selling snails in front of the school, but has an unstable income. 

At Tet all of the family members go to Tam Ky city to work in a coffee shop to earn some money. They all live in a friend’s house, in a small room. The girls said that they do not know what the atmosphere of Tet is like or what it is like to have nice new clothes like their friends, because it’s the time of year for them to work instead of relaxing. However, they are happy to work because they know their situation and they want to help their mother. It’s better to live together at Tet than everyone in the family living separately. Before, she worked in a coffee shop as a waitress for the whole summer vacation to have some more income but although she is young, she no longer works there, due to her back pain. Working at Tet is fine because it is a short time and her mother and siblings can support her. She is very upset about her health problem because it prevents her from doing many things like working part-time, helping her mother and sometimes limits her study too. 

When asked about her schooling, she said she really enjoys school and she understands that without an education she cannot be successful in the future. She is interested in having extra tuition classes which would help her improve her school results but her mother cannot afford that. Therefore, she studies by herself at home. Her mother is very proud of her as she received a silver medal in a chemistry competition in Phuoc Son district. It would be great if CEF can find someone to support her with her education so that she can continue going to school and strive for her goal in the future."