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Published: February 15th 2010
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A AT WORK
Living his dream. A ( yes that is his name ) was born and grew up in the Cam Thanh area of Hoi An and is the eldest child in a family of three. His mother makes products from coconut leaves and his father is an assistant laborer after being in the army some years ago. A's father's health is not good and his income is unstable.
They are a very poor family yet have managed to pay for A to go to school from the age of six. One of A's teachers could see that he was extremely bright and had real potential but his family's poverty meant he was at risk of having to drop out of school.
This teacher introduced A to me to see if Lifestart Foundation may be able to help. I visited A and his family at their humble coconut leaf house seven kilometers out of town, certificates of merit from school were proudly displayed on the tin wall of their house.
A's mother and I talked with the help of a translator. She told me quite seriously that she had no idea why A was so intelligent because
she felt that she and her husband were not; they were just simple people. I jokingly told her to keep feeding him whatever it was that she cooked daily as it was obviously working! However I also thought that maybe, if A's parents had have had the opportunity to study and go to school, they too may have been just as intelligent.
It was obvious that A was quite an exceptional young person and even at that first meeting he was able to articulate that education was the only hope that he had to break the poverty cycle for himself and his family.
Lifestart Foundation supported A through Secondary School by paying for all of his school fees and books. He didn't disappoint and was top of his year level and the top student in the province every year.
A had always dreamed of being a doctor but if he wasn't able to finish Secondary School he knew this would never be possible. A worked diligently and he did complete Secondary School. He was the student with the highest marks in year 12 and when he took his University entrance examination he also
had the top marks at which point he was then accepted into Hue University to study Medicine.
Through his educational sponsorship Lifestart Foundation has been able to help A with his school fees for the last six years, and he is now in the third year of a six year university degree to become a doctor. His favorite part of his studies is when he is working with patients, and often spends extra time in the hospital to gain more experience. Once he finishes his degree he will be a qualified general practitioner and then plans to specialize in internal diseases.
A is very thankful to Lifestart Foundation, and his sponsors from Muckleford South, Victoria, Australia, for giving him this opportunity of and education, a career and to fulfill his dream.
A's sponsors pay for his University fees, books and food allowance. What a wonderful gift they have given this young person and ultimately the people of Vietnam! A lives in a share house in Hue with other equally bright students who are also studying in Hue. He comes home to visit his family in Hoi An when he has any free
time, which is not often.
He is also very grateful to his high school teacher who would lend him books to study, when he couldn't afford to buy them, and helped him with extra lessons at home when he was too sick to come into school. He can't wait to be able to help others through his chosen career as a doctor.
You can see the previous blog entry on A
here. Lots of Love from
Karen.
www.lifestartfoundation.org.au LIKE TO GET INVOLVED AND HELP A STUDENT REALIZE THEIR DREAM ????
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The Lifestart Foundation Free School A New School Building for Lifestart Foundation School Fees for Many Art Classes Visit us at:
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Hoi An, Vietnam
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Vinh
non-member comment
Realised dream
Another dream realised thanks to Lifestart Foundation ! Great work Karen & supporters.