In a small house located deep in a narrow alley on Hoang Dieu Street, Hai Chau District, Da Nang, there is a special Literature class for underprivileged children which has operated free for 25 years.

Illustrative image. Photo: Internet

Over recent years, Mrs. Pham Thi Kim Cuong, 46, residing in Hoa Thuan Dong Ward, Hai Chau District, has tried her best to impart knowledge to poor children.

Starting in 1998, Mrs. Pham Thi Kim Cuong, a teacher of Literature at the Hai Chau District-based Kim Dong Junior High School organised the free class for children with difficult circumstances.

“In the past, I was also a poor pupil and used to be taught for free by my kind teachers. Therefore, when I become a teacher, I want to give a helping hand to poor pupils to help them continue to pursue their academic dreams for their brighter future. So, teaching such a charity class has always been my biggest wish in life” the dedicated teacher emphasised.

Having been taught for free by Mrs. Cuong, a student of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities confided “I studied with Mrs. Cuong from grade 6 to grade 9. She gave very good lectures and analysed literary works very carefully. Besides, she also well understood pupils' psychology, helping me a lot during the learning process".

Her passion for teaching and her desire to contribute to the community makes Ms. Pham Thi Kim Cuong devote her time and energy to maintaining free classes for disadvantaged pupils aged from 11 - 15 over the past 25 years.

Her wish is to expand the classroom to help more children, but her house is narrow and not enough space. Therefore, she and other teachers having the same desire together made a proposal to the People's Committee of Hoa Thuan Dong Ward to ask for support.

As a result, a zero-dong class with the name 'Raising Wings for Dreams' for 6^th graders with difficult circumstances in Hoa Thuan Dong Ward, Hai Chau District, was formed.

On Sunday, the free classes opened at the Community Cultural House in Hoa Thuan Dong Ward and the Trung Tam Community Learning Centre. Coming to the classes, pupils can learn cultural subjects of Literature, Maths, and English taught by qualified teachers from secondary schools and colleges. With more than 20 pupils each, the classes open from 7:00 am - 11:00 am every Thursday and Sunday.

Mrs. Trinh Thi Nhu Quynh, a Math teacher at the Tran Hung Dao Junior High School said when she knew about the free classes for disadvantaged pupils, she voluntarily registered to teach with the desire to be able to impart knowledge to them. Hopefully, in addition to studying, the classes can help them interact and have more useful playgrounds.

Similarly, Mrs. Tran Thi Viet Nga, a lecturer at the Da Nang Vocational College who is in charge of teaching English highlighted the meaningfulness of the zero-dong class in contributing to the development of the community.

“My greatest happiness is seeing pupils’ improvement day by day. Many generations of pupils who have made a name for themselves and become useful citizens to the society are the motivation for me to strive for this work. Hopefully, the zero-dong class will help more needy pupils” Mrs. Cuong noted.

Reporting by CHAU ANH - Translating by M.DUNG