After seven years since its establishment, the humanitarian journey of the OneSky Early Childhood Care and Education Center in Da Nang has provided tremendous spiritual support to families of low-income workers. It is hoped that this journey will continue to thrive, enabling children to learn and play in a quality international environment. In turn, these seeds will nurture talent and kindness, continuing the path of compassion.

The teacher and the students are wrapping “banh chung” during the "Spring Festival 2025 - Reunion Tet". Photo: T.V.

The second home

On the day we visited, the OneSky Early Childhood Care and Education Center in Da Nang (referred to as the center) was hosting the "Spring Festival 2025 - Reunion Tet". Within the nearly 4,000 square meter grounds of the center, the festival recreated the lively atmosphere of Tet with spring music, traditional ao dai, blooming apricot branches, and peach blossoms, alongside a variety of activities rich in traditional Tet culture. These included wrapping banh chung, showcasing 27 stalls of traditional dishes such as Quang noodles, bun mam, banh beo, banh uot, and sweet soup, as well as folk games like tug-of-war, bamboo pole jumping, Mandarin square capturing and calligraphy. The Spring Festival allowed the children and their parents to capture meaningful moments and gain a deeper understanding of the long-standing cultural values of the nation.

Not only the adults but also the children expressed their joy while participating in the activities, and their bright smiles like whispers ready to welcome a new spring filled with hope, renewal, and happiness. Mrs. Vo Thi Hien, the National Director of OneSky Vietnam, shared that the Spring Festival has been an annual event at the center for the past seven years. During the festival, the center presented 25 gift packages to families of particularly disadvantaged workers, along with heartfelt wishes for a complete and warm Tet celebration. It was also an opportunity for staff, teachers, parents, and children to meet and reflect on the past year. While life continues to present challenges, today, everyone is encouraged to set aside their worries and immerse themselves in the festive atmosphere leading up to the new year.

In the lively atmosphere, I was particularly struck by a woman in her early thirties whose face bore the marks of hardship. This was Ms. Do Thi Cam (36 years old, from Lien Chieu District), a worker at Da Nang Plastic Joint Stock Company, participating in the festival with her 3-year-old daughter. Born in the impoverished rural area of Binh Son (Quang Ngai Province), she moved to Da Nang at 18 to work as a laborer. After losing her husband in a traffic accident, she has struggled to support her four children on a meager salary of 5 million dong per month. She explained that in addition to her job during the week, she sells various vegetables and fruits at Hoa Son Market on Sundays to earn extra income.

“Every month, no matter how I calculate, I still struggle to cover the costs of rent, food, tuition fees, and medication for my third daughter, who has autism. Given our extremely difficult circumstances, I was overjoyed when my youngest daughter was accepted into the center and granted a 100% tuition waiver. From being a shy child, she has become more agile and confident in expressing her feelings with others since attending here,” Ms. Cam shared with a smile. Although today is Sunday, a day she usually spends selling at the market, she decided to take a break from selling to join the festival with her daughter, cherishing the moments of spring at the center.

The humanitarian journey

Like Ms. Cam, Ms. Ngo Thi Thu Kieu (27 years old, from Hoa Son commune, Hoa Vang district), a worker at Murata Manufacturing Vietnam Co., also raises four children on her own (the oldest is 10 and the youngest is 4) while caring for a husband who is unable to work. With a heavy heart, Ms. Kieu recounted that when her husband was still healthy, they worked together to support their family. Three years ago, her husband fell ill, and since then, she has become the family's breadwinner, responsible for feeding and educating their four children while also covering daily medical expenses for her husband.

With a monthly salary of 8 million dong as a factory worker, Ms. Kieu finds that her income quickly disappears with expenses for food, education, and milk for her two older children in elementary school, as well as her two younger children, aged 5 and 4, who are about to start preschool. She calculates that these costs add up to a significant amount. She shares that she scrimps and saves, often going without food or new clothes, yet still struggles to make ends meet. “Thus, I explained my family's situation and requested that my two children be accepted into the center with a 100% tuition waiver. When I received the center's approval, I stood in the schoolyard, tears of joy streaming down my face, relieved that the burden of daily expenses had lightened somewhat.”

According to Mrs. Vo Thi Hien, these are just two of many cases where the center has waived 100% of tuition fees. This support provides parents with the strength to rise above their circumstances and serves as a testament to the humanitarian values that OneSky pursues in its mission to develop early childhood education in provinces and cities with concentrated industrial zones. In Vietnam, the center offers an international-quality environment and responsive care and education methods for over 260 children aged 6 months to 6 years, who are the children of low-income workers in industrial areas.

Reporting by MY AN – Translating by HONG VAN