One late afternoon at the end of April, I met Vừ Kha Say, a 6th-grade student at Na Ư commune Boarding School for Primary and Secondary Education. He greeted the guests with a shy smile and politely bowed, saying, “Hello, nice to meet you!” This was not a memorized phrase but the result of hundreds of hours of self-study.

Vừ Kha Say has never known his mother, and his father is currently serving a prison sentence for involvement in a drug trafficking ring. His mother left for China and has been out of contact since he was a baby. He was raised by his grandparents, who are in their seventies but still work the fields to earn a living and take care of Say.

“When I was little, I used to cry because I did not have my parents. My grandfather told me: “Crying means you will not have anything to eat.” Now, I do not cry anymore. I study to earn money and take care of my grandparents one day,” said Say, his eyes fixed on his tattered English book.

Without a phone, no internet, and with no one at home who speaks English, studying for Say is a long and difficult journey. He writes down new words on scraps of cardboard and sticks them all over the walls of his house. When he goes to class, he listens attentively to the teachers, then borrows extra books to look up and study alone with an extraordinary perseverance for a 12-year-old.

“I want to become an English teacher. I want my fellow Hmong friends not to suffer like I did,” shyly shared Say.

Lò Văn Thực, Say’s English teacher since 3rd grade and someone who has closely followed his academic journey from primary school, shared: “I have often been moved when I see Say quietly sitting in the corner of the classroom, diligently studying, not talking much, but his eyes shine with passion. He is not the loudest student, but he is one of the most hardworking and deep-thinking students in the class.”

Thực mentioned that despite his extremely difficult circumstances, Say has never asked to take a break from school, except during heavy rain or storms that prevent him from leaving the village. “At first, when I discovered that Say had the ability to learn English well, this boy was still very shy, reluctant to study in the evenings, and would even run away whenever he saw me coming to ask him to study. But gradually, Say became more and more passionate about this subject.”

Nguyễn Trọng Sơn, Principal of Na Ư Commune Boarding School for Primary and Secondary Education, affirmed: “Say is the best Hmong student I have ever known who is good at English in this area. He has talent, but more importantly, he has extraordinary effort. Despite not having the conditions to study more, with no one to guide him, he still overcame thousands of students to win many high prizes.”

Indeed, over the past two school years, Say has won First, Second, and Third prizes in the English Olympic (IOE) competition at both the district and provincial levels, even competing beyond his grade and winning a consolation prize in a competition for 7th graders. He is also a representative student of the school, awarded the title “Good Grandchild of Uncle Hồ” at the provincial level and is a delegate to the National “Good Grandchild of Uncle Hồ” Congress in 2025.

“We are proud of him. Say is a living proof that circumstances are not a barrier if a child has willpower and dreams. He deserves to be an inspiration, not only for Hmong students but also for all of us,” underlined Sơn.

In a small house on the hillside, where there is no stable electric light, Say still studies every day by the dim light. He does not dream of becoming a doctor or engineer like many other children; he just wants to be an English teacher, return to his school, and teach other children in his Hmong village that learning is the way to rise above.