History teacher and volunteer trips

Ms. Nguyen Thi Khanh Huyen (born in 1993), a teacher at Doan Thi Diem Secondary School (Hanoi) has been in the profession for 11 years. In parallel with her professional work, she regularly maintains and organizes charity activities in disadvantaged localities.

Born in a poor rural area of Quang Tri province - a barren, harsh land, many students do not have the conditions to study highly, Ms. Huyen soon sympathizes with the needs of children...

Ms. Huyen started participating in social activities when she was a student, from blood donation campaigns to trips to the highlands. When she officially went to work, teacher Huyen organized charity trips initiated by herself. When I first started working at Doan Thi Diem Secondary School, I called on my students to donate warm clothes, books... to bring to some schools in the highlands, she recalled.

Ms. Huyen's volunteer journey started from disadvantaged areas such as Lao Cai and Cao Bang. Before implementing a volunteer program, I check and learn about the area, the circumstances of each person... to see if they are really facing difficulties or not, whether they have received support from many places and what specific needs... to support them properly, said Ms. Huyen.

In 2024, teacher Khanh Huyen initiated a project to " Bring light to the village" to bring electricity to the school and 15 households in Khanh Xuan commune (Cao Bang). During the implementation process, she coordinated with her colleague, teacher Pham Thi Duyen - a History teacher and a long-time companion in charity activities.

I am in charge of surveying the area, working with the government, making technical plans, finding materials, arranging vehicles and logistics; Ms. Duyen and some other teachers called for funds raised the key part for the project to be able to implement, Ms. Huyen recounted.

The survey started in November 2024 and was completed in December of the same year. "Bringing light to the village" has a total cost of 346 million VND, supporting 8,000m of cables, installation and transportation costs.

Ms. Huyen said: "When I had enough money, I contacted the Z43 Factory of the Ministry of National Defense to ensure the best quality material source. At that time, I hope the project will be completed soon so that teachers at the school can have less hardship, and that people have electricity to celebrate the New Year in time".

On the acceptance day, when the households officially had electricity, teacher Khanh Huyen and the project implementation members were no less happy than the local people. In addition to the electrical system, the project also gave some items such as warm clothes, socks, desks, speakers, many gifts of necessities... to students, teachers and the people.

After many years of volunteering, Ms. Huyen has been steadfast in two principles: reputation and transparency. Before the trip, she will contact herself and go through the local government to support the right person to receive; after returning, she will make the fees and expenses public.

On average, every year, Ms. Huyen takes advantage of going to charity on two occasions, summer vacation and near Tet. There are trips to implement big projects such as building roads and pulling electricity for people; There are smaller trips, she moves warm clothes to the highland school during Christmas.

Each project, each trip of Ms. Huyen has the enthusiastic contribution and participation of benefactors, colleagues, students and parents. Not only that, she also had encouragement and support from her family. She shared: "I feel very lucky and happy to have my husband and mother-in-law who always support me, even helping me prepare my belongings before each charity trip".

In particular, Ms. Huyen also encourages her students to directly participate in charity activities. From painting, making fundraising bracelets, writing open letters, selling... all are done by me. In addition, to arouse love and empathy and sharing in students, she incorporates stories from her trips into each lesson in class. I guide my children and hope that these small, meaningful, and humane things will help them learn many things..., Ms. Huyen said.

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