A Dih and his wife with their children’s certificates of merit from school. The certificates inspired A Dih to secure an education for his children with loans from local commercial banks.

LookAtVietnam Bridge - Years have gone by and most of his nine children are now grown up, but A Dih, an ethnic Ja Rai living in Kon Tum Town, thinks back proudly of the sacrifices he made for his children’s future.

He is the embodiment of hard work and selflessness.

A Dih was determined that his children should not grow up illiterate, as he himself had done. "Education is the best way out of poverty, the best way to lead a better life," he says simply.

Without the means to pay for his children’s education, A Dih took out long-term loans with a number of local banks.

"I myself am illiterate. I have land and the things I need to earn money, but being unable to read and write has always be a hindrance, making it difficult to escape poverty," he says.

A Dih first approached the banks in 1985.

"It was the hardest time my family has ever known because our crops had been damaged by the harsh weather. I had no money left for my children’ education. They even planned to leave school altogether when they saw me asking our neighbours for money."

He remembered that he had to persuade his children quite forcefully to continue with their schooling. "If I had done nothing, my children would not have been the successes they are now."

A Liuh, A Dih’s eldest child, now works as a local policeman. "We nearly quit school. My family could not afford to live. My parents worked so hard, and they were in debt, but they insisted we continue with our studies," said A Liuh.

A Dih remembers with a shudder first approaching a bank in Kon Tum town for a loan. Because he was illiterate he was unable to fill in a loan application form. Overcoming his self-consciousness, he eventually ask a fellow bank customer for help.

"Because I could not read or write I asked the person sitting next to me for help only to discover that she was like me. In the end I had to take the form home for my eldest son to fill in."

Despite returning the form to the bank within the week, it took three months for the bank to approve the loan. "The money was enough for one child to continue at school. Then I had to go to another bank for another loan for the older child."

Eventually, he had enough money for his two eldest children to continue with their education. But then the hard work of repaying the loans began.

Sometimes, there was nothing to eat but manioc – the root of the cassava plant, that when boiled is a bit like potato.

A Dih said because he had to work long hours he felt exhausted all the time. But then all he had to do was look at the wall where his children’s school certificates hung to feel refreshed and proud.

A Dih had to continue borrowing money from banks to pay for his other children’s education, but by then, his eldest children were working and able to help out financially. "Everything seemed easier than at the beginning. Commercial banks were also giving more favourable loans," he says, which helped greatly.

The chairman of district committee, A K’ronh, is full of admiration for A Dih. "Nobody in my district could have done as much as he did," he said.

A K’ronh said A Dih’s toughest challenge was meeting the repayments on his loans – something he never failed to do. "Loan repayments are a big problem for poor people like A Dih. He had nothing to sell to ease the burden. All he had was his field."

A Dih still has four school-age children, but he no longer needs to borrow from the banks because he gets financial assistance from the local authority.

"Now I have just four children at school, but thanks to the support I get from the Government I don’t have to borrow to pay for their schooling," he says, adding: "When I see how successful my sons and daughters are, I am very proud. To see them happy is all I want from my life."

(Source: VNS)