Fearing that the poor young man may have to give up his study because of a lack of money, Nguyen Minh Nhat, secretary and head of the fatherland front of Thuong Tu Hamlet, Bui La Nhat Commune of Duc Tho District, convened an urgent meeting.

The loudspeaker sounded from the hamlet’s culture house: “All people are invited to gather at 8pm at the hamlet’s culture house to discuss Thang’s study at university."

Exactly at 8pm, representatives of 350 households were present at the culture house, discussing the funding of Thang’s study at university.

Thang is the oldest son in a family with three siblings. His father is a farmer and the family members earn their living on the rice field and from some animals.

Disaster struck the family when Le Thi Thanh Tu, the mother of Thang, was informed last June that she had a brain tumor. 

Thang's father, Bui Trung Kien, is often ill. They sold all the cattle and buffalo to pay for the treatment, but still did not have enough money for long-term treatment.

“Tu has been in a deep coma for the last 15 days. Just one day after Thang looked up his high school final exam scores, his mother underwent the first brain tumor surgery. Thang’s two siblings are students,” Nhat said.

Thang’s father and a brother of Thang are in Hanoi with the mother. The youngest sister has been left at a neighbor's family.

Closing the recent meeting, the 350 households donated VND45 million to help Thang continue his study.

“The whole village is determined to give strength to Thang and fund his study. To date, the amount of money for Thang has reached VND80 million,” said Bui Van Thuan, head of Thuong Tu Hamlet.

Ngo Thi Hong Hai, a local resident, said Thang is an obedient student who has always been a good learner. It would be regretful if such a good boy had to drop out. so, villagers have tried to help him as much as they can, hoping that he will grow up to be a useful citizen in society.

“I hope a miracle will come so that his mother can recover from illness,” she said.

Thang has expressed deep gratitude to the neighbors and villagers, saying that his family has been living on the goodness of the people.

With his exam scores, he hopes he will successfully enroll in the Primary Education Faculty at Vinh Pedagogical University under Vinh University.

Thien Luong