Celebrating New Year’s Eve via live-broadcast TV program
Hugging her two children tightly to her chest, Ngoc reminded her husband over and over again to take care of the kids and encourage the parents. In reply, Colonel Lai Khac Thien, an instructor at the Military Political Academy, encouraged his wife to feel at ease to perform her duties. He promised to cover all the work at home and spend the Tet holiday with both the paternal and maternal grandparents.
    |
 |
|
Her husband and children see off Ngoc at the airport. |
Officer Thien recalled that when his wife talked about the intention to register for the U.N. peacekeeping force in UNMISS, he felt worried about the hard and dangerous working environment there, her health, their parents’ thought. However, his wife’s determination to surmount all hardship with his support, to challenge herself in a new environment, and to become an ambassador to popularize Vietnamese culture to the host country convinced him. Winning the support of the parents of both sides and her husband, Ngoc passed all the exams and was officially named in the list of officers participating in the U.N. Mission in South Sudan.
She practiced hard, passing all training courses. She is now well equipped with survival, off-road driving skills, and knowledge of the locality where she will carry out tasks.
Thien said to his wife that they will meet on the New Year’s Eve during a live-broadcast TV program that connects Ngoc and her comrades in South Sudan with those in the homeland.
Multi-talented couple
At the Military Political Academy, the couple of Lt. Col. Le Thi Bich Ngoc, an instructor of the English language, and Colonel Lai Khac Thien, an instructor at the Party and Political Work Department, are considered multi-talented. Apart from their professional tasks, they have actively participated in different movements. Thien acts as an MC, a director, a scriptwriter for many competitions and festivals, winning many high prizes while Ngoc “lights the fire” for mass movement activities. She won the first prize in a women's singles table tennis event at the academy level in 2020.
|
|
 |
|
The couple of Lt. Col. Le Thi Bich Ngoc and Col. Lai Khac Thien (second from left) and leaders of the Military Political Academy |
The couple are enthusiastic about work, dare to think, dare to do, dare to take on difficult tasks.
Witnessing the moment when Colonel Lai Khac Thien said goodbye to his wife to carry out international duty in South Sudan, one could see love, respect and pride on his face. For the couple, this Tet starts challenging their long-distance love journey of more than 10,000km between Vietnam and South Sudan.
Although they have not been together for a long time, both Thien and Ngoc are confident that they will always complete their missions excellently.
Translated by Mai Huong