What began 13 years ago in a cramped, 10-square-meter rented room has grown into a vital educational lifeline. Initially equipped with tattered books and old furniture, the class has moved through various temporary locations to accommodate its growing numbers. Today, it serves 81 students from Grades 1 to 5. The teachers are border guards who patrol the port by morning and pick up white chalk by afternoon.

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A class session of Major Tran Van Canh from the Ben Luc Port Border Post. Photo taken in November 2025

The classroom is filled with stories of resilience. Fourteen-year-old Bao Tran and her sister live with their grandparents after their parents’ divorce; their grandmother weeps with joy seeing them finally learn to read. Thirteen-year-old Bao Ngoc, who lives with a lottery ticket seller she calls "mother," balances household chores with a dream of a better life. For parents like Lam Thi Son, an illiterate mother of six, the class is the only way to break the cycle of poverty.

The impact is life-changing. Former student Tran Thi Mong Kieu, who nearly abandoned her education due to illness, is now a medical student at Nguyen Tat Thanh University. She credits the "soldier teachers" for saving her future.

The teaching staff includes dedicated officers like Second Lieutenant Nguyen Phuc Thinh and Corporal Nguyen Phu An, who volunteer their time to master subjects like Math and Geography. The veteran of the group, Major Tran Van Canh, has taught for nearly a decade. He spends his evenings preparing lessons that cover not just literacy, but manners and life skills. He recalls a once-mischievous student who was so desperate to learn he wrote with charcoal on the floor outside the window, a moment that moved Canh to tears.

Colonel Vu Van Hai, Political Commissar of the post, notes that over 800 children have passed through these doors. Supported by benefactors who provide books and uniforms, the class ensures that poverty does not mean a lack of opportunity. For thirteen years, this "small lamp" at the port has remained bright, lighting the way for the pure dreams of children who once had no path forward.

Translated by Minh Anh