The farming area at Trường Long Hòa Port Border Guard Station in Vĩnh Long Province helps improve soldiers’ living conditions while generating funds to support disadvantaged students. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Hòa

VĨNH LONG — Through scholarships, foster care, and health insurance support, Trường Long Hòa Port Border Guard Station in Vĩnh Long Province has become a lifeline for disadvantaged students in coastal communities.

The station is responsible for the area covering Duyên Hải and Trường Long Hòa wards and Long Hữu Commune, with a coastline of 22.2 kilometres and a population of nearly 180,000 people.

In recent years, its officers and soldiers have not only safeguarded national sovereignty and maritime border security but also carried out practical social welfare programmes for poor families and students in the area.

Through programmes such as “Nâng bước em tới trường” (Helping Children Stay in School), “Con nuôi đồn biên phòng” (Border Guard Foster Child), and health insurance support, the unit has helped many children stay in education and build brighter futures.

One beneficiary is Huỳnh Duy Ân, a fifth-grade student at Dân Thành Lower and Upper Secondary School. 

His mother, Phan Thị Ngọc Trâm, faced severe hardship after her husband developed a serious illness when Ân was still an infant. Despite years of treatment, he died three years ago, leaving her to raise their son alone.

After learning of the family's circumstances, the station supported Ân through the “Helping Children Stay in School” programme.

The boy receives VNĐ500,000 (US$19) a month to support his education. Officers and soldiers also regularly visit and encourage him, while providing gifts during holidays like Tết (Lunar New Year).

“I am very grateful to the border guards,” Ân said.

Senior Lieutenant Trần Đức Thắng of Trường Long Hòa Port Border Guard Station helps Huỳnh Duy Ân with his studies. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Hòa

Another student whose life has been transformed by the station’s support is Thạch Vũ Phong, 19, of Trường Long Hòa Ward.

Phong was abandoned by his father shortly after birth. His mother later started a new family, leaving him with his grandmother, Nguyễn Thị Mướt. 

Financial hardship once threatened to force him to drop out of school.

He joined the Border Guard Foster Child programme when he was in seventh grade.

Phong lived at the station from grades seven to nine, with the personnel there caring for him, supporting his studies, and treating him like family.

After entering upper secondary school, he continues to receive assistance through the “Helping Children Stay in School” programme.

This has enabled him to complete schooling, and recently his first year at university. 

“If the border guards had not helped us, I do not know whether my grandson could have continued studying,” Mướt said.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Lành, deputy commander of the station, said the unit considers social welfare an important part of building strong ties with local communities.

The “Helping Children Stay in School” programme has supported 14 disadvantaged students since 2016.

Each receives VNĐ500,000 (US$19) a month, funded through voluntary contributions by officers and soldiers.

It is currently supporting seven students. Of former beneficiaries, one is studying at Ngô Quyền University and another at Trà Vinh University.

Launched in 2019, the programme provides not only educational support but also life-skills training and personal development opportunities for disadvantaged children.

It has also operated a “Health Insurance for Children” programme since 2022. Funding for it comes from the sale of recyclable materials collected during volunteer campaigns and the station’s own production activities.

The initiative has helped provide health insurance to 142 students.

Soldiers at the station tend a vegetable garden. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Hòa

The station carries out a range of social welfare programmes.

Its military-civilian clinic provided medical examinations and treatment for nearly 3,200 people last year.

Under the “Hũ gạo nghĩa tình quân dân” (Military-Civilian Solidarity Rice Jar) programme, it has distributed nearly 400 kilogrammes of rice to disadvantaged households.

Other programmes have delivered gifts to hundreds of poor households and disadvantaged students.

Officers and soldiers have also taken part in building new-style rural areas and environmental protection activities.

They have organised 13 coastal clean-up campaigns, collecting more than 5.3 tonnes of waste, and planted 800 casuarina trees and 100 fruit trees.

They have also helped locals repair homes, recover from natural disasters, and even harvest crops. — VNS