Hồ Hương Nam with a student in the class. — Photo giadinhvietnam.com

HÀ NỘI — Over the past 20 years, the sight of an elderly woman with grey hair and a hunched back walking on the street has become familiar to people in An Dương Ward, Hà Nội's Tây Hồ District.

The woman is Hồ Hương Nam, 88, and she walks to a class every day to teach children with disabilities.

Nam, born in Huế City, central Thừa Thiên-Huế Province, said after graduating from the College of Teacher Training in 1952, she first taught at a primary school, Quảng Trạch District, central Quảng Bình Province.

After getting married, she followed her husband to Hà Nội and taught at Mạc Đĩnh Chi, Phan Chu Trinh and Hoàng Hoa Thám primary schools.

She worked at the population and family planning office after retiring from teaching in 1979.

Years later, during her work to provide family planning advice to local families, she met two mentally disabled children.

She decided to teach them in the room of a local patrol post.

The local government arranged a room at An Dương Secondary School to help her teach children with disabilities when the number of students reached 10.

As her students are unique, how she teaches also has to be unique. Instead of standing on the podium, Nam walks to each table and holds the students' hands to teach them to write.

Nam said sometimes it takes three or four months to teach them to write a letter but she has never been discouraged.

"To teach normal first-grade students writing is not easy, it is even more difficult for children with intellectual issues," Nam told Gia Đình Việt Nam (Việt Nam Family) online newspaper.

"I have to keep holding their hands to write words until they can write fluently. It requires the teacher to have perseverance and patience."

In 20 years of running this class, the old teacher still remembers each student that she taught.

Đỗ Thị Kim Thúy, 31, joined the class in its first days. Now, the disabled woman can read, write and is in a 4th-grade class.

Nguyễn Thị Dung, one of the first two students in the class, got married and has two children.

"Joining the class of teacher Nam, my child has integrated with everyone and can write and do simple maths. I am very grateful for her golden heart and enthusiasm to help the children," said Lưu Văn Ba, the father of a wheelchair-bound child in Yên Phụ Ward.

"My daily joy is to see my students' smiles and their progress," Nam said.

Now, at the age of 88, she may be unable to continue to teach these students and hopes someone will step up to replace her.

"I love them and worry about them. I don't know what these unfortunate people will do when I can't teach them anymore," said Nam.

"I just hope society will pay more attention to these children and someone will continue my work."

With her contributions to society, the teacher was honoured as an Excellent Citizen of the Capital in 2014 and granted the Third Class Labour Medal, Elderly - Typical Example title of the Hà Nội Elderly Association. — VNS