Ti: The girl who lifted her mother out of poverty
Now that she’s flying high and following her dreams, Ti wants to give back to the person who made it all possible: her mother.
A window
Every evening, five-year-old Ti stood at the window and waved to her neighbours as they walked past. It was the only thing that made her feel safe while her mother was out earning the money that kept them alive.
Ti’s father wasn’t around, and they had no relatives to help with food, chores or childcare. Ti’s mother did everything.
“She’s incredible. I don’t know how she managed to take care of me and my brother the way she did. She never had anything for herself.”
Every day, Ti’s mother woke up at sunrise and worked at the market. She came home long after dark to prepare dinner and do the housework – even when she was sick or injured.
“Once she had an accident and broke her arm,” remembers Ti, “and she still managed to make us steamed rice for dinner.”
Ti resolved that one day she would make sure her mother could finally enjoy life. It wasn’t long before she received just the boost she needed to make that happen.
Ti dreamed of giving her mother a better life.
Grow with me
When one of Ti’s teachers noticed that her family struggled to pay her school fees on time, she introduced them to Blue Dragon.
We supported Ti to stay in school and invited her to our centre in Hanoi. Now, instead of waiting at the window for her mother to return from work, Ti spent her evenings joining fun games and classes with other children.
Ti was shy, but the activities helped her to open up and discover new sides to herself.
“I learnt so much, especially in hip hop class – not just dancing, but about my thoughts and feelings and my ability to help other people. Soon I started supporting other kids to grow with me.”
Reading was one of Ti’s favourite activities.
Ti did hip hop every chance she got.
Ti’s desire to help other children grew stronger as she matured. Lam, who watched Ti grow from a child to an adult, remembers it as her brightest, most endearing quality.
“In every class, I would always see her taking up a supporting role – helping the staff and assisting other kids to join the activities. One time she even carried a child with disabilities on her back during a summer trip. She spent the whole day supporting that girl and took care of her.”
As she grew alongside her new friends, Ti turned that thrilling sense of discovery onto the world around her. She became fascinated by stories – especially those of faraway places and cultures – and started to soak up all she could.
Ti made lots of friends at the Blue Dragon centre.
Ti carrying another child on her back.
All sides
When Ti graduated from school, she was still unsure about what she wanted to do with her life. Driven by her love of learning and a desire to see the world, she successfully applied for a one-year English language scholarship with Blue Dragon supporter Langports Language College in Australia.
Excited for her new adventure, Ti set off for Australia with fellow Blue Dragon kid PK. The experience opened her eyes to new ways of seeing and thinking, and she threw herself into everything on offer.
“I just loved making friends and acquiring knowledge. I had so much fun and was inspired all the time by my classmates. Studying helps me to see this world from all sides.”
15 years after she first met Blue Dragon, Ti returned to Vietnam a new person. She had grown so much, learnt so much, travelled abroad and made more friends than she could count.
“She came back more innovative and adaptable in her thinking,” shares Phuong, Ti’s social worker at Blue Dragon. “She was suddenly very confident in her English abilities and in working with people from all around the world.”
Hope on the horizon.
Opportunities
When it came time for Ti to decide her future, she knew what she wanted: keep pushing herself. She began a degree at the University of Journalism in Hanoi, eager to give it her all.
Alongside her studies, Ti volunteered teaching English at the Blue Dragon centre three days a week. As she entered her third year of university life, her days got even busier.
Ti’s former Blue Dragon social worker, Phuong, reached out to her with an opportunity. She recommended Ti for an internship position at The Learning Project, an organisation that runs bespoke, sustainable school trips in Vietnam and the Asia-Pacific region.
Ti applied, got the role and began working in her dream field – all while continuing her degree and teaching Blue Dragon kids. It was tough going, but all Ti’s hard work paid off. She graduated from university and turned her role at The Learning Project into a full-time position.
“I love working here because I can learn so much. The most important thing is my lovely coworkers. They’re amazing. The environment is as cozy as a family.”
Ti loves challenging herself.
Even more amazed
Ti’s next plan is to take the national tour guide exam so that she can lead people on trips around Vietnam. Blue Dragon, her family and her beloved colleagues are right behind her.
While her job is focused on sending people to far-flung destinations, Ti has always stayed true to where she came from. The more she has pushed forward, challenged herself and chased her dreams, the more she has given back to the person who sacrificed everything to make her current life possible: her mother.
With Ti’s support, her mother no longer needs to wake up at sunrise and work until dark at the market every day. Instead, she can spend her senior years relaxing with friends and enjoying her favourite hobbies.
“My mother loves walking, exercising and cooking. All the food she cooks – wow! She’s an incredible chef and I’m so lucky to have her in my life. Now that I have a good job and I realise what it takes to make ends meet, I’m even more amazed at how she was able to provide for me and my brother when we were kids.”
All the way from those long, scary evenings by the window to her new life of hope, Ti has lifted others, helped them grow and inspired them to dream with her. Wherever her journey takes her from here, she will continue to brighten the life of everyone around her.
Ti and her mother now live a life of hope.
