A new school building

I was out of touch for many months. There had been four deaths in my family. Aunt Di Nam and Uncle Nam died in December, 2007. My brother Nghia died in February 2008. A week later one of my nephews died, at age 29.

Aunt Di Nam left me a piece of land before she died -- designated for a kindergarten, in Hamlet 5. My plan was to partially finance its construction with royalties from my books.

However, the village's residents have expressed their wish to replace the elementary school building in Hamlet 4, with a five-classroom building. The current two-classroom building offers classes of the first two levels only. And the building is badly deteriorated. While the parents recognize the need of a kindergarten, they feel that highest priority should be given to elementary education. Many children age 8 to 10 who should have been in school are spending their day at home because classes are not available.