Dear Ms Karen and the Lifestart Foundation,

My name is Le Nguyen Thien Oanh, and I am currently a Year 9 student at Ngo Quyen Secondary School. I am currently living in  Duy Nghia commune, Da Nang City.

Today, I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for your care and support throughout my educational journey. At the same time, I would like to share a little about myself, my family and my current studies.

My family currently has three members: my father, my older brother and me. My mother passed away when I was in Year 8 due to pneumonia, so my father has taken on all responsibilities. He works as a fisherman, often going out to sea to catch seafood. His income is unstable and depends heavily on the weather, so our family still faces many difficulties. Despite this, he continues to work hard every day to support us. His health is not very good and last year he had a motorbike accident which left him with an injury to his hand meaning he often experiences pain in his palm. He also has diabetes, and his health is gradually getting worse, so he is no longer able to do heavy work as before. My older brother has stopped attending university to help support the family, but he does not currently have a stable job. As for me, I try to help my father by working part-time at a snack shop to reduce the burden of extra study expenses. I attend school in the morning and work from 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm every day (except on days when I have afternoon classes). On busy days, I sometimes work until 11:00 pm, so there are times when I have to stay up until 3:00 am to complete my homework and prepare for lessons. However, as the upcoming Year 10 entrance exam is approaching, I have temporarily stopped working to focus on my studies.

In the recent Semester 1 exams, I made a strong effort to revise by creating a clear study plan for each subject. Each day, I managed my time carefully to review lessons, practise exam papers and consolidate my knowledge. As a result, I achieved fairly good results in subjects such as Mathematics, Literature and others. However, I realise that I still have weaknesses in English. From this exam, I have learned that I need to manage my time more effectively and allocate the same revision time to all subjects without becoming overconfident.

I especially enjoy Mathematics because it helps me develop logical thinking and problem-solving skills. In class, I always pay attention, get along well with my classmates and respect my teachers. I also actively participate in school activities such as performances and school duties.