Holding on to education among the mountains
At a glance
After losing both parents, Pa held onto school while carrying new responsibilities at home—and kept moving toward university.
The beginning
Pa grew up in the mountain district of Mường Nhé, Điện Biên. When both of her parents died during her secondary-school years, education became difficult to hold onto. As the eldest sister, she also felt responsible for the family around her.
Leaving school would have been understandable. Instead, Pa kept showing up—with encouragement from teachers, neighbours, local officials, and border soldiers who saw her ability and resolve.
The turning point
Albrecht Fund support helped reduce the everyday pressure surrounding her education. It created continuity: time to study, a clearer path forward, and the knowledge that others were invested in the future she was working to build.
On 14 July 2019, Pa was accepted to the University of Labour and Social Affairs—an important milestone in a journey shaped by years of steady effort.
Moving forward
Pa’s story is not about being rescued. It is about a young person choosing education again and again, even when circumstance made that choice unusually demanding.
Her progress shows what long-term support can protect: not only a place in school, but the confidence and momentum to imagine a life beyond immediate hardship.
What this journey reminds us
“Opportunity did not create Pa’s potential. It gave that potential room to travel.”
From the archive
Moments from Lì Gò Pa's educational journey.
01
02Keep the pathway open