Trang was born and raised in a small distant neighborhood in Tra On District, Mekong Delta province of Vinh Lengthy. In 2018, the unfold of animal illnesses similar to blue ear illness and African swine fever pressured her household to close down their pig farm, plunging them into monetary difficulties. Her dad and mom struggled to repay money owed, whereas Trang’s brother needed to work distant from dwelling to assist the household.
Trang, then a highschool junior, confronted uncertainties about the potential of shifting on to greater schooling as a result of her dad and mom may not afford to ship her to school.
In a bid to help her household and safe her future, Trang ventured into content material creation. Selecting YouTube as a result of its profitability, she created the channel “Sau Tivi,” and began to add slice-of-life movies that includes day by day life within the Mekong Delta.
“However success additionally requires a contact of luck,” shared Trang, now a 22-year-old senior in college.
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Nguyen Thuy Trang and Bim Bim in Tra On District, Vinh Lengthy Province, in the course of the summer season of 2019, simply earlier than Trang began her closing 12 months of highschool. Picture courtesy of Sau Tivi |
In the summertime of 2019, Trang’s mom introduced dwelling dozens of duck eggs to eat. However Trang stumbled upon a hatching egg, so she introduced it to a duck’s nest and punctiliously positioned it in for incubation. The outcome was a male white duckling, which she later named Bim Bim.
The household had a flock of black geese, however the little duckling was ostracized for its distinct vivid feathers. Trang determined to lift him individually, and very quickly he was following her all over the place.
Each time Trang was recording new movies, she would put Bim Bim on a plastic stool for worry of unintentionally stepping on him. The duckling quickly grew to become the star of the present that captivated viewers of the YouTube channel.
In a single video, Trang got down to decide carao fruit with a basket in her hand and the little duckling following behind. One other episode featured a farewell earlier than Trang left for the town, with Bim Bim snuggling in her arms.
“Through the first 6 months of beginning my channel, I had solely a handful of latest subscribers every month. It solely began to take off when Bim began showing within the movies,” shared Trang. “Inside a 12 months, we reached 36,000 subscribers, and I used to be in a position to monetize my movies”.
Trang was making and enhancing all of the movies for her channels along with her brother’s previous smartphone. At first, her 56-year-old mom, Pham Thi Lanh, didn’t totally help the concept. She acquired involved when seeing Trang speaking to the telephone all by herself whereas filming.
However Trang persevered along with her imaginative and prescient. To maintain up with the aim of releasing one video per day, Trang would spend time filming within the afternoon and end enhancing after her night research classes.
“Trang slept little or no and didn’t have correct relaxation. After getting into college, each time she returned dwelling on the weekends, she would make 5 movies directly to make sure every week’s value of content material,” Lanh recalled.
Trang’s relentless efforts ultimately gained her household’s help, along with her dad and mom getting extra concerned within the artistic course of. Her mom would put together all needed objects or components wanted for every episode, whereas her 58-year-old father, Nguyen Cong Huyen, arrange a kitchen house to function a filming studio. Afterward, Lanh and Huyen even made an look in some movies.
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A scene from the documentary collection “She Creates Change,” premiered on Discovery Asia on March 8, 2024. Picture courtesy of Room to Learn |
After greater than 5 years, Trang’s YouTube channel has amassed almost 670,000 followers, with greater than 1,300 movies attracting 180 million views. The revenue from the channel has not solely helped her household repay money owed however has additionally improved their general life high quality. The muddy street resulting in her home 5 years in the past has been changed by a concrete street, with rows of coconut timber on the perimeters.
The motivational story of Trang and her duck Bim Bim was additionally featured by the documentary collection “She Creates Change,” because of Room to Learn – an American nonprofit group that goals for equal instructional alternatives for women all world wide.
The collection consists of the tales of six Asian teen women from Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Tanzania, celebrating their efforts in overcoming adversity by means of schooling and creativity. Every 11-minute episode begins with an animated brief a couple of life-defining second, adopted by a brief documentary that reveals the teenager hero behind the story.
Nguyen Thuy Trang appeared within the first episode, which premiered on Worldwide Girls’s Day 2024 (March 8) on the channel Discovery ASIA.
Based on a consultant of Room to Learn Vietnam, Thuy Trang was a participant in this system from grade 6 until grade 12. From a shy and timid lady, Trang step by step acquired extra assured and ultimately grew to become a peer chief, in accordance with the group.
“When Trang was 16 years previous, she got here up with the concept of making the channel “Sau Tivi,” earned a YouTube Silver Play Button (for channels with greater than 100,000 subscribers) after only one 12 months,” mentioned the consultant. “This serves as a vastly inspiring story for feminine college students everywhere in the world on how creativity and proactiveness can carry one’s life out of poverty.”
In November 2022, the manufacturing crew of “She Creates Change” got here to Vietnam to get dwell footages of Trang and Bim Bim. Though the 2 solely appeared within the documentary for a short while, it took the crew two years to analysis Trang and her channel, together with watching and finding out her movies.
Since its launch, the docuseries has acquired a lot of consideration throughout the continent, which got here as an enormous shock for Trang. It was additionally shortlisted at many movie festivals, together with the Tribeca Competition, the Manchester Animation Competition, the London Brief Movie Competition and the British Animation Awards.
“I did not anticipate it to be launched throughout Asia, and that I might be identified by so many individuals,” Trang mentioned.
Within the close to future, Thuy Trang will quickly graduate from college. She plans to proceed rising her YouTube channel and spending extra time with Bim Bim.
Based on Trang, Bim Bim is a male duck, however she usually clothes him up in a female method. In contrast to different geese that usually eat uncooked meals, he prefers cooked dishes similar to sausages, crabs, and boiled snails.
Bim Bim has been cooperative whereas filming, and likewise very good and attentive. He will get offended when Trang eats poultry meat or eggs, as soon as even pushing the meals proper off her plate.
Now, the 5-year-old Bim Bim is turning into much less lively. He all the time goes to mattress with a fan turned on, or else he’s not in a position to lie nonetheless.
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Nguyen Thuy Trang and her dad and mom commemorating Bim Bim’s fifth birthday in Might 2023. Picture courtesy of Trang |
Bim Bim acts very like a human being who wants love and a spotlight from others.
Each time Trang comes dwelling after an extended interval away, Bim Bim stands by a lemon tree to attend for her return, after which he quacks fortunately on the sight of his human good friend. He jumps up and down joyfully as they reunite, snuggling his head into her shoulder.
“The primary time I got here again dwelling after getting into college, he was mad at me for some time. The extra I referred to as him, the extra he ran away,” Trang recalled. “After I hugged him and mentioned that I missed him, he stayed nonetheless in my arms for a very long time”.
Over time, Thuy Trang has raised two different geese, however they don’t seem to be as hooked up and cooperative as Bim Bim.
“For us, Bim Bim shouldn’t be a money-making instrument. He is the youngest member of my household,” shared the YouTuber.
An extract from Thuy Trang’s video “Mot ngay di hoc o truong” (A day at college) uploaded on Sau TiVi August thirteenth, 2020.