Orphaned child hopes to continue going to school

(Baonghean) - Orphaned of both parents and living with her aunt, Hoang Luc Minh Thu's (born 2007) education is at risk of being "broken". The first day of school is near but she still doesn't know if she will be able to go to class or not...

Luc Thi Nam's house is located at the end of Hamlet 11, Nghia Binh Commune (Tan Ky) and has nothing of value, just enough to put two old beds and spread a mat instead of a reception table. The female owner of the house is the older sister of Luc Thi Long (who gave birth to Hoang Luc Minh Thu). When we arrived, Minh Thu was standing next to the haystack behind the house, her small hands picking out handfuls of hay, then quietly carrying it to the cowshed to feed the little cow.

The house of Ms. Luc Thi Nam (the aunt who is taking care of baby Hoang Luc Minh Thu) is located at the end of the village, inside there is nothing of value.

Seeing the stranger, the little girl stood behind the haystack, her eyes filled with sadness. Looking at her orphaned niece, Ms. Nam could not speak: “She lost her father at the age of 1, her mother at the age of 8, she has been living with her aunt since she was over 1 year old. Fate forced her to become an orphan early, now I don’t know how to plan for her education...”.

More than 10 years ago, Ms. Nam's younger sister, Luc Thi Long, left her hometown to work as a garment worker in Ho Chi Minh City and started a family with a man from the South, giving birth to Hoang Luc Minh Thu. Until now, Ms. Nam still does not know her sister's husband's name or which province he is from, because she has never met him. When Minh Thu was 1 year old, relatives in the countryside heard that Ms. Long's husband had passed away in an accident, leaving her a widow and orphan.

Ms. Luc Thi Nam could not hold back her tears when talking about her orphaned nephew's situation.

Not long after, mother and son carried each other back to their hometown. Long asked his sister to take care of the child so that he could continue to go to the South to earn a living. Luc Thi Nam's fate was also very difficult. Her husband died early due to illness, when her son was just born. The mother and son had to go to the fields to glean rice, pick potatoes, or work for hire to make a living. Her son is now 23 years old, he went to the South to earn a living a few years ago, occasionally sending money back to help his mother.

Returning to the story of Hoang Luc Minh Thu, at over 1 year old she lost her father and had to leave her mother, the little girl was as skinny as a dry stick, her mouth crying out in thirst for milk. In 2013, Minh Thu was old enough to enter first grade, her mother called her aunt Nam to take her to school, and every month she would send money back for her aunt to take care of her and buy books. Every day, regardless of the sun or rain, Minh Thu walked more than 3km to get to school.

Minh Thu takes care of a small cow that the government has just supported for the poor to help her make a living soon.

During the days she was not in school, the orphan girl took care of children for families in the neighborhood, or took on buffalo herding and grass cutting jobs to have meals, and to earn a little extra money to help ease her aunt Nam's burden. Everyone sympathized with her lonely life, but the Thai village here was still poor, and could only occasionally help with meals.

Fate seemed to want to continue testing little Hoang Luc Minh Thu, when at the end of 2015 her mother returned from the South with terminal cancer. With no home or land to call her own, in her final days of illness, Luc Thi Long had to rely on her elderly mother, who was approaching 80 years old, and had to ask her siblings to borrow money for treatment. On her deathbed, the unfortunate mother looked up at her little daughter, then whispered to her sister: "Please help me take care of my child, I can't live with my family and my child anymore...".

Minh Thu is willing to do anything possible, as long as she can continue to go to class...

In the last days of August, while friends are excitedly preparing for the new school year, Hoang Luc Minh Thu is worried. Until now, she is still not sure if she can continue to go to class with her friends or have to stop on the path of studying. Because, according to Ms. Luc Thi Nam, in the past few months her health has declined, she has been sick all the time, and is currently being treated for appendicitis and gastritis.

The new school year has come but Minh Thu still has to use the old books. The poor orphan girl hopes to go to school and later become a doctor to help the poor.

Meanwhile, her son in the South heard that work was getting harder and harder, income was unstable, and he could no longer help much. If Minh Thu continued to go to school, she was afraid that her sister Nam would not be able to take care of her. “I advised her to quit school, she cried and begged to continue going to school. I feel so sorry for her, but now I don’t know what to do…”- sister Nam shared.

Minh Thu sat quietly in the corner of the bed, opened her bag, all the books were from the previous school year, that is, 3rd grade books, no 4th grade books yet. Her eyes became sadder, then tears rolled down her cheeks. We asked, “What is Minh Thu wishing for?”, she replied, “I wish to go to school, and later become a doctor to help the poor!”

Cong Kien - Phuong Thuy