The orphan boy wanted to drop out of school to work to support his grandmother.

(Baonghean.vn) - Born without ever knowing his father, at the age of 13, a stroke took away his beloved mother. Tuan had to rely on his 80-year-old grandmother to live with his mentally disabled uncle.

Arriving at Nghi Dong parish, Nghi Loc district, asking for the house of poor student Cao Van Tuan (born 2003, residing in hamlet 3, Nghi Dong commune), currently studying in grade 8 at Hung Dong secondary school, we were enthusiastically shown the way by the locals.

Lying quietly beside a rice field in the earing stage, a dilapidated house is a shelter from the rain and sun of 3 people with extremely miserable fates. The tiny house bears the deep traces of time, the bamboo rafters are eaten by termites, the wooden door is soaked with water and has pieces of sawdust.

The dilapidated house is where Tuan and his mother and grandmother live. Photo: Nhu Suong

In the cramped kitchen, there were only a few small pots hanging in the corner, a bamboo basket with a few old bowls on it, and a thin, hunched-backed grandmother busily cooking dinner. Her eyesight was poor, and it took her a long time to realize that I was not the neighbor’s daughter who had gone to school far away and was now home visiting.

Hearing me explain the reason for my visit, her silver eyes suddenly filled with tears and she called her grandson to come in and welcome the guests. Today was the day off from school so Tuan stayed home to help her clean the garden and plant vegetables. Life was so poor and difficult and he had to work hard in the fields early on, Tuan looked like a 6th grader. Tuan greeted us shyly and quietly found a place behind the corner of the table to listen to her talk.

"Since his mother passed away, he has rarely met friends or strangers, so he has become so reserved. Please understand!", Mrs. Quy said then slowly told about the fate of her poor grandchild.

Tuan's mother is Vu Thi Yen (born in 1969). Because her father died early, she felt sorry for her weak mother and her mentally disabled younger brother Vu Dinh Tinh (born in 1984), so she decided not to get married and take care of her mother and younger brother every day.

As time passed, her youth also passed by without her knowing. In 2003, after much thought, she decided not to get married but to have a child to rely on when she was old and sick. And Cao Van Tuan was born in that hope and expectation.

Every day outside of school, Tuan does all the housework because his grandmother is old and his uncle is mentally disabled. Photo: Nhu Suong

Despite his poor family background, both his mother and grandmother loved Tuan very much and gave him the best they could. Because of that, as he grew older, Tuan loved his mother more and more, trying not to upset her and his grandmother.

Wishing that one day her child would grow up and repay her for giving birth to her, but no one could predict the future. In 2016, when Tuan was only 13 years old, Yen suddenly suffered a stroke and collapsed in the rice field. Although people discovered her and quickly took her to the emergency room, she could not survive.

The death was so sudden and unexpected that everyone felt shocked and sad. Mrs. Quy almost collapsed completely when she saw the yellow leaves sending off the green leaves. However, because she felt sorry for her innocent grandson and her foolish son who could not grow up, she tried to get up.

Although he loves school and enjoys going to school, Tuan plans to put his studies on hold to have time to help his grandmother with housework and earn a living. Photo: Nhu Suong

As for Tuan, since his mother passed away, he has become quieter, less talkative and shy around people. Every day, outside of school, Tuan spends all his free time helping his grandmother cook, cut pigweed and take care of the fields. During the free summer months, he takes advantage of the opportunity to earn money by picking pennywort, catching crabs and snails to supplement the household expenses.

“He is very obedient. He does everything for his grandmother. Because he feels sorry for his grandmother in her old age, he wants to drop out of school to work as a construction worker to bring money home for his grandmother to take care of his son, but I stopped him. No matter how difficult it is, he cannot drop out of school because when his mother was still alive, she told me that she must ensure that he gets an education equal to his friends. If I let him drop out of school now, I will be doing his mother a disservice…”, Mrs. Quy held Tuan’s hand tightly and shared.

"If you don't quit school, how will you feed the whole family, not to mention the medicine for your uncle. If you quit school now to work for hire, you can at least earn a few dozen each day..." - Tuan's words made us feel sorry for him.

A simple daily meal of mother and children, grandmother and grandchild. Photo: Nhu Suong

We left Tuan's grandmother's house when the meal for the three of them had just been served, and the food was just a bowl of wild vegetable soup picked from the backyard and a bowl of pickled eggplant. The dim light could not light up the small house. I suddenly thought about Tuan's future and felt sad, wondering if his life would be found by "luck" to help him and his family overcome the current difficulties...

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