Couple in Nghe An 'build happiness' for orphans
Although unable to have children, Mr. Vo Duc Duan (born in 1980) and Ms. Vang Thi Hanh (born in 1982) still have a complete family. With love, they created a happy family from unfortunate lives.
“The Children's House”
That is the name that Mr. Vo Duc Duan (born in 1980) and his wife, Ms. Vang Thi Hanh (born in 1982) gave to their house. The 3-room house was built on a large plot of land, overlooking the railway in Nghi Lien hamlet, Vinh city. Behind that seemingly simple nameplate is a big decision that not everyone can make.
Having been in love since their youth, Mr. Duẩn and Ms. Hạnh were together for 15 years before becoming husband and wife. Loving children, the couple always dreamed of a happy home filled with children's laughter. After a long wait, they were shocked when the doctor announced that they could not have children together. Painful and disappointed, but in the end, they still chose to continue being together.
“The idea of adopting a child came to us as soon as we knew we couldn’t have children. We went everywhere to apply for adoption. There are many abandoned children, but the decision to choose and raise them was not easy. Seven years ago, my husband and I adopted our first child. He was a smart 6-year-old boy, the son of a poor woman. It was more than a year later that I officially hung up the sign “Children’s House” to announce our adoption to everyone.orphan" - sitting in the middle of the yard, looking out the gate, Mr. Duan shared.
When deciding to adopt a child, Mr. Duẩn and his wife not only faced financial difficulties or the responsibility of raising a child, but also had to overcome many other obstacles. Many people thought that they were taking on too much. “Raising one child is hard enough, let alone many. What if the children do not consider you as their parents?” – such doubts constantly surrounded them. But that was not what Mr. Duẩn and Ms. Hạnh were most concerned about.
I always respect my children’s origins, and I never thought I had the right to deprive them of the chance to reunite with their biological parents. Therefore, this house is always open, welcoming pregnant mothers who have made mistakes, helping them have a place to stay until the day they “give birth to a healthy mother and child”. I also always let mothers have the right to visit and take their children back if they can. Many people say I am foolish, that it is a great loss to raise them for so many years and then let someone else take them away. But to me, the most important thing is the happiness of the child, so we have never regretted when our biological parents come back to take them back, because that means the child still has a family.
Mr. Vo Duc Duong
The four children who are staying with the couple at this time are proof of their perseverance and unconditional kindness. Baby Bong is only 3 months old, because the baby is still too young, Mr. Duẩn has to play the role of a diaper dad, working during the day, from selling coffee, teaching martial arts, taking care of plants..., to staying up all night to change diapers and make milk. Baby Xoài, 3 years old, was born with a leg disability, it took nearly a year for the couple to take turns taking care of him, persistently doing physical therapy to get him back to normal. Because of his father, every time he sees a stranger, Xoài immediately burrows into his father's chest, only letting him hold him. Carrot, 4 years old, always runs after his father, is agile, attentive, and always ready to "receive orders" from his parents to take care of his younger siblings. Khoai - the eldest and only son in the family - always gives in to his younger siblings, is close to his grandparents...
Each child has a different personality, story, and circumstances, but they are all indispensable pieces in the family of Mr. Duẩn and Ms. Hạnh.
“Being a father or mother has never been easy, especially when I was a teacher in the mountainous district of Binh Chuan, and could only go home once a week. So that the children could receive love from both their father and mother, we let them take turns living in Con Cuong and Vinh City. The children are all around the same age, the youngest is only a few months old, the oldest is only 6 years old, so they need a lot of time to take care of them. For us, the greatest success is seeing our children healthy and growing up, so we both accept to sacrifice our career ambitions to prioritize our children. In return, every time the children rush into our arms, compete to be held, and chatter about stories, I know that all the difficulties are worth it,” Ms. Hanh confided.
Definition of happiness
Besides their active participation in charity activities, the people of Hamlet 18 in particular and Nghi Lien Commune in general still mention Mr. Duẩn and his wife as different characters with minority choices. The origin of that difference probably comes from the concept of happiness…
Happiness for my husband and I is to transform our own unhappiness – not being able to have children, along with the unhappiness of abandoned children, into a real family, a home with both parents and love. I am happy to take care of as many children as possible, to give them the love of their biological parents, of their biological relatives, both emotionally and materially.
Mr. Vo Duc Duong
6 years is not a long journey, but it is enough to leave unforgettable impressions on Mr. Duẩn and Ms. Hạnh. Like every other father and mother, there are times when they are tired and exhausted, but they have never thought of stopping. Because, with each passing day, watching their children grow up healthy, those hardships become their priceless happiness.
In the househappyWhen asked about his worries and concerns for the future, Mr. Duẩn frankly said: “Although society is developing day by day, in reality there are still too many abandoned children with no place to rely on. I understand that I cannot help everyone, but at least, I hope that fathers and mothers who intend to abandon their children will think of us, remember the address of this house, to give their children another chance. And if we had to choose again, we would still decide to choose this journey, to walk on this path, and would still open our arms to those unfortunate lives.”
Happiness is not a destination, but a journey that each person draws with love and sharing. For Mr. Duẩn and Ms. Hạnh, happiness is not measured by what they have, but by what they give. It is the bright eyes of abandoned children, the trusting call of “mom and dad”, the warm feeling when a roof becomes a shelter for small souls… Happiness is sometimes not perfect, but when there is enough love, it will be complete in its own way.
