The burden on the shoulders of an old mother

(Baonghean) - At nearly 70 years old, Ms. Le Thi Thieng, Dong Trieu block, Quynh Di ward, Hoang Mai town, still has to work hard in the fields and on the beach to raise her mentally ill daughter and her fatherless grandchild. The small house stands alone in the middle of a lonely field because of the absence of a male breadwinner...

Mrs. Thieng gave birth to 4 children, of which her daughter Nguyen Thi Mai (born in 1984) unfortunately has mental retardation and a curved spine, making it difficult for her to move. All of her personal activities depend on her elderly mother's care. Mrs. Thieng and her children live with her eldest son's family in a cramped house, life is extremely difficult as their income only depends on a few meters of rice fields for one crop.

Mrs. Thieng with her daughter and grandchild.

One day, Mrs. Thieng was shocked to discover that her silly daughter was pregnant. When she asked who the father was, Mai smiled unconsciously. Loving her child and hoping that someone would take care of Mai when Mrs. Thieng passed away, the whole family decided to keep the baby. The day Mai was taken to the hospital, seeing the silly woman crawling around the hospital because of a difficult birth, everyone felt sorry for her and pooled money to support Mai in giving birth. Nguyen Quang Hung (born in 2009) was born healthy and whole, lighting up hope for her family. But the whole family's life became even more difficult because Mai did not have the skills to take care of children, Mrs. Thieng was both a grandmother and a mother taking care of her grandchild.

The house was too cramped for 7 people, so in April 2015, relatives and friends pooled money and labor to help Mrs. Thieng and Mai and her mother build a small 2-room house in the field. Every day, Mrs. Thieng toiled in the field with 5 meters of land to grow only 1 crop of rice, 1 crop of tobacco, some seasons were good, some seasons were bad. Her children also had difficult circumstances, so they could hardly help their mother and younger sibling. Only when she and Mai went to the hospital could they save some money. There were times when Mrs. Thieng suffered from spinal degeneration and pneumonia and had to stay in the hospital for a whole month, but she still couldn't stop worrying about her mentally ill child and poor grandchild.

Recently, Mai was unfortunately gored by a cow and thrown into the field, breaking her teeth, her body was bruised and injured all over, and she thought she would not survive. Luckily, someone working in the field discovered her in time and took her to the emergency room. Hung grew up like a weed, not receiving adequate nutrition, so he was skinny and small compared to his peers. Talking about her situation, Mrs. Thieng could only wipe away her tears of sadness. She said that her health was now exhausted, her biggest worry was that if she was not healthy enough, when she "lay down", she did not know what life would be like for Mai and her children. Would Hung be able to continue going to school or would he have to drop out?

Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai and nephew Hung.

Mr. Ho Sy Minh - Chairman of the Association for the Support of the Disabled and Orphans of Quynh Di Ward said: Mrs. Thieng's family situation is particularly difficult as she has to raise both her sick daughter and her child without a father. However, apart from the allowance for the disabled, the locality does not have the funds to support any other expenses.

Saying goodbye to Mrs. Thieng's family, looking at Mai's bewildered face, we felt really sorry. We wonder what life will be like for the three of them, the mother and her children, when Mrs. Thieng is gone?

Thanh Thuy

(Hoang Mai Radio)