The pitiful situation of orphaned, excellent students in Nghe An

In recent days, the people of Hamlet 1, Hung Dao Commune, Hung Nguyen District have been shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tich (76 years old) - an old woman in the hamlet with special circumstances, who was raising 3 orphaned grandchildren. As much as we sympathize with her difficult and hard-working life, we also feel sorry for her grandchildren.

In the small house still covered in the atmosphere of mourning in Hamlet 1, Phan Thi Anh with a white mourning scarf on her head sadly recounted a story that had just happened: Early in the morning of August 10, she took her grandmother to Lo market to buy food. On the way back, just after crossing the main road, right in front of the market gate, a motorbike hit the back of the car. The strong impact caused the electric bike and the two grandmothers to fly out onto the road, Anh suffered a broken shoulder blade, and Mr. Tich suffered a traumatic brain injury, was unconscious, and was taken to hospitals for treatment by everyone, but did not survive.

The house of the Anh sisters in hamlet 1, Hung Dao commune (Hung Nguyen). Photo by Huy Thu

Mr. Tich passed away, leaving behind three orphaned grandchildren. His grandchildren, who were already in difficult circumstances and had suffered many disadvantages and losses, now had to accept the ultimate pain of losing their beloved grandmother, an important support in their lives.

Phan Thi Hong (born 2003), Anh's older sister, said with tears in her eyes: "Since our parents passed away, she has been both a grandmother and a mother, always taking care of us. Today, we no longer have her by our side, we miss her so much."

Anh’s parents had 3 children, working hard all year round, but poverty and hardship still clung to the family. In 2007, while catching crabs in the fields to earn money to raise her children, Ms. Ho Thi Nhung (born in 1968) – Anh’s mother fell ill and suddenly passed away, when she was just over 3 months old.

Mr. Phan Duc Lu - Anh's father had to live a single father life. In 2015, after a period of working as a construction worker, Mr. Lu also fell ill and died in a drowning accident, leaving behind 3 young children for their elderly mother. Anh's older sister, Phan Thi Nhat Le (born in 1997), was in 7th grade at that time and had to drop out of school to go to the South to work as a factory worker to support her 2 younger siblings.

Three orphaned sisters at their grandmother's altar.

Over the past years, Mrs. Tich has had to "become a mother" for the second time, "after raising her children, she also raised her grandchildren". The grandmother and her grandchildren live on 3 sao of rice fields and the small amount of money sent by Anh's sister from the South. Despite her old age, during harvest season, Mrs. Tich still works hard in the fields, from sowing rice to harvesting and drying rice to provide food for her family.

The narrow 3-room house where the four grandmothers and grandchildren, Anh and her sisters, lived was built long ago. After a long period of dilapidation, last year, thanks to the help of the community, it was re-roofed with tiles. When he was alive, Mr. Tich's wish was to repair the house to be tight above and durable below, so that "the sun would not shine, the rain would not leak". Now that he has passed away, the inner room of the house, where Anh and her sisters studied, has been renovated to become a place to worship him.

Talking about the children's family circumstances, Mr. Cao Dinh Ky - Head of Hamlet 1, Hung Dao Commune shared: "Our hamlet has 188 households, of which 6 are poor. Anh's family is a long-term poor household in the commune and is the household with the most special and difficult circumstances in the area. The parents passed away leaving behind young children, and now the grandmother passed away due to a traffic accident, while the children are still at the age of eating and studying. The children's circumstances are truly pitiful."

Sisters Phan Thi Hong and Phan Thi Anh are both excellent students. Photo: Huy Thu

Born into a family with special circumstances, Anh and her sisters are all well-behaved, self-disciplined, and good at studying. Phan Thi Hong (Anh's second sister) is a student in class 11A4, Thai Lao High School (Hung Nguyen). Hong was an excellent student in the district in Civic Education, in grades 8 and 9. She is currently a member of the school's provincial excellent student competition team.

Phan Thi Anh is a 7A student at Quang Trung Hung Dao Secondary School (Hung Nguyen). Anh is an excellent student in Literature at the district level in 6th grade.

Hong shared: "When she was alive, she often reminded us that our family was poor, so we should study hard so that we will have less hardship in the future. She wanted me to pass the university entrance exam, so I always tried to study well."

Anh is the youngest child, when her mother passed away she was only 3 months old, now that she has passed away she is in 7th grade. Photo: Huy Thu

It is known that after Mr. Tich passed away, knowing the pitiful situation of the Anh sisters, the Hung Nguyen District Youth Union and public schools organized delegations to visit and express condolences, and at the same time launched a donation movement, in the spirit of "mutual love and support", "the whole leaves cover the torn leaves", to share difficulties and help the Anh sisters have more determination to rise up in life and study.

Ms. Cao Thi Hang - Secretary of Hung Nguyen District Youth Union said: In the coming days, the District Youth Union Executive Committee will continue to connect volunteer activities of organizations and individuals towards the children's families. More than ever, the children need the community's support and help.

Please send any help to:

I am Phan Thi Anh, hamlet 1, Hung Dao commune, Hung Nguyen district, Nghe An province.

Account number: 3608 205 205 948 Account holder: Phan Thi Hong.

Agribank, Hung Nguyen branch.