Today, as he returned home from school, Nguyen Dinh Hau (born in 2015), from Nghi Long commune (Nghi Loc district), had a brighter expression on his face when he saw his godmother, Ho Thi Thu, waiting for him on the familiar doorstep. He had a difficult childhood; at the age of six, he lost his father after suffering a stroke. After his father's death, his mother's lung cancer worsened, and she also passed away in September 2023.
In a short period of time, she lost both her father and mother. Unable to accept the pain, she would often ask her grandmother in despair, "When will my parents come back to me?" Hearing that question, her grandmother could only look to her godmother, Ms. Ho Thi Thu (born in 1967) – the head of the Women's Association in Kim Dien hamlet (Nghi Long commune) – because only she could fill the void in her granddaughter's heart.
Hau's grandmother recounted that her mother was a garment factory worker, and her father, when he was alive, worked as a security guard for a business. Their meager wages were barely enough to cover the medical expenses and education costs for Hau and her older brother, born in 2006. During the period when the entire province was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses ceased operations and laid off workers, causing both of Hau's parents to lose their jobs. Their already difficult situation became even more dire when both parents passed away. Even the children lacked basic necessities like food and sleep; the house didn't even have a bed, forcing the two brothers to sleep on a thin mat on the floor.
Understanding their difficulties, Ms. Thu went home and used her own family's bed for the two children. At the same time, she cared for them, attending to their meals and sleep. She persuaded the Women's Association of the hamlet to adopt Hau, providing him with 300,000-500,000 VND per month and necessary school supplies. Along with Hau, eight other orphaned children from disadvantaged backgrounds in the hamlet have also received regular care and assistance from the Women's Association…
Ms. Ngo Thi Thanh Xuan, President of the Nghi Loc District Women's Union, shared that to date, local women's unions have connected with and supported 111 children, with support ranging from 300,000 VND to 1 million VND per month per child. In addition, the unions maintain a program to provide scholarships to students with particularly difficult circumstances before the start of the new school year, and organize the "Continuing the Journey to School" program and the "Old Books - New Hope" program to support disadvantaged children in the area.
In Hoang Mai town, the "Godmother" program has been enthusiastically implemented by the local councils over the years. To provide effective support and assistance, the council has coordinated with the Labor Union and the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of the town to implement the program; forming teams to directly visit the grassroots level to assess and understand the specific circumstances of the children in order to plan for sponsorship. To date, 122 orphaned children and children with particularly difficult circumstances have been connected to agencies, units, schools, businesses, and benevolent individuals for sponsorship over a continuous 5-year period (from 2022-2027), with a total amount exceeding 2.2 billion VND (not including gifts and other donations). The program has spread to 63 agencies and units, 4 businesses, 2 women's business groups, and 9 individuals who have registered to receive support and sponsorship.
“This program has profound humanitarian significance, demonstrating the spirit and responsibility of female officials and members in participating in solving social problems. The program has given the children not only another mother, but also many relatives, another warm family home with love, care, and attention for their material and spiritual well-being, aiming for a better future for them,” said Ms. Tran Thi Bich, President of the Women's Union of Hoang Mai town.
Besides localities like Nghi Loc district and Hoang Mai town, the Women's Union in many other localities has also extensively implemented this program. For example, in Thanh Chuong district, the Women's Union at all levels has sponsored over 100 orphans; in Do Luong district, 93; in Anh Son district, 114; and in Quynh Luu district, 207. Furthermore, the Women's Union of the Provincial Police, the Provincial Military Command, and the Provincial Border Guard Command have also actively mobilized their officers to sponsor hundreds of orphans. These units have implemented fundraising activities for the program through various creative methods such as: donations, appeals to philanthropists, and the creation of models like "Collecting scrap materials for fundraising," "Car washing for fundraising," "Selling flowers for fundraising," "Savings rice jar," "Savings pig farming," and "Reclaiming abandoned land for fundraising"... This has generated significant additional funds to care for the children.
With the goal of "All orphaned children in difficult circumstances receive sponsorship and care, ensuring no child is left behind," the "Godmother" program in Nghe An has created a strong ripple effect and received the support and contributions of all levels, sectors, organizations, and individuals in the province, accompanying the Provincial Women's Union for nearly two years of implementation. As a result, by the end of 2022, women's unions at all levels in the province had sponsored 1,115 orphaned children, with a total committed support amount of over 13.83 billion VND (including 12.57 billion VND in cash and 1.26 billion VND in gifts). In addition, the sponsorship period for most orphans in the province is committed by units, organizations, and individuals for at least 3 years, 5 years, and the longest commitment period is until the child reaches 18 years of age, with continued support expected if the children are admitted to university or attend vocational school.
Building on that success, in the first six months of 2023, the various levels of the association sponsored an additional 445 orphaned children, bringing the total number of sponsored children to 1,560. Through understanding and sharing, these "Godmothers" have extended their loving arms, becoming a support system for orphaned children and those with special circumstances, giving them strength and confidence to move forward.
In the next phase, to make the "Godmother Program" more substantive and achieve sustainable effectiveness, Ms. Nguyen Thi Quynh Hoa – Member of the Provincial Party Committee, President of the Nghe An Provincial Women's Union – hopes that all levels of the Provincial Women's Union will pay more attention to training and improving the capacity of "Godmothers," especially in knowledge and skills for childcare and safe living skills; connecting them with career counseling and vocational training. In addition, all levels of the Women's Union should also do a good job of mobilizing and connecting support for orphaned children; mobilizing and connecting organizations and individuals, especially local women's union officials and members, to care for and nurture orphaned children, along with families and representatives, to provide daily care for the children's health, psychology, and emotions.
At the same time, it is necessary to widely disseminate the humanitarian aspects of the program and strengthen connections and mobilize resources, especially the active and strong involvement of Party committees, governments, and relevant sectors to obtain comprehensive resources for supporting and caring for disadvantaged orphans. Monitoring the management, coordination, and use of support resources to ensure fairness, timeliness, and effectiveness, as well as advising, recommending, and proposing appropriate policies to create conditions for orphans to receive suitable alternative care and nurturing for comprehensive development, are also issues that need to be effectively implemented.
With these efforts, it is expected that the "Godmother" Program will become increasingly in-depth and achieve sustainable effectiveness. In the future, the godmothers will become a strong support system, helping orphaned children overcome difficult circumstances and develop comprehensively both physically and mentally.