The wish of an orphan boy, rejected by his mother

Despite the harsh sunlight, little Hoang Anh Manh in village 1/5, Cam Son commune (Anh Son) was still diligently watering and weeding the vegetable beds in the garden, making his shirt drenched in sweat. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Suu (Manh's grandmother) said: "These vegetable beds are the daily expenses of the two of us. In the hot sun, we have to water them regularly or they will wither and die, and we won't have anything to sell every day."

Abandoned by his mother and having lost his father for two years, young Hoang Anh Manh has had to depend on his grandmother. Photo: Cong Kien

Hoang Anh Manh's father, Hoang Anh Thang (born in 1982), worked as a well digger and died in a work accident two years ago. Before 2010, Thang went to work in the South and returned home after a while with a 6-month-old baby boy. He said that the baby was his child with a woman from another region. The baby was just over 5 months old when the mother left, so the father had to take him back to the countryside to take care of him.

Since then, he stayed in his hometown to work for hire to earn money to raise his children, and his grandmother was responsible for taking care of little Manh. In 2016, Hoang Anh Thang was hired to dig a well for a family in the commune. The job was almost completed when an accident occurred, resulting in his death.

Since then, the responsibility of raising and taking care of baby Manh has fallen on Mrs. Nguyen Thi Suu. When he was alive, Mr. Thang did not reveal the name or hometown of the woman who gave birth to baby Manh, so no one knew any information. Nearly 80 years old, her husband had passed away a long time ago, her son had died in an accident, Mrs. Suu had to work hard to raise her grandchild. Life, which was already difficult and arduous, was now even more difficult and precarious.

Hoang Anh Manh helps his grandmother take care of the vegetable garden to earn money to support their lives. Photo: Cong Kien

“Over the past two years, partly because of the grief over losing my child, partly because of having to work hard to raise my grandchild, there were times when I felt exhausted. The pension of more than 2 million VND was not enough to cover the medical expenses and old age illnesses, so I had to grow vegetables and catch snails to sell to earn money to raise my grandchild. I was afraid that if I suddenly passed away, Manh would not know who to live with…” - Mrs. Suu confided.

Hoang Anh Manh has just finished 3rd grade. In addition to going to school, the orphan boy helps his grandmother take care of the vegetable garden or goes to the stream to catch crabs and snails to earn extra money for his grandmother. Sympathizing with the situation of the grandmother and grandson, whenever there are vegetables, crabs, or snails to sell, the neighbors often ask each other to buy them, and rarely have to sell them at the market.

Cam Son Commune Women's Union and the Management Board of Village 1/5 gave rice to support baby Hoang Anh Manh. Photo: Cong Kien

Recently, the Management Board and the Front of Village 1/5 have called on households to donate and support little Manh with more than 40 kg of rice. The value is not large, but this gift shows the spirit of mutual love and support, the rich help the poor, and is the motivation to help Mrs. Suu and little Manh overcome difficult and deprived days.

When asked about his wishes, the eyes of the orphan Hoang Anh Manh contained sadness: “I wish to grow up quickly, strong enough to plow, grow rice and corn to feed my grandmother. And I wish my grandmother would always be by my side…”.