Neo's difficult situation as an orphaned 8th grade student

(Baonghean.vn) - Long and his brother grew up with the boundless love of their mother, but lacked the guidance of their father who had left home for nearly 10 years. Now, when his mother and brother have also passed away, Long is alone in the small house.

A few days after Ms. Ho Thi Dung breathed her last due to a serious illness, we returned to Trung Son hamlet, Phu Son commune, Tan Ky district to listen to the locals share about the unfortunate situation of Chu Van Long, an 8A student at Phu Son Secondary School.

Long and his brother grew up with the boundless love of their mother, but lacked the guidance of their father who had been away for nearly 10 years. Although life was difficult and arduous, both Long and his brother loved each other very much and knew how to help their mother in everything.

The life of Long and his three children mainly depends on the meager salary of his mother's aunt at Phu Son Kindergarten, and the small garden in front of the house, but every day is always filled with laughter.

Long still cannot go to school after such great pain. Photo: Phuong Hao

I thought that no matter how difficult it was, as long as the three of us had each other, that was enough. But the pain came when my brother unfortunately drowned and passed away in July 2016. The mother almost collapsed, but she still had to try to rise up and be strong to take care of Long.

In July 2017, although she knew her health was deteriorating every day, because she had no money and felt sorry for her child who was still in school age, Long's mother still hid her illness, refused to go to the doctor and get treatment, and tried to work hard to raise her child. The line between life and death became too short, because when it was discovered, Dung's illness was too severe, she had late-stage rectal cancer.

After more than 3 months of fighting the disease, Dung had to mortgage her land title to have money for treatment. On a rainy day in October, flooding everywhere, Dung breathed her last at Nghe An Oncology Hospital. Left alone in an old house, with nothing of value except her dog as a companion, Long still could not go to school every day.

Looking at his poor grandson, Mr. Ho Van Loc, Long's grandfather, said: "From the day his mother passed away until now, he has been absent-minded and crying all the time. Seeing him not eating or drinking, just sitting in a corner without saying anything makes me feel so sorry. Why is he so unfortunate? His father left without a trace, his brother just passed away after the first anniversary of his death, and now his mother has also passed away. I am blind, Long's grandmother is deaf, sick and old, I don't know if she has enough strength to raise and take care of him."

The day Long’s mother passed away, relatives and neighbors had to gather to help with the funeral. The funeral of that unfortunate young mother brought tears to the eyes of relatives, friends and neighbors. The local people were all poor, Dung’s life had gone through many bitter and miserable experiences, and when she closed her eyes, she probably always felt remorseful because her children were still too young.

Although local authorities and neighbors have shared and encouraged Long’s family in every way, the road ahead is still long; while grandparents are getting older and weaker. It has been more than 10 days since his mother passed away, Long has not been able to go to school, and the risk of dropping out is very high. Long’s family is in dire need of help from benefactors to help them overcome the pain of loss and grow up.

Phuong Hao

(Tan Ky District Party Committee)