The Will of Three Orphaned Sisters

(Baonhgean) - My eyes were filled with tears when I witnessed the difficult family situation, with many losses of three children: Trang - Hoang - Anh in Hamlet 1, Nghi Lien Commune (Vinh City). Their father died of cancer, their mother also passed away from this terrible disease, the three children, who are still in school age, depend on their 73-year-old grandmother. Life is extremely difficult...

We arrived at Hamlet 14, Nghi Lien Commune, Vinh City on a late autumn afternoon when dark clouds were gathering, signaling a heavy rain. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tho, 73 years old - grandmother of Trang - Hoang - Anh, was trembling as she walked step by step, herding the cows back to the barn. The small, old house with peeling paint was located in the middle of the deserted hamlet. Mrs. Tho was sad: In a few more days, when the calf is a little bigger, we will have to sell it to pay off the funeral debt of Vinh (mother of the three children), and cover daily expenses...

Huyen Trang guides her youngest brother Dang Dung to study.

Inside the house, buckets and basins were scattered, used to catch water leaking from the old, rotten roof tiles. The two altars were still filled with incense smoke. At the end of 2013, Mr. Dang Hong Lan - the father of 3 children passed away after a long time of treatment for liver cancer. At the same time, his wife, Ms. Nguyen Thi Vinh, also collapsed when she was diagnosed with leukemia. On October 3, Ms. Vinh also passed away, leaving behind 3 young children of school age. Mrs. Tho said in tears: When they were alive, Mr. Lan worked as a construction worker, Ms. Vinh worked as a construction worker, plus a few acres of rented rice fields, so it was enough to make ends meet and raise the children to study. Now that the fields have been returned, the livelihood of the 4 grandmothers and children depends on 1 acre of land growing corn; plus the help of the government, neighbors...

Currently, Dang Thi Huyen Trang, the eldest daughter of Lan and Vinh, is studying in class 12A3 at Nguyen Thuc Tu High School. In grade 10, Trang was an excellent student in Literature in the district; last year she was selected for the school's provincial Literature competition team, but her father passed away suddenly so Trang did not take the exam. Although her family situation is difficult, Trang has tried her best in her studies for many years. Her parents passed away, her grandmother was old and weak, and her siblings were still young, so Trang considered dropping out of school and finding a job to support her. But everyone encouraged Trang to try to finish high school. Teacher Nguyen Thi Hong Mai, head teacher of class 12A3, said: Trang is a good student, hard-working, and knows how to overcome difficulties. Her results are good every year, and her total score for all subjects every year is always above 7. To help Trang, for the past 2 years, the school has exempted all contributions, as well as launched a school-wide campaign to support and help her.

Huyen Trang really wants to study, but “she is very old and weak now. Even if she takes care of the three of us, it will only last for 1 or 2 more years. I want to take the exams to get into security and military schools, but even if I pass, even if I don’t have to pay anything, there are still two younger siblings at home. Who will take care of them?”

Dang Dang Dung's younger brother is studying in class 10A10, Nguyen Duy Trinh High School, Nghi Loc District. In the past 9 school years, Dung has received a certificate of merit for being an excellent student every year. In the recent 10th grade entrance exam, due to many family events, Dung's studies have declined, so he only got 34/50 points in the 3 subjects (Math, Literature, English; Math and Literature with coefficient 2). Dung returned home when it was already dark, covered in mud. When asked, we learned that the family's corn field already had young corn. After finishing school early in the afternoon, Dung took the opportunity to go to the field to pick corn and ask his neighbors to sell it on Highway 1. Many people bought the young corn to boil and sell for a good price... As for the youngest brother, Dang Dang Anh, 9 years old, is currently studying in grade 3, Nghi Lien Primary School. The school is a boarding school, but to help his grandmother reduce the burden of paying for lunch, for the past 2 years, Anh has been cycling back and forth between classes. Putting down his school bag, he ran to the garden to get rice husks to feed the chickens. In the afternoon shade, the little boy missed his mother and sat crying. Tears rolled down, his small shoulders trembled. The rice was cooked, the food was ready, the three of them arranged it on the altar to worship their mother...

Sharing a little money for the grandmother and grandchildren to buy rice, we left when it was pouring rain, our hearts heavy when seeing the scene of the four grandmothers and grandchildren gathered under the gloomy lights, thinking about the sympathetic song "How pitiful for an orphan". In the past, the four grandmothers and grandchildren have received support from the local government and the school, although not much, it is an extremely important encouragement and help. Hopefully, Grandma Tho will have more health and live longer so that the children can benefit, they are all obedient, gentle and loving to each other, the government and individuals will continue to care and help the grandmother and grandchildren overcome this difficult time...

Article and photos:Thanh Son