Bridge of Love: Disabled woman in Tam Quang commune (Nghe An) left empty-handed after the flood

As long as there is strength, there is work.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Phuong has a disability in her left arm. Therefore, she cannot do heavy labor. In her small house on the banks of the Lam River, every day she spends her time making wine and raising pigs.

Every day she earns a few tens of thousands, enough to keep her from going hungry. What is admirable is that although poor women have the right to enjoy the State's policy for the disabled, she still refuses. She confided:“They told me to apply for disability benefits, but I think as long as I am still strong and can still make a living, that's fine. Only when I no longer have the strength will I consider it.”

When the flood passes

Then, the flood swept through, taking away all the poor woman's belongings, including her 6 pigs, her pots and pans, her kitchen, and the tools she needed to make wine and earn a living every day. As soon as the flood receded, the woman returned home, silently in tears, struggling to find anything left, hoping to rebuild her life, but all was nothing.

Currently, Ms. Phuong is being temporarily housed by the government at the village cultural house, along with other households whose homes were swept away by the flood. For each meal, Ms. Phuong goes alone to the free rice kitchen set up by the neighbors to temporarily overcome her hunger and thirst. She is only worried that when this charity kitchen is no longer lit, who will she be able to rely on? The chaos is still weighing heavily on the life of this poor woman.

We need kind hearts.

In the midst of the disaster, the local government and rescue forces paid special attention to the vulnerable woman. These efforts also helped clean up Ms. Phuong’s house of mud. However, the story of returning to normal life now seems like a dream, without the greater care and encouragement from kind-hearted people.