Refuge of human fate

(Baonghean) - In old age, everyone wishes to be with their children and grandchildren at the end of their lives. However, for various reasons, many people do not have that "blessing". They come to Nghe An Social Protection Center (Giang Son Dong, Do Luong) as a place to rely on in their old age. For nearly half a century, this place has become a common home for lonely, homeless elderly people...

Mrs. Ho Thi Loan, from Hung Hoa commune - Vinh city, has been attached to the center for nearly 40 years. Every time someone asks about her situation, she is on the verge of tears. In the past, she also had a warm family like many other women. However, when she was 3 months pregnant with her first child, her husband passed away after an accident at sea. Struggling to give birth, with no relatives left, she had to carry her child and wander around to make a living, then came to the center and chose this place as her second home. For more than half of her life, her and her child's life has been spent in a room of more than ten square meters, finding comfort with people in the same situation. "Here, we all have our own hardships, but luckily we still have a place to eat and stay, and someone takes care of our meals when we are sick. Occasionally, charitable organizations come to visit and give gifts. That's very lucky" - Mrs. Loan smiled with relief.

Sharing the same fate as Mrs. Loan is Mrs. Dinh Thi Chat (82 years old). Her husband died early, life was too difficult, Mrs. Chat took her child to take refuge at the Center. When she first came here, she always felt sorry for her fate, only wishing that there was a house for mother and child to rely on each other. After a while living together under the same roof, understanding each other's circumstances, sharing with each other, she gradually calmed down...

Resting time for the elderly at Nghe An Social Protection Center.

It seems that each fate at Nghe An Social Protection Center is a sad story. Only a few lucky people like Mrs. Loan and Mrs. Chat still remember their hometown and origin. The rest, when they come here, are all old and weak, lacking clarity, and their memories are often just fragments patched together with forgotten memories. Having worked at the center for nearly thirty years, Mr. Le Cong Tai shared: To do a good job here, it is important to understand each situation, each fate...

The old men and women here are pitiful. They are just like our parents, when they are old they want to be together, want their children and grandchildren to help them, but unfortunately they have to accept it... On holidays and Tet, the old men and women go in and out, looking towards the gate hoping that relatives will come to visit... At those times, no matter how much material things are provided, it cannot fill the gap in their spiritual life. Perhaps that is why when someone comes to visit, even if they are strangers, the old men and women are very happy. They chat animatedly, as if they are relatives who have not seen each other for a long time. Also because they know that the old men and women here are lonely, when they come to visit, they bring food from the lowlands, prepare and cook rice themselves, trying to let the old men and women enjoy the warm atmosphere of a family meal.

Arriving at the center, we witnessed many other touching images. That was the image of old ladies taking turns holding a cane, leading blind Mr. Suu to get rice. The image of Mr. Nguyen Van Hien (from Dien Chau district) although his two legs were congenitally deformed since childhood, making it difficult for him to walk, he still persevered to serve himself so as not to bother others. It was a warm moment of life for the toothpick seller couple Vuong Dinh Son and Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy. When they first came here, he was blind, she was disabled, and was destitute, with no one to take care of them. But living together, understanding each other's circumstances, the two of them brought themselves together and became husband and wife. Now their eldest daughter is married, and their son is studying in college.

Coming here, we also felt reassured by the optimistic smile of Mr. Le Viet Vinh, a hard-working and patient person who was assigned by the center's seniors to work as a kitchen assistant. He was originally a city boy, with a family of 7 siblings, but when they grew up, they all got sick and passed away. He was the youngest child, but because he was sick from a young age, he did not dare to get married. When he was young, he was diligent and hard-working, so he worked for hire to make ends meet. But then, in his old age, unable to bear the loneliness, he asked to come here to have a place to depend on. Time flies, and it has been almost ten years...

Nghe An Social Protection Center was established in 1969 in Do Luong district and is still the only address in the province that takes care of lonely and homeless elderly people. The subsidy for the elderly according to regulations is only 360,000 VND/person/month, so it is very difficult to provide them with three nutritious meals. To serve effectively, the center has assigned staff to order food on site, take advantage of cheap firewood instead of electric coal, process and improve dishes... Proactively invite the council to assess the level of disability for the subjects, take care of the regime for people over 80 years old to ensure that the subjects enjoy social protection regime at the center...

Anh - Ha