Feeling sorry for the father and son who suffer from congenital cataracts.

(Baonghean.vn) - Suffering from congenital cataracts that have been passed down to his children, the family of Mr. Pham Hong Vinh (born in 1981), temporarily residing in Hamlet 1, Quynh Vinh Commune, Hoang Mai Town, is facing hardship.

We visited Vinh's family one afternoon. Seeing the thin, small man fumbling to feed the chickens, we felt sorry for his situation.

This is Pham Hong Vinh's daily work.

Pham Hong Vinh suffers from congenital cataracts, preventing him from attending school like other children. Due to difficult economic circumstances and a lack of awareness, Vinh's parents did not receive timely treatment for him.

Vinh was over 10 years old when he was taken to the hospital for examination and surgery on his right eye, but unfortunately, it became infected and had to be removed. At 20, Vinh returned to live with his mother and went for a second examination for surgery on his left eye, but because he waited too long, the surgery didn't improve his vision much. Vinh can only see the road dimly and cannot clearly see people's faces.

Vinh spent his youth confined to his old, dilapidated house, lacking education, and therefore had limited awareness and understanding of the outside world. An acquaintance in Quynh Vinh commune took him in as a domestic helper, cleaning the house and doing odd jobs daily. It was there that his employer introduced Vinh to Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan, from Ha Tinh province.

At that time, Xuan already had a daughter from a previous relationship, Pham Thi Thu Hoai. Vinh and his wife had another child, a son named Pham Hong Phu (born in 2010), but before they could rejoice, sadness struck when Phu started walking and exhibited strange behavior: constantly running into walls and falling. Vinh and his wife borrowed money to take their son to Hanoi for examination and received the result that he also had congenital cataracts. Phu underwent surgery to replace the lens, but his eyesight remained as clear as that of a normal person.

Despite his impaired vision, Vinh perseveres in livestock farming, hoping to improve his family's life.

Vinh and his wife are from a poor household and don't own a house, so they have to live with acquaintances in Hamlet 1, Quynh Vinh Commune. To earn enough money to support their two children's education and her sick husband, Ms. Xuan has to work late into the night and get up early in the morning making rice paper. However, her stomach problems and low blood pressure cause her to frequently faint and require constant hospitalization, preventing her from continuing with strenuous work.

Despite the difficult circumstances, Mr. Vinh always encouraged his children to study hard.

Currently, Ms. Xuan has returned to Ha Tinh to work as a domestic helper, leaving her two children for Mr. Vinh to take care of. Every day, Hoai cycles 5km to school, and spends the rest of the day helping her father take care of the chickens and pigs. Sharing his feelings with us, Mr. Vinh sadly said: "My biggest wish now is for my wife to find a job in our hometown so that the whole family can be reunited and take care of the children together. As for a house to shelter us from the sun and rain, the family truly doesn't dare to dream of it."

Nguyen Thanh Thuy

(Hoang Mai Radio Station)