Family background with 3 generations of beggars

(Baonghean.vn) - Our ancestors often said, "No one is rich for three generations, no one is poor for three generations," but for the family of Nguyen Duc Hoa (born in 1965) and his wife, Hoang Thi Bau (born in 1954), after three generations they still cannot escape the "beggar" fate.

The couple's dilapidated house is nestled behind solid houses in a small alley in the low-lying area of ​​Hamlet 4, Nghi Van Commune (Nghi Loc District). When we arrived, she was trying to crawl her paralyzed legs for more than a year to get firewood to light the fire to cook dinner.

The house has been in the "beggar" profession for three generations of Mr. Hoa and Ms. Bau. Photo: Xuan Hoa

Born into a family where both grandparents and parents of Nguyen Duc Hoa suffered from mental retardation and lived by begging, like his parents, all four of his siblings were also born with mental retardation.

Due to his poor family, by the time he reached the second grade, he could no longer learn any more letters or numbers besides his name, so he dropped out of school early. His father died early, so Hoa followed his mother to "help out" with the beggar trade. When he became a young man, he went to work for hire, doing whatever he was hired to do, from chopping wood, spraying pesticides, etc.

The whole house had nothing but a rickety bed and a mess of clothes. Photo: Xuan Hoa

Luckily, while working for hire, a matchmaker introduced her to Hoang Thi Bau, who was almost a year older than him and in the same situation. Ms. Bau was also mentally handicapped and had not been able to get married. So they got married without a few betel leaves and areca nuts for the ceremony.

Then the couple was happy when Bau gave birth to a child. However, after a few months of birth, they did not know what disease the baby had. The couple was not alert and together with poverty, the baby got sick and died for unknown reasons. Since then, Bau never had any more “good news”.

Every day, she still followed her mother-in-law to practice the "beggar" profession. Meanwhile, Mr. Hoa worked for hire every day to earn a few extra coins to buy rice to make ends meet.

Mr. Hoa often has to carry his wife on his back when traveling long distances. Photo: Xuan Hoa

A few years ago, Mr. Hoa's mother accidentally fell and broke her leg. Because of poverty, none of her children were alert, so she lay there until her wound became infected and she died. Not long after his mother died, Mr. Hoa discovered he had liver disease and his health declined.

More than 2 years ago, he had a stroke. Luckily, people took him to the emergency room and saved his life. But since then, he has had difficulty moving his arms and legs, so he can't do anything, so no one hires him anymore.

Since then, he has returned to his wife to "continue the begging profession". More than a year ago, Ms. Bau suddenly became paralyzed and could not walk. Therefore, his lifelong profession of "beggar" can only make ends meet and he can only live on a small allowance for the disabled.

The "salty" meal of the "beggar" couple. Photo: Xuan Hoa

“Every year, the local government also mobilizes people to donate to support Mr. Hoa and Ms. Bau. Even when someone in this family dies, they have to go to each family to mobilize money for the funeral…” - Mr. Nguyen Tu Thuan, head of Hamlet 4, Nghi Van Commune said.

Xuan Hoa