Family gives up on buying car to support naked baby girl in winter

On December 22, a Hanoi driver transporting goods through Muong Lat (Thanh Hoa) accidentally saw a tiny naked girl playing alone in the sand and dirt in the cold weather, so he stopped to give her an orange and recorded a clip and posted it on his personal page, along with a call for someone to give the girl a pair of legs to walk on. Immediately, the clip received hundreds of thousands of shares and comments expressing sympathy and sorrow.

Thousands of kilometers away, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong (born in 1987) and Huynh Quoc Tin have a happy family with two children aged 4 and 2, and a fashion design company in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City. Phuong is just over two months pregnant with her third child. The couple plans to buy a new TV and an expensive car to go to work by the end of 2017.

That night, Ms. Phuong went on Facebook and saw the clip. Looking at the child, she thought of her own children, who lived every day in warm blankets and soft mattresses, with plenty of clothes and endless food. Even a little scratch on their hands and feet would break their parents’ hearts. Yet, the little girl was born with disabilities and had to suffer such a disadvantage. “I feel so sorry for her. I wonder where her parents are to let their children be like this,” she questioned.

After looking for information, she learned that the girl named Pang, 6 years old, was born into a poor family, her father passed away more than a year ago, her mother has a mental illness. The family has four siblings, the other three are healthy, with bright faces. Pang has a disability in both legs, having to crawl little by little on her knees and hands. Ms. Do (40 years old, Pang's mother), whenever she sees someone dressing her daughter, she strips her naked, so every day, whether it's raining, sunny or cold in the winter. "I feel so sorry for the girl, not being protected by her mother, so she has to create and perform to survive!", Ms. Phuong thought she needed to help the girl have healthy legs.

When her husband promised to take two days off work to visit Pang, Ms. Phuong was very happy. They flew to Hanoi immediately, and before dawn they took a bus to Muong Lat. Ms. Phuong was sure that the distance of more than 100km would only take about 2-3 hours, so she quickly prepared her luggage, until, sitting in a taxi from early morning until 7 pm, on a muddy mountain pass, she was exhausted, thinking that the couple might be killed for traveling with a stranger on a deserted road. But thinking of little Pang, naked in the cold, the mother was more determined.

“When I arrived, I saw a 6-year-old child, weighing less than 10kg, with no clothes, a dirty face, calloused limbs, covered in dirt and sand, dragging his friends along to play. Seeing him smiling from afar, I felt like my heart was broken, my neck was cold, and tears fell,” Ms. Phuong recalled. That feeling was even more intense when she entered a dilapidated house with nothing of value, except pots, pans, and dishes. Ms. Do saw the guests coming, looking bewildered, not understanding what was going on. When Ms. Phuong signaled that she would take Pang to get his leg treated, she was very happy, nodding repeatedly to thank him. “I felt so sorry for my child, but I didn’t know what to do. When he was conscious, I knew, but when he had a seizure, I didn’t know anything,” Ms. Do said, and it was translated.

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The new life of a girl who became famous unintentionally because of her situationnaked in the cold

Mr. Tin initially disagreed with his wife's decision, he advised her to just give him money and supplies and then go home. "Bringing someone home is extremely complicated. Now, you are pregnant, the children are still young, and the mother is sick. If you bring her home, who will take care of her? I don't mind spending money, but I don't want to see you suffer more," he analyzed.

Ms. Phuong brought warm clothes for Pang and told her husband: "Trust me, when we come back she will be naked as usual!" and then went to town to find a place to stay. The next day they came, and when they saw Pang without clothes, Mr. Tin stopped because he could not keep calm.

“No matter how poor a child is, if he is with his mother, he is still warm, even if he is poor and in pain. Pang lacks someone to care for and protect him. If I give him money, nice clothes, and delicious food, it is not necessarily a good thing. I have come here and cannot go back,” Tin shared. Together, they went to the commune and district committees to complete the procedures to bring Pang to Saigon, planning to use the savings to buy a television and a car to treat the child’s illness.

“I just want to take my child home to treat her leg, not to go through the adoption process, because the mother is sometimes awake and sometimes unconscious, it’s not right to just take her away, what if she’s sad? I also have a child, I’m also a mother, so I understand that very well,” Ms. Phuong explained, but deep down she considered Pang her daughter ever since she saw the clip online.

On December 27, Pang arrived at her new home. For the first time, she got to ride in a car, play with electronic toys, and stuffed animals. Pang loved it. Every time she watched TV and her friends were dancing and singing, she would imitate them, jumping and laughing loudly, showing her delight. “When eating, Pang couldn’t hold chopsticks and a spoon, she wasn’t used to eating rice. I gave her a corn cob and turned away, she took it and chewed it as if she was afraid someone would eat it. When I turned back, there was only a little bit of corn left. Maybe she was used to the instinct to defend herself to survive,” Ms. Phuong tearfully recounted.

At night, missing his mother, lying on a soft mattress for the first time and having to endure the pain due to the bones in his legs contracting (due to lack of exercise), Pang felt uncomfortable and cried. Phuong and her husband could only hold their child in their arms, comfort him, take turns talking and making him happy, helping him feel the warmth of family love.

In the early days, seeing their parents hugging and giving all their love to Ms. Pang all day, Mr. Tin's children felt sad, Ms. Phuong had to gently explain: "I'm sick, I just came home and it's strange, so Mom and Dad care a little more. Mom and Dad love all three of us equally." As if understanding something, the children obediently played with their sister, whining less towards their mother. The couple told each other to love their children equally.

Over the past few days, they took Pang to the doctor, did all the tests and scans, and the results were as expected, Pang's brain and nerves are normal, the only thing is that he is paralyzed on his left leg so he has to be treated with a splint and physical therapy for several years, depending on the baby and the patience of the caregiver."It's a long journey but I'm very happy, as long as it cures me. I hope my husband and I will be successful soon so that my child can go to school with his friends," said Ms. Phuong.

Not letting down the care of his siblings, Pang is very obedient, always smiling, knows how to call his parents, his siblings' names, count from one to ten, and say some words in Kinh language. He also knows how to eat, happily plays with his siblings and interacts with his parents to practice walking, and wants to follow his sister Phuong when she goes to work. His calloused, dirty hands are now whiter and cleaner.

“My husband and I record every journey and growth of our child in pictures or videos, using a hard drive to save them so that when Pang can walk, we can open them for him to see,” said Ms. Phuong. At the same time, they constantly update information about him on their personal Facebook so that everyone can share their joy and tips on teaching Pang to walk.“Since Pang came home, my family has been very happy, everyone has shown love for him. It is true that a house with many children will never lack laughter,” said Mr. Tin.

Mr. Le Duy Hai - Chairman of the People's Committee of Muong Ly Commune, Muong Lat District (Thanh Hoa) confirmed that Ms. Phuong and her husband went to the commune committee to complete the procedures to bring Pang to Saigon to treat his leg. If successful, they will bring him back to live with his family. This event was agreed by Ms. Do and witnessed by the commune committee.

He also said that Ms. Do’s family is poor and receives a monthly subsidy of 360,000 VND. Currently, Ms. Do’s mental state fluctuates, so her children are being cared for by their grandparents. “What Ms. Phuong and her husband have done is very humane and admirable. I hope that baby Pang will be able to walk quickly with their help,” said Mr. Hai.

Phan Than