The message of 'Peace' in the remote border region of Nghe An.

Mr. Nhun's dream

Mr. Luong Van Nhun and his wife, Luong Thi Phenh, live together in a house at the end of Pieng Lau village in Na Loi commune, Ky Son border district. Among the 92 households in Pieng Lau village, Mr. Nhun's household is considered particularly disadvantaged. Apart from the faded bamboo walls, the leaky fiber cement roof, and the dented aluminum dinner tray, their house has nothing else of value.

However, the lack of food and clothing was not the greatest hardship for the couple. Mr. Luong Van Nhun was born in 1965, and his wife, Mrs. Phenh, was born in 1975. At their age, many of their peers have already become grandparents, and many of their grandchildren are about to get married. Yet, when we met them before the Lunar New Year of 2020, they still had no children, even though Mr. Luong Van Nhun had been married nine times before. Mrs. Luong Thi Phenh was his tenth wife, but the first one he officially married.

Providing more details about Mr. Luong Van Nhun's circumstances, the Party Secretary of Na Loi commune, Vi Van Khuon, added that the fact he has multiple wives is actually just a way of referring to them. Those he previously called wives were simply affectionate terms; they would live together if they liked each other, but after a while, if they didn't, they would go their separate ways. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Luong Van Nhun frequently traveled to Laos to find work and make a living. During one of these trips, he met Ms. Luong Thi Phenh, his current wife.

Mrs. Luong Thi Phenh is of Vietnamese origin, but was born and raised in Laos because her parents migrated there long ago and settled in a village across the border, adjacent to Na Khuong village in Na Loi commune. Every day, she and her husband would go to the fields or into the forest to gather forest products. Because of their hard work and desire to build a family, many villagers and people in the commune, despite their own poverty, occasionally brought rice and food to encourage the couple to continue striving. This encouragement strengthened Mr. Nhun and his wife's resolve to stay in Na Loi, not to migrate to Laos, and not to give up their dream of a proper family home.

A "miracle" came to the poor family.

After more than three years of marriage, it seemed that Mr. Luong Van Nhun and his wife would live together like that for the rest of their lives, forever trapped in poverty, loneliness, and childlessness. Yet, a "miracle" unexpectedly came to their family. Now, on June 2nd, 2021, they joyfully welcomed their son back to their hometown of Na Loi, just 10 days after Mrs. Luong Thi Phenh underwent a cesarean section at the Southwest Nghe An Regional General Hospital. Furthermore, instead of living in their old dilapidated house, the couple now have a spacious, sturdy tiled house, fulfilling a lifelong dream Mr. Nhun had cherished.

The life-changing event for Mr. and Mrs. Luong Van Nhun stemmed from a charitable act by Mr. Lo Khanh Khang, a key member of the Ky Son Charity Club. Mr. Lo Khanh Khang stated that in mid-2020, he and some friends went to Na Loi commune to distribute charitable gifts to poor families. Through conversations with the locals, Mr. Khang learned about the plight of Mr. and Mrs. Luong Van Nhun and personally visited them. Following that trip, Mr. Khang decided to call on philanthropists to donate to build a house for them. Shortly afterward, the Thien Tam Green Seedling Charity Group (Hanoi) agreed to sponsor 50 million VND for the construction of a new house for Mr. and Mrs. Luong Van Nhun.

After celebrating the Lunar New Year in 2020, the house built as a charitable gift for Mr. and Mrs. Nhun was started, filling the elderly couple with joy like children upon receiving their new home. As Mr. Luong Van Nhun expressed, "the house is much bigger and more beautiful than the house in my dreams." And about a month after moving into their new home, a "miracle" happened once again to this small family when Mrs. Luong Thi Phenh announced that she was pregnant.

Spreading the message of "Peace"

The fact that Mr. Nhun, a villager, has received support from various organizations and social groups to stabilize his life has brought immense joy to the village authorities in Na Loi. However, the "miracles" that have come to Mr. Nhun's family are thanks to the care and love of the entire community. The power of compassion has nurtured Mr. Luong Van Nhun's dreams, giving the community another reason to find happiness.

Previously, the poor couple's old house was located at the end of Pieng Lau village, quite far from the village center, in a cramped location. After receiving support from sponsors to build a new house, Mr. Nhun wanted to move to a more spacious and convenient location. To fulfill his wish, the commune government sent people to survey and find a suitable site, then raised funds to rent a bulldozer to level the ground for the benefactors to build. The location the family chose for the new house is on top of a gently sloping hill, quite spacious and airy. However, transporting building materials to get the house as it is now was a difficult task. Through the appeal of the local government, the leaders of the Party Committee, the commune government, and local organizations, along with Mr. Lo Khanh Khang, enthusiastically participated in helping Mr. Nhun and his wife build their new house.

Beyond just building a house, the birth of Luong Binh An, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Luong Van Nhun, also brought many joyful memories to the people here, to those who created this "miracle" for the couple. Throughout Mrs. Luong Thi Phenh's nine months of pregnancy, along with the donation of nutritious milk from benefactors in Hanoi, the government and organizations in Na Loi also regularly visited and helped Mrs. Phenh with her health care. During Mrs. Phenh's pregnancy, Mr. Luong Van Nhun received assistance from the government and the people in receiving additional land to grow rice and corn, and also took on odd jobs to earn money.

When Mrs. Luong Thi Phenh went into labor, she had to have a cesarean section due to a goiter, and the district hospital recommended transferring her to another hospital to ensure the safety of both mother and child. During Mrs. Phenh's time at the hospital giving birth, all expenses were covered by charitable donors.

“I named Mr. and Mrs. Nhun's son Luong Binh An, hoping he will have a peaceful and fortunate life. Mr. Nhun's story has truly spread the meaning of love, helping to bring faith in the goodness of life, showing that there are still many kind hearts in the world. In the coming time, the government and organizations will continue to care for and help Binh An's family. However, with a long road ahead, we hope that more kind hearts will come to the people of Na Loi, to Binh An's small family, so that he can grow up in the love of the community as his parents have received,” said Pit Thi Ha, Chairman of the People's Committee of Na Loi commune.