Message of 'Peace' in the remote border areas 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 family is in a particularly difficult situation. Apart from the faded bamboo panels, the holey fibro-cement roof, and the dented aluminum dining tray, there is nothing else of value in their house.

However, lack of food and clothing is not the biggest hardship of the couple. Mr. Luong Van Nhun was born in 1965, his wife Mrs. Phenh was born in 1975. At this age, people of his age have become grandparents, many grandchildren are about to get married. However, when we met the couple before Tet 2020, the two still did not have a single child, although Mr. Luong Van Nhun had been "married" 9 times before. Mrs. Luong Thi Phenh is the 10th person living with Mr. Nhun, but is the first person he registered his marriage with.

Providing more information about Mr. Luong Van Nhun's situation, Na Loi Commune Party Secretary Vi Van Khuon added that the fact that he has many wives is actually just a way of calling, because the people he previously called his wives were affectionate, when they met and found they liked each other, they would come live together, but after a while they found they were no longer satisfied, they would go their separate ways. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Luong Van Nhun often went to Laos to find work and struggle to make a living, and during one of his trips there he met Ms. Luong Thi Phenh, who is now his wife.

Mrs. Luong Thi Phenh is of Vietnamese origin, but was born and raised in Laos because her parents migrated to Laos a long time ago, living in a village across the border, adjacent to Na Khuong village of Na Loi commune. Every day, the couple went to the fields or into the forest to collect forest products. In response to their diligence and desire to build a home, many people in the village and commune, despite their equally poor background, occasionally brought rice and food to them, encouraging them to continue to strive to improve. That encouragement also made Mr. Nhun and his wife more determined to stay in Na Loi, not to migrate to Laos, and not to give up their dream of a proper family home.

"Miracle" comes to poor family

After more than 3 years of marriage, it seemed that Mr. Luong Van Nhun and his wife would stay together like that for the rest of their lives, and would never escape poverty, loneliness, and childlessness. However, a "miracle" suddenly came to his family, and now on June 2, 2021, the couple happily welcomed their son back to their hometown of Na Loi 10 days after Ms. Luong Thi Phenh gave birth by cesarean section at the Southwest Nghe An Regional General Hospital. Moreover, instead of living in the dilapidated house of the past, the couple now has a spacious, sturdy tiled house with a tiled floor, just like the dream that Mr. Nhun has cherished for more than half of his life.

The reason for the change in the lives of Mr. Luong Van Nhun and his wife came from a volunteer activity of Mr. Lo Khanh Khang, a key member of the Ky Son Charity Club. Mr. Lo Khanh Khang said that in mid-2020, he and some friends went to Na Loi commune to give charity gifts to poor families there. Through stories with the locals, Mr. Khang learned about the situation of Mr. Luong Van Nhun and his wife, so he went directly to visit them. After that business trip, Mr. Khang decided to call on benefactors to donate to build a house for Mr. Luong Van Nhun and his wife. Only a short time later, the Thien Tam Green Seedling Volunteer Group (Hanoi) agreed to sponsor 50 million VND to build a new house for Mr. Luong Van Nhun and his wife.

After celebrating the Lunar New Year 2020, the house of gratitude given to Mr. Nhun and his wife was started, helping the no longer young couple to be filled with joy like children when they were handed over the new house. As Mr. Luong Van Nhun confided, "the house is much bigger and more beautiful than the house in their dream". And about 1 month after moving into the new house, "miracle" once again came to this small family when Mrs. Luong Thi Phenh announced that she was pregnant.

Spread the message of "Peace"

The fact that Mr. Nhun, a citizen who has been helped by organizations and society to stabilize his life has made the village government in Na Loi extremely happy. 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 given wings to Mr. Luong Van Nhun's dream, adding motivation for society to have one more happy family.

Previously, the old house of this poor couple was located at the end of Pieng Lau village, quite far from the village center, in a narrow terrain. After having a sponsor to support the house construction, Mr. Nhun wanted to move to build a new house in a more spacious and convenient location. To meet his wishes, the commune government sent people to survey, find a suitable location, then mobilized funds to rent a leveling machine to hand over to the benefactors for construction. The location that the family chose to build the new house is on top of a gentle hill, quite spacious and airy. However, to have the house as it is now, transporting construction materials was a difficult task. With the call of the local government, the leaders of the Party Committee, the commune government and the local organizations, along with Mr. Lo Khanh Khang, were the ones who enthusiastically participated in directly helping Mr. Nhun and his wife build a new house.

Not only building a house, the birth of the boy Luong Binh An, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Luong Van Nhun also left many happy memories for the people here, for those who created the "miracle" for this couple. And during the 9 months and 10 days that Mrs. Luong Thi Phenh was pregnant, along with the nutritional milk sponsorship from benefactors in Hanoi, the government and organizations in Na Loi also assigned people to regularly visit Mrs. Phenh's house and help her take care of her health. During the time Mrs. Phenh was pregnant, Mr. Luong Van Nhun was given favorable conditions by the government and the people to receive additional fields for him to grow rice and corn and work for hire to earn money.

On the day Mrs. Luong Thi Phenh was due to give birth, due to a goiter, the district hospital suggested transferring her to another hospital to ensure the safety of the mother and child. During Mrs. Phenh's time at the hospital to give birth, all expenses were covered by benefactors.

“I named Mr. Nhun and his wife's son Luong Binh An, hoping that he will have a peaceful and lucky life. Mr. Nhun's story has truly spread the meaning of love, helping to bring faith in the goodness of life, showing that life still has many kind hearts. In the coming time, the government and organizations will continue to care for and help Binh An's family. However, with the long road ahead, I hope that more 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 like his parents have received,” said Chairman of the People's Committee of Na Loi Commune Pit Thi Ha.