A lonely woman's dream of a small house

(Baonghenan.vn) - With no husband, no children, no home, no property, the mentally disabled woman lives alone in a small hut day and night, wishing to have a roof over her head in her final days.

Mrs. Tran Thi Ba in front of her dilapidated hut.

That woman is Tran Thi Ba (born in 1949) in hamlet 9, Thanh An commune (Thanh Chuong). She is the third child in a family of 7 children, her parents named her in order so that they are easy to remember and call. Because the family was so poor, with over 10 mouths to feed, many children could not go to school. Mrs. Ba was trained by her parents to work from a young age, knowing how to plow the fields, and catching crabs and snails at night to make a living.

Living a hard and miserable life, the grandmother was small and skinny, working hard in the fields to earn a living and helping her parents raise her younger siblings, so her youth passed by without her realizing it. When she woke up, she was over 30 years old, and mentally handicapped, so she accepted a lonely life alone.

She gave all her food and clothes to her younger siblings. When they had children and grandchildren, she gave them to them. So when her parents passed away, she was left with nothing. While she was still alive, her eldest brother gave her a small piece of land on her parents' old land, and some bricks to build a hut about 5m long.², placed a small bed for shelter.

The entire property in the hut is about 5m wide.2of Mrs. Ba.

Mrs. Ba lived a gentle and affectionate life. She helped her children and grandchildren in need. She came to anyone in the village who had a need. So, on the other side of life, her property was still a small hut, a lonely life, and a few simple items to serve the life of the elderly.

Every month, she gets 540 thousand for the sick and lonely. She also has 8 meters of rice fields, works, and exchanges jobs with the sisters in the neighborhood to make ends meet. There is not enough rice to eat, but a few times a year, the State supports rice for poor households. If there is a shortage, the neighbors and siblings share some kilos, some a few ounces, so she has warm food.

Now, the most active and healthy brother who loved her the most has also passed away. The sister-in-law and the children still visit her every morning and evening, but their economic situation is too difficult. The remaining younger siblings, not only are not active and lively, but are also sick, so they cannot even take care of their own families, let alone help her. For nearly two months now, Mrs. Ba has had conjunctivitis. After much treatment, one eye has poor vision, and the right eye is completely blind. She is so thin and weak that she has difficulty walking with a cane. It is very pitiful.

Mrs. Ba was alone in the narrow kitchen corner.

Ms. Hoang Thi Yen - Vice Chairman of Thanh An Commune People's Committee said: Every time we come to see Mrs. Ba's house, we feel sorry. She has suffered from illness in many ways, and now she doesn't even have a roof to live in. Thanh An Commune still has nearly 30% poor households, so the budget to remove leaky houses and temporary houses is waiting for programs... We only hope to receive the help of the community and philanthropists to help Mrs. Ba build a roof that is tight on top and durable on the bottom so that she will feel less miserable and live peacefully in her final days./.

Ha Linh