Continue the fairy tale of the Orange Boy

(Baonghean) - In a family of 5, 2 of them have birth defects due to the effects of Agent Orange, but their perseverance has become a story that spread throughout the region.

Just born, Mr. Tran Van Duc in village 1/5, Tan Thang commune (Quynh Luu) did not have a healthy body and clarity of mind like other people due to the after-effects of Agent Orange, so he had to depend on others for his whole life. However, the happy love story happened to him like a miracle.

"Deviated" love story...

We visited the family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong - a family of 5, 2 of whom have congenital disabilities due to the effects of Agent Orange, but their perseverance has become a story that spread throughout the region.

Mr. Tran Van Duc (Tan Thang commune, Quynh Luu district) and his two children. Photo: Nhu Suong

At the foot of a small hill filled with pineapples and tangerines, a small house built under the 135 Program to Eliminate Leaky Bamboo and Thatched Houses lies quietly facing the lake. A man, whom we later learned to be Mr. Tran Van Duc, explained: “My wife works far away and doesn’t come home until late at night, so only the three of us are home to take care of our own meals.”

In that small house, a man who looked weak and trembling told the story of his life. Duc's father was a soldier who fought in the Southern battlefield and was unfortunately infected with Agent Orange. After the return of peace, he was born weak and stunted. And so until now, he has always had to rely on relatives and cannot do any heavy work.

The life of a disabled person like him was thought to be a series of long days clinging to his old parents and never having a family of his own. Because in his heart, he always thought that no girl would accept a disabled person, a dependent, and from a poor family like him.

But no one expected that a chance encounter with a girl from a neighboring village named Nguyen Thi Hong (born in 1973) would completely change his mind. “It was a chance encounter while getting lost. Hong at that time had long, silky black hair. Her velvety eyes were hidden under thin eyebrows, her skin was a bit tanned because of the sun and rain in the countryside, but she was very cute,” Duc described.

That meeting made him feel so moved that for a long time, he lived in longing, lingering over the image of a gentle, hard-working country girl. From that day on, once, twice, then countless times, he went to her house just to see Hong to ease his longing. And since when, the two people loved each other more and more.

But then the prohibitions and dissuasion from Hong’s family made both of them think of giving up many times. “It’s not difficult to understand. Because a disabled person like me will not be able to give Hong a full life, will not be able to protect her, take on the family’s work and that means she will have to endure hardships,” Duc explained.

Simple happiness

Overcoming many obstacles and prohibitions from the girlfriend's family, the love story of the two finally reached the shore of happiness. A simple but happy wedding ceremony with the blessings of friends and relatives took place.

And that happiness was extended in the small house when the angels were born one after another in the loving arms of their parents. However, this was also the time when both of them began to feel the hardships of life when all the family expenses depended on Ms. Hong's hands, the main source of income was only based on a few acres of dry fields growing cassava, sugarcane, and corn.

Nguyen Nhat Huynh takes advantage of his break time to help his mother with housework. Photo: Nhu Suong

The birth of the children made Ms. Hong's life even harder, because with her family's current situation, having another mouth to feed was an additional burden. Therefore, she had to take advantage of the opportunity to work for hire everywhere to earn extra money. The difficulties were compounded when their second son (Nguyen Nhat Huynh - born in 2004) was born with a deformity that made him only half the size of a normal person.

“When Huynh was born, his body was very small and weak, only half the size of other children. The doctor said that he might have been infected with Agent Orange from his grandfather, which is why he became like that. Later, as he grew older, his arms and legs shrunk and became shorter, so everyone called him “dwarf”.

Now, even though he is in grade 7, he looks like a second grader, weighing only 24 kg and 80 cm tall. Every time I take him to school, I see him carrying a backpack and feel sorry for him. The backpack is probably too big for him, as his legs are only long enough to not touch the ground,” said Mr. Duc.

Just having a disabled husband is enough to make Ms. Hong’s shoulders feel tired, not to mention the presence of little Huynh. However, with the love for her husband and children, she still tries to overcome the difficulties, finding every way to let Huynh go to school like the other children in the neighborhood.

In 2015, due to a missed plan, baby Nguyen Nhat Dong was born in economic hardship. Then, the eldest sister Nguyen Thi Duyen (born 2001), although a good student, because of her love for her mother and younger sibling, had to abandon her future path right after finishing 9th grade.

However, because she was not old enough to apply for a factory job, Duyen could only work as a waiter at a restaurant in Hanoi with a salary of 2.5 million VND/month.

With the support of the government, and now with Duyen’s additional income, Hong’s family life has become less difficult and struggling. Although, that amount can only help the family’s meals occasionally have a piece of meat or salty braised tofu so that Huynh can let out a laugh.

The future life is full of unforeseeable hardships and difficulties, but the disabled family members still rely on each other to hope for a brighter future. That is the belief in the pair of breeding cows that Ms. Hong bought after many years of saving, the effort of Huynh in studying or the hope of the salary that Duyen sends home.

We call her a brave woman for a simple reason: If she only had love for Duc and maternal love for her children but not extraordinary willpower to bear such a great misfortune, then perhaps that woman would not have been able to survive until today.

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