Elderly couple spends a lifetime caring for their mentally ill children

An elderly couple in their eighties are struggling to raise four children suffering from mental challenges in Nghe An Province.

The elderly couple must try to earn money to feed the four children all suffering from mental challenges

Four mentally-ill children of Mr. Niem

This is the struggle of life for couple Truong Sy Niem and Pham Thi Thanh in Village 6, Dien Ky Commune, Dien Chau District. Every day, they only depend on the salt fields to feed these children.

Mr. Niem and Mrs. Thanh have six children. The first two were born normally while the remaining four have suffered all their lives from inborn mental illnesses. They are Truong Sy Hoa (54 years old), Truong Sy Hop (52), Truong Sy Phi (46) and Truong Thi Luong (42).

Speaking with DTiNews, Mr. Niem said, “Three years after the marriage, I joined the war against the French colonialists and served in the battler at Dien Bien Phu. In 1954, I came back to my hometown and worked on the salt fields. We have six children, but four of them can’t fend for themselves. I myself suffer from the neurological disease. I feel painful in the whole body when the weather changes.”

The six people have to live on their salt fields where the elderly couple must work in the rain to earn a living. Now the four offsprings of Mr. Niem have lost most of their teeth and aren’t aware of their behaviour. “How will they survive when we die?” the mother said in tears.

"Hoa often takes a stick and stones to throw at passers and Luong sometimes takes a knife to pursue me. If failing to attack me, Luong damages the houses as if she wanted revenge for something,” the father shared.

Head of Village 6, Nguyen Van Trong said, “It is a pity for the family situation. The couple is in their eighties and should enjoy a warm atmosphere beside their children. Unfortunately, they still have to strive to make a living due to the burden.”

Mrs Vinh, a neighbour of Mr. Liem, talked with DTiNews and said that, “They are over 80 but do not have one day for relaxation. Their four children usually damage the house. Many times, they lost the way to their home, and the parents had to look for them. Villagers often give them a little money or rice on holidays."

Mr. Niem’s first two first children are free from the mental illness, but also live in very poor condition, therefore, they can not support their parents.

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