Four children face uncertain future after father's death

Four small children in Nghe An Province now have to face with a shaky future as their father died unexpectedly and their mother is struggling with cancer.

Nguyen Thi Quyen was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was three months into her fourth pregnancy. Quyen decided to give birth to the child first and when she went to hospital for chemotherapy, her cancer already spread to other organs.

Quyen and four children mourning for the father

Quyen's husband, Phan Van Liem, used to try his best to support the family but still had to borrow money for Quyen's treatment and medicines. The family fell into deeper debt after the youngest child went through surgery to remove a blood tumour on her left thigh.

On the fourth day of the 2015 Lunar New Year, Liem experienced a severe headache and suddenly died. Quyen now has to struggle to raise four children and bear the debt of over VND50m. The oldest child is 10 years old and the youngest is just four months old.

After holding the funeral for Liem, she was admitted to hospital immediately from exhaustion. "I thought that if anything ever happened to me, my children would still have their father besides but now... They are so small," she said.

Quyen in hospital

Even though she misses the children, Quyen does not dare to hug or hold her own children, fearing that the chemicals from chemotherapy and radiotherapy will affect the kids.

The four children are now taken care of by their grandparents who are also poor and old.

"I want to live. My children lost their father, they shouldn't lose their mother. The doctors said I still have hope but the stem cell transplant costs over VND300m. I don't know where to get this money. If I died, what would happen to my children?" she said. 

If you can help them, please donate through:

1. Code 1731: Nguyen Thi Quyen from Hamlet 3, Long Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District, Nghe An Province.