Losing their parents at an early age, these teenagers have been brought up by Samaritans with the hearts of gold. They are also studying hard to change their lives and to repay their foster fathers and mothers to whom they are indebted.
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| Nguyen Van Khoe (L) is now living with his adopted mother Thao Photo: Tuoi Tre |
Vu Thi Thanh’s father left when she was born. Her mother also departed soon after. Thanh’s maternal grandparents brought her back to their homeland in the central province of Nghe An.
Thanh still remembers the nights when rain drop dripped upon her bed in her grandparent’s house. Growing up, Thanh would everyday carry a hoe longer than her body height to work in the field. Living in poor conditions, Thanh had always been haunted with the idea of suicide.
“The day my grandmother passed away, once again I wanted to leave this life. However, if I kill myself, all sacrifices by my grandparents will become meaningless. I need to live, I need to study,” confessed Thanh who is now a 10th grader living in Binh Phuoc province with her aunt.
Similar to Thanh’s plight, Diep My Ky was devastated when her parents suddenly passed away four years ago. She used to think of giving up school since many difficulties suddenly came to life.
“My mother collected bottles and papers to sell for a little money. My father was a motorbike taxi driver. When my parents died, I had no house to live,” recalled Ky.
Ky now lives in a 20 square-meter house with her grandmother and aunt and five others. Ky’s aunt works as a janitor in a school for VND1.8 million (USD87.37) a month. Their everyday meal only includes tofu, vegetable and soya cheese, which do not provide enough nutrients and energy.
Indeed, Ky has overcome all difficulties and is the best in class, scoring 8.6 out of 10 in her final GPA last school year. That is the only way she can do to express gratitude to her aunt, who does not get married and tries to work hard to bring her up.
Nguyen Van Khoe, an orphaned 10th grader in Binh Phuoc Province is now living with her mother’s classmate, Nguyen Thi Thu Thao.
Khoe lost his mother when he was born and soon was abandoned by his father. At 12 years old, Khoe’s aunt and uncle divorced and he had nowhere to stay. To be able to go to school, Khoe asked to stay and help in different houses from 6 to 9th grade. Recently, he has come to live with Thao, whom he calls mom.
“My mom takes care of me very well. She said she didn’t have much education and her life is tough. She told me to study hard otherwise she will lose it all,” said Khoe.
“Khoe is very hard working. He stays up late until midnight and wakes up at 4am in the morning to study,” said Thao, Khoe’s proud mother.
