One DanTri reader has sent financial support to a group of poor single women who live on boats on a river in Nghe An Province.
Some single women near Cua Tien River
The women all live on or near Cua Tien River. Nguyen Thi Hong is the oldest woman in this "village". She was a poor labourer without family who came to the river to catch small fish for sale. Chau, a woman from Yen Thanh District once did have a family but moved to the area after her son passed away and her husband became an alcoholic.
Nguyen Thi Yen, another resident, is currently struggling to raise two children alone on a small boat. Her children also have to wash dishes to support their family. "I wish they could go to school, but I can never afford the school fees and supplies," she said.
According to Yen, most of the women there are from Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces, with some coming from fishing families of Nghe An. Many of the people here had tragic stories, such as Ngo Thi Viet, who is now a single mother after her son drowned, leaving her to take care of a daughter by herself.
Some in this "village" catch small river fish, while other make extra money by cleaning up the the market in Vinh City.
In 2008 there was one anonymous overseas Vietnamese in France who donated a total of VND6 million (USD287) to the 10 most disadvantaged women and their children. Each woman was granted VND500,000 and each child with VND250,000.
"Their story moved me so much. I also had to struggle through hard times when I was in school, so now I want to share what I have with other unfortunate people," the donor wrote in an email.
Nguyen Thi Hong, the oldest woman at this place, said, "On the behalf of all the women here, I want to give our sincerest thanks to our kind donor."
Ngo Thi Loi receives VND4 million
Over the years kind donor have continued to support the women living there and have given nine donations to Ngo Thi Loi, daughter of Ngo Thi Viet. Currently, Loi is a 11th grade student at VTC High School and helps her mother fix footwear at Vinh Market.
On October 23, 2013, the kind reader gave Loi a donation of VND4 million support.
"I just want to say thank you. I also want to wish her and her family peace and health. I promise, I'll study hard." Loi said.
Her mother have shown their gratitude to the donor. "Thanks to her, Loi can now continue her studies. We'll do our best to help her pass her university entrance exam."
