At 118, Nguyen Thi Tru of Ho Chi Minh City is probably the world’s oldest. The old lady, however, says she has no desire of being registered in the Guinness Book of Worlds Record and has no idea what it is, according to newswire Vietnam Express.
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| “I just hope to have betel and areca to eat every day and to have guests coming to visit me. I don’t need anything else,” said Tru |
“I just hope to have betel and areca to eat every day and to have guests coming to visit me. I don’t need anything else,” said Tru.
According to her identification card and household registration document, Tru was born on May 4 1893. This means she is 118 years old, 3 years and 196 days older than Maria Gomes Valentim, the oldest verified person in the world.
However, Tru’s children and grandchildren said they never thought of registering her name in the world records, citing expensive fees and complex procedures as the reason.
“I’m glad that my mom lives a long life and receives a lot of care and support from the Government and everybody around. Till now, we have been living in peace and we don’t need any trouble,” said Nguyen Huu Phuong (69), her youngest son.
At 118, Tru can walk by herself and has a sound mind. The only problem she has is hearing difficulty.
Tru remembers that she has 11 sons, 4 of whom are still alive. She has 31 grandkids but she cannot remember all their names. Great-grandkids are far too many for her to remember.
After awarding her the certificate of the oldest person in the country, Vietnam Records Organization also gave her family information about the process to register for world records.
However, Nguyen Thai Binh, editor of Vietnam’s records book, said the procedure and paperwork for registering an old person like Tru are very complex. Her family has to do it all by themselves, including paying a fee of US$2,000.
“Besides ID and household registration document, the World Records also asks for samples of nail, hair, and skin cells to carry out tests on a candidate’s exact age. Then the family needs to pay $2,000 as transportation and accommodation fees for the organization staff to come to Vietnam and verify the information. There may be other processes that may last for a year,” said Binh.
According to Binh, due to the complexity of the registration process, especially the rather steep fees, Vietnam has missed many chances to get their world records registered in the World Records book.
As having one’s name recorded in the Book of World Records gives the world record-setter nothing but popularity, most Vietnamese from a poor background refuse to go through with the lengthy and costly process.
Currently, Binh’s company is calling for donors to contribute $2000 so Tru can be registered in the World Records.