Sick father struggles to raise dioxin affected children

A man in central Ha Tinh Province is struggling to bring up his children who were born with dioxin-related health problems due to the defoliant Agent Orange.

 

Huong taking care of one of his dioxin-affected children

Vo Ta Huong, 63, who lives in Thuong Hamlet, Thach Ha Commune in Ha Tinh City, suffers cerebrovascular disease. His wife died.

Huong served fought in the army from 1970 to 1975 in central Quang Tri Province’s Vinh Linh area. He married in 1977, but most his children were affected by the dioxin to which he had been exposed.

Their first child died aged one, and their second died at nine.

A son, now aged 31, has only one hand and suffers congential heart disease. A daughter, 22, has disabilities and has to rely on others for all her care. Only one child, a daughter, escaped health problems, but she struggles with the family's poverty.

“Bad luck struck two years ago when I contracted cerebrovascular disease, and then my wife died in March,” said Huong.

Local authorities have raised some funds to support the family, but it is not enough and Huong cannot work, relying on farming to grow food for his children to eat.

If you want to support the family, any donations should be sent through:

1. Code 1774: Vo Ta Huong, THuong Hamlet, Thach Ha Commune, Ha Tinh City, Ha Tinh Province