On March 27, 2008, Delphine Praud (born in 1976) and Gael Praud (born in 1972), arrived in Hanoi after receiving notice from Médecins du Monde that a baby girl was waiting for them following their adoption application.
According to Delphine, the child’s Vietnamese name was Ta Thi Tuoi, born on December 9, 2007. The couple stayed in Vietnam for three weeks to complete adoption procedures before giving their daughter her new name, Maely Praud.
“We could not have children, and she needed a family. So we found each other,” Delphine said.
Maëly Praud's Vietnamese name is Ta Thi Tuoi (Photo: Family provided).
She added that they had told Maely about her adoption from an early age. When asked to draw a family tree at school, she was given her full adoption file by her parents.
Documents provided by Delphine show that Maely’s birth mother is named Ta Thi Hoi, born in 1980, formerly residing in Yen Luong Commune, Y Yen District, Nam Dinh Province under the previous administrative system. The papers also list her maternal grandparents as Ta Van Hai and Nguyen Thi Dao.
In the consent letter for adoption, the birth mother wrote that due to extremely difficult living conditions she was unable to raise and care for her daughter to adulthood.
Delphine and Gaël when they adopted their daughter (Photo: Family provided).
In December 2024, as the family discussed plans to travel back to Vietnam, Maely, then newly 17, voiced a long held wish. She wanted to know whether she had biological siblings and who she resembled.
Maëly Praud on her 17th birthday (Photo: Family provided).
“I asked her, do you want us to begin searching? She said yes. We started in April 2025 through several support channels in Vietnam but have not yet had any results,” Delphine said.
Despite this, the family remain hopeful.
“As a mother, I believe that if she made the decision to place her child for adoption, it was in the hope of giving her a better life. Perhaps today she also wonders how her daughter has grown up,” Delphine said.
Maely, now 18, graduated from secondary school in July 2025 and is studying a preparatory course in literature and social sciences in France. Her mother describes her as reserved, sensitive and curious about the world.
Maëly Praud's current family (Photo: Family provided).
The family plan to return to Vietnam from August 5 to 20, travelling through Hanoi, Sapa, Ha Long Bay, Ninh Binh, Hue, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City. More than a holiday, they see it as a journey to recover a missing piece.
“We truly hope she can find her biological brothers or sisters, because we cannot give her that. If it happens, it would be the greatest gift,” Delphine said.
Search Information
Anyone with information about Ta Thi Hoi, who gave birth to a daughter named Ta Thi Tuoi on December 9, 2007 in Y Yen district, formerly of Nam Dinh province, is encouraged to contact Dantri’s hotline in Hanoi on 0973 567 567 or in Ho Chi Minh City on 0974 567 567, or email info@dantri.com.vn.
