An 11-year-old boy in Soc Trang Province who was severely burnt in a gas cylinder explosion while trying to save his adoptive mother has received over VND 300 million from the public just a week after his story was published on Dantri/Dtinews.
Dantri/Dtinews representatives came to visit Nguyen Huu Chinh on August 22 in Ke Sach District to transfer VND 318 million (USD 13,826) from reader donations to the newspaper's Charity Programme
Dantri/Dtinews representatives came to visit Nguyen Huu Chinh on August 22 in Ke Sach District to transfer VND 318 million (USD 13,826) from reader donations to the newspaper's Charity Programme to help cover his medical treatment.
Receiving the donations, Chinh’s mother Thach Thi Ra Sa was moved to tears, saying that she had never dreamt of having such a large sum of money in her life.
"Since our story was shared on Dantri/Dtinews, many people in Vietnam and abroad have called to express their sympathy and sent money to help us," the mother said. "I will use this money to pay operation fees and then open a savings account for him."
The poor woman said that Nguyen Huu Chinh was among nine of her children, three others have died from disease.
A local couple adopted Chinh and he followed them to work at their duck farm in summer 2020.
One day in August 2020, when Chinh and his adoptive mother were on a boat at the duck farm, a gas cylinder suddenly exploded. At that time, his foster mother was cooking. He rushed to save her but failed, and the explosion blew both of them onto the river. They were hospitalised with up to 64 percent of Chinh’s body burnt, while his foster mother died shortly after of serious injuries.
Following a long hospital stay and countless operations, Chinh returned home. However, he has not yet been able to walk and still depends on his relatives’ support.
Chinh and his mother
Chinh’s mother said that all valuable assets in the family had been sold to cover Chinh’s treatment. However, he needs more operations to ensure he recovers.
Meanwhile, Chinh’s father is ill, so he can’t work much. The family burden falls on his mother’s shoulder. Every day, the mother earns around VND100,000 (USD4.34) from her farming work.
Despite being tortured by injuries, Chind said that he regretted failing to save his adoptive mother.
According to Kim Dung, head of An Nghiep Village, Chinh’s family remained among the poorest in the locality.
