At noon on an August day, Mrs. Hang's small house in Ward 12, District 4 was bustling with laughter, creating a warm space filled with happiness. A 58-year-old woman is teaching her children how to peel fruit.
Love like your own child
"From strangers, we met each other and became family" - Mrs. Hang looked at her children and said with a smile. Ms. Hang used to be a military officer, worked at Ba Son Union Enterprise (Ba Son Corporation), retired in 2016. Her husband passed away nearly 20 years ago, and her 2 children are living and working far away. , so when Lao students come to live, eat, and chat every day, the house becomes much warmer and happier.
She once sponsored students participating in the Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Program (SSEAYP) and later sponsored more Lao students coming to Ho Chi Minh City. "The children lived far away from their families and lacked love, so when they were adopted by Vietnamese people, they were very happy" - Ms. Hang said.
In 2022, Ms. Hang participated in the program "Vietnamese family with Lao and Cambodian students studying in Ho Chi Minh City" and adopted two friends, Nando Manivong and Xaiyaphone Inphaeng. She gave her two children the affectionate names Nando and Jac. At that time, both were third-year medical students and spoke Vietnamese quite well.
Ms. Hang still vividly remembers the first day she met Nando and Jac. "As soon as they saw me, from the dormitory, my two children proactively came to receive "Mother Hang", which surprised and touched me" - she recalled.
In addition to Nando and Jac, Ms. Hang later accepted 4 other Lao students. Currently, Ms. Hang's family is considered to have the most children among the households participating in the program "Vietnamese families with Lao and Cambodian students studying in Ho Chi Minh City". “The house is small but the feelings are immense. I treat and love all six children like my own children" - Ms. Hang confided.
Share Vietnamese culture with your children
During the time they lived in the same house, the mother-daughter relationship was really close, with no distance or shyness. Whenever the school schedule is empty, there is time for the children to come home and help their mother in the kitchen.
“The house is always full of laughter and talk. I want to cook delicious Vietnamese food to introduce it to my children and experience the daily life of Vietnamese families. Every meal I cook a little more so my child can bring it back to the dorm for his friends to enjoy" - Ms. Hang shared.
Whatever event there is in the family, Mother Hang always creates conditions for her children to participate. From family vacations to acquaintances' weddings, Ms. Hang always brings her children along. Not only that, in her free time, she also encourages her children to participate in local activities such as street cleaning, cooking competitions on Vietnamese Family Day... so that they can keep memories. Pretty.
“I teach my children to cook Vietnamese dishes such as spring rolls, fish soup, curry... On their free days, when there are no classes, they just run home to gather with their mother, sharing Share happy and sad stories, or teach each other traditional dances and songs of our country" - Ms. Hang confided.
Xaiyavong Duangmany (4th year student, Nguyen Tat Thanh University) came to Vietnam in 2019. At that time, Vietnam in Duangmany's eyes was still strange. “The feeling of homesickness is always present in me. I craved a family meal" - Duangmany recalled. With the appearance of Hang's mother and her new siblings, Duangmany's homesickness has somewhat eased.
When he first arrived, Duangmany couldn't eat Vietnamese food, so he had to keep Lao noodles on hand to replace it. There was a time when this 22-year-old student wanted to return to Laos. “But then at Hang's mother's house, she taught how to cook. When she had free time, she told the kids to go home. Thanks to that, I can gradually get used to Vietnamese cuisine and consider this place as my second family" - Duangmany said.
