Carrying the sequelae of brain tumor and cerebral hemorrhage, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung still sits on the sidewalk every day to shine shoes and earn every penny. Behind him is his sick wife and young child waiting for a miracle from compassion...
Leaving Lieu Xa village, Dai Son commune, Hai Phong city, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung (born in 1983) went to Hanoi to make a living with a body carrying many serious sequelae. Few people know that behind the figure of a man sitting quietly on the sidewalk shouing shoes is a long journey of fighting illness.
At the age of 10, Mr. Hung had an accident with an eye hematoma, affecting his brain, and had to be paralyzed for more than 3 months in the provincial hospital. At the age of 27, he continued to have a brain hemorrhage, and had to be transferred to Bach Mai Hospital for nearly a month of treatment. In 2010, he was diagnosed with a brainstem tumor and underwent brain surgery in 2011.
After several "decades of life and death", Mr. Hung became paralyzed in half, and his health seriously declined. In addition, he also suffered from hemorrhoids and prolonged joint pain. Difficulties in walking and heavy labor were almost impossible, but he still tried to stay in a foreign land.
For 6 years, Mr. Hung has been working as a sidewalk shoe polishman in Hanoi. Work is erratic, income is precarious, on rainy and windy days, he almost has no money. "If I don't work, I don't have money to pay for rent, no money for food. I have to try every day because I have a family, striving to raise my wife and children...", Mr. Hung shared.
According to Mr. Hung, in 2022, he married Ms. Vu Thi Thuy (born in 1986). Ms. Thuy suffered from congenital psoriasis, had been treated in many places but did not recover. Every time the weather is dry, her hands and feet are cracked, painful, and difficult to work. Poor health also prevents her from working stably.
At the beginning of 2025, baby girl Nguyen Phuong Thao was born healthy, becoming the greatest comfort for the poor couple. However, the joy of being parents comes with the worry of food and clothing. Mr. Hung's family currently rents a room in Hanoi for 1.3 million VND/month. After deducting rent and minimum living expenses, the money he saves every day is not enough for medicine for both husband and wife.
My child was born lucky and not sick like his parents. I just wish my child could go to school properly in the future, and not have to wander around as hard as I do...", Mr. Hung said emotionally.
In the countryside, Mr. Hung's parents are old and weak. His father suffers from stomach disease and is no longer able to work. His two biological sisters are also in difficult circumstances. Relatives are far away, conditions are limited, so they can only occasionally ask about and encourage their spirit.
Without social assistance, without stable jobs, all expenses fall on the shoulders of a man with half his body paralyzed. In the crowded streets, he still sits on the street corner every day, quietly polishing shoes to earn every penny, hoping to have enough money to buy milk for his children and medicine for his wife.
Life ahead is still full of hardships. For Mr. Hung, being able to go out to earn a living every day is already an effort. That small family really needs the care and help of the community to have more conditions for treatment, stabilizing life and raising children to adulthood.
All help for life situation LD26035 please send to Tam Long Vang Charity Social Fund - 51 Hang Bo, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi. Account number (STK) 113000000758 at Vietinbank Hoan Kiem Branch, Hanoi; Account number: 0021000303088 - at Vietcombank Hanoi Branch; Account number: 12410001122556 - at BIDV Hoan Kiem Branch
Or contact Mr. Hung directly via phone number: 037. 2780667.
