At the age when they should be able to rest and have fun with their children and grandchildren, Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen Van Binh, Le Thi Tham (Yen Lam 1 neighborhood, Dong Trieu ward, Quang Ninh) have to shoulder the burden of life, taking care of their two granddaughters who are of school age with meager monthly incomes.
More than 10 days ago, after suffering pain from illness, Ms. Tham passed away, leaving Mr. Binh alone, 72 years old this year, to shoulder the whole family.
His two granddaughters, Nguyen Thuy Duong (born in 2015), suffer from cancer, one right eye cannot see clearly; Nguyen Quynh Trang (born in 2017) also has intellectual disabilities.
Information from Vietnam-Sweden Hospital - Uong Bi, Nguyen Thuy Duong has been hospitalized several times in the Department of Pediatrics with pneumonia accompanied by a history of cancer.
Most recently in April 2025, the hospital examined Duong, still with the result of soft tissue cancer of the left chest wall.
According to Mr. Binh's account, when Duong was not yet 1 month old, her father died in a traffic accident, and soon after, her mother went to work far away, leaving her young daughter for her grandparents to raise. Trang's situation was also very difficult, her father was not by her side, her mother had a new life, and she was raised by her grandparents when she was just over 1 year old.
Just like that, for more than 10 years, all activities have fallen on the thin shoulders of two white-haired people who have been attached to agriculture for a lifetime.
Without backing down or complaining about fate, along with the allowance money of the three grandmothers and grandchildren, Mr. Binh and his wife struggled to do all kinds of jobs, she raised chickens and ducks to sell eggs, plowed and cultivated, he herded buffaloes... saving every penny to have money to cover living expenses, feed the two grandchildren, study, buy medicine and cover expenses for trips to take them to the hospital.
Since discovering that Duong was sick, if there was anything valuable in the house, they would sell it to get money to treat the child's illness.
When I knew my grandchild had cancer, I only knew how to cry, I felt very sorry for him," Mr. Binh confided.
Mrs. Tham passed away, leaving a very large gap in the three grandfathers and grandchildren. Mr. Binh himself is in poor health, his limbs are no longer agile. In addition to herding buffaloes and farming, he has to do her extra work, from herding chickens to cooking rice, picking up and dropping off grandchildren from school...
He said that more than 4 sao of rice fields are planted, but not much has been harvested because they are destroyed by rats. After this crop, his health did not allow it, so he had to abandon the fields for others to cultivate.
Every time he mentions his two grandchildren and thinks about the precarious life ahead, tears fall on his dark face from sun and rain.
Although lacking love, care from parents and carrying illness, Trang and Duong are very obedient and filial. After school hours, they still help grandparents sweep the yard and do some chores. They still go to school regularly and complete lessons in class.
Covering his left eye, Duong said: "I can't see everything clearly, I can only see colors. What is moving in front of my eyes can only see moving colors".
The little girl's face was slightly sad when mentioning her grandmother. When she was alive, she always reminded her grandchildren to try to study hard to get into secondary school. But when there were only a few days left until Duong completed the elementary school program, she let go, leaving her grandfather and grandchildren, not seeing the day she stepped into the new school.
Duong wishes that when she grows up, she can become a doctor and treat many people. Trang wants to become a police officer in drug prevention.
As for Mr. Binh, he only hopes that his two grandchildren will be healthy, learn to read and write so that in the future they can have stable jobs and take care of themselves when he is old and no longer there.
Mr. Nguyen Van Nhu - Chairman of the Fatherland Front Committee of Dong Trieu ward said that Mr. Binh's family circumstances are very difficult as he is old but has to raise two sick young children alone.
The joint efforts and sharing from philanthropists, even small ones, can help the three grandparents and grandchildren continue the road ahead, even though it is bumpy but not retreating.
All help for life situation LD26130, 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.
