A small house deep in Tay Son 3 Hamlet, Dong Yen Commune, An Bien District (Kien Giang) was built with support from Program 134 and houses a family of 6 people struggling to cope with illness and poverty.
Mrs. Thi Ly (49 years old), thin figure, tired and anxious eyes sat absentmindedly next to her eldest daughter, Ms. Pham Thi Giup (28 years old).
Ms. Ly said that Ms. Giup has tuberculosis of the meninges and her condition is getting worse so she cannot do anything by herself now.
“The doctor said the treatment would be long-term, with the initial cost being at least 20 million VND. If we can’t even afford food, where will my family get that amount of money for treatment?”, Mrs. Ly choked up.
With no money for treatment, Ms. Giup had to stay home and take traditional medicine and prescription western medicine; every week she spent at least 500,000 VND on medicine even though she had health insurance.
Since Ms. Giup got sick, her husband left her, leaving her and her three children to fend for themselves. Her husband did not come to visit or help her, so her grandparents had to struggle to take care of their daughter and three grandchildren.
Mr. Pham Van Giang (47 years old, father of Ms. Pham Thi Giup) has many illnesses: enlarged liver, enlarged spleen, diabetes, kidney stones, anemia, urinary tract infections... Despite his poor health, Mr. Giang is still the pillar of the family.
Every day, he tries to collect scrap metal to make a living. On days when he can buy a lot, he only earns more than 100,000 VND, but he has to spend very little to just have enough to buy medicine for his daughter. Mr. Giang cannot lift heavy objects or carry bulky objects, so Mrs. Ly has to help. On days like that, Mrs. Ly has to prepare meals at home and let the children play by themselves, while Ms. Giup stays in bed.
This year, my grandchildren are old enough to enter kindergarten, but our family cannot afford it, so we have to leave them at home. "The oldest is 5 years old, the next 3 years old, the youngest is 2 years old. There were days when they ate white congee all day, they cried for food and I didn't know what to feed them," Mrs. Ly tearfully said.
Neighbors around saw the situation was so pitiful that even though they were not well off, they tried their best to share and help a little. Ms. Do Thi Vang - Mrs. Ly's neighbor - shared: "Seeing the children lacking food and clothing, I felt so sorry. If anyone gave me rice, I would like to give it back to the family. I just hope there will be a benefactor to help them overcome this situation."
Mr. Phan Van Phe - Secretary of Dong Yen Commune Youth Union - said: "The family is currently in a very difficult situation, both father and daughter are seriously ill and have no money for treatment. I only hope that kind-hearted people near and far can join hands to help this situation so that they can overcome adversity and take care of their three young children."
Mr. Phe added that Mr. Giang’s family is in dire need of help from the community and kind hearts to save Ms. Giup and support the children to have a better future. Every sharing, no matter how small, is a great source of motivation for them to overcome these difficult days.
Any help for life with code LD24090, please send to: Golden Heart Social Charity Fund - 51 Hang Bo, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi. Account number (STK) 113000000758 at Vietinbank Hoan Kiem Branch, Hanoi; STK: 0021000303088 - at Vietcombank Hanoi Branch; STK: 12410001122556 - at BIDV Hoan Kiem Branch.
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