Ly Xuan Miu (16 years old) is from Ta Mo village, Yen Dinh commune, Bac Me district, Ha Giang province (old), now belonging to Ngoc Duong commune, Tuyen Quang province. She was born into a family with special circumstances, her grandfather participated in the war, so both her father and Miu herself were affected by Agent Orange. Although she does not have body deformities, Miu has intellectual disability and is slower to develop than her peers.
When Miu was just 2 years old, her mother left, making the family even more difficult. In 2016, Miu was received and raised by the Vietnam Friendship Village. Just one year after coming down to the Village, her father passed away. At that time, Miu was too young to go home to mourn, not having time to see her father for the last time. The only remaining support for her was her elderly and weak grandfather.
However, in April 2024, her grandfather also passed away. Since then, Miu has almost had no one to cling to or rely on. Currently, her only relative is her cousin's family, but her situation is also difficult, unable to support Miu much.
After nearly 10 years of being cared for in the Village, Miu is preparing to leave the place that used to be her second home to return to integrate into society. Feeling sorry for that difficult situation, Vietnam Friendship Village has created conditions for her to study motorbike repair, hoping she can master a profession and earn a living when leaving the Village.
Sharing with reporters, Miu said that she does not know whether she will stay in Hanoi or return to her hometown after graduating. At the age of 16, when many peers were still fully cared for both materially and spiritually by her parents, Miu had to step into life on her own, take care of herself, and walk on her own small feet. The world ahead is too vast, and her future is uncertain, many things cannot be imagined.
Having been a person who directly cared for and understood Miu's situation, Ms. Dang Thi Toan - a nanny at the Vietnam Friendship Village - said that in the early days when she returned to the Village, Miu was much smaller than her peers, thin and weak. Every year, she gets to return to her hometown once during Tet. After each break, Miu returns to the Village with her hands and feet covered in mud, Ms. Toan meticulously scrubs and cleans her.
Ms. Toan confided that she loves Miu like her own child because of the disadvantages and hardships she had to endure too early. Thinking about the day Miu leaves the Village, her worries are even greater. With a small body and intellectual disability, she is afraid that she will find it difficult to manage life alone. If she stays in Hanoi, Miu will not have any money to cover the initial expenses, and if she returns to her hometown - where life is already very deprived, Ms. Toan also does not know what her future will be like.
What she desires most at this time is to be able to support Miu with some foundation costs, adding motivation for her to confidently continue on the precarious journey ahead.
All help for life situation LD26031, 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 Ms. Dang Thi Toan, nanny at Vietnam Friendship Village, phone number: 098 9582875
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