The second mother of an orphan girl

From the host mother program launched by the Central Vietnam Women’s Union, the 9th grade girl who lost her mother at birth now has a host mother.

Childhood without mother

In the early days of July 2023, under the blazing sun of the summer weather, I had the opportunity to visit with Ms. Nguyen Thi Yen, Head of Transaction Office No. 03, Tinh Thuong Microfinance Institution (TYM) – Vinh Phuc Branch, to visit little Bui Thi Nhu The in Rung village (Thanh Tru commune, Vinh Yen city, Vinh Phuc province). It is 2 years since Ms. Yen, the representative of TYM – Vinh Phuc Branch, has become the host mother of the girl Nhu The.The iron gate just opened, glimpsed the silhouette of Ms. Yen, Nhu The rushed out, hugged her adoptive mother, talked and laughed.

Sharing about her granddaughter’s situation, Ms. Vu Thi Hoa (74 years old, grandmother Nhu The) could not hide her emotion. Hoa gave birth to four children (two boys and two girls). Mr. Bui Van Giang (born in 1981, Nhu The’s father) is the second child. Since childhood, his health was not good.

Over the age of 18, thanks to matchmaking, Mr. Giang got married. Since getting married and having two daughters, he has worked hard to do business and his health has also improved.
In 2008, his wife was pregnant with their third child. On the day she went into labor, a medical incident occurred and took away her life. Luckily, the baby was born safely. The baby was name Nhu The, which mean “so.” “That special name means that the child was born with such disadvantages …,” Mrs. Hoa explained.

Many years ago, people living in Rung village were too familiar with the image of Mrs. Hoa carrying her newborn granddaughter to go around to ask breastfeeding mothers in the neighborhood to breastfed her granddaughter.

After his wife died, Mr. Giang was also seriously ill and lost his ability to work. The life of the family with 3 little grand children weighed heavily on Mrs. Hoa’s shoulders. In addition to the time when the farming season came, Mrs. Hoa works other jobs to have money to take care of her three young grandchildren. Mrs. Hoa’s love for her grandchildren has moved many people. The story of her family is very famous. The help that comes to her family, no matter how small or large, is very appreciated by Mrs. Hoa.

Loving the orphaned grandchildren, loving the old mother, Hoa’s third son, Mr. Bui Van Son (born in 1985), has not got married, but works as a seasonal laborer with his mother to take care of his brother and his grandchildren.

Light for future of an orphan girl

Mrs. Hoa recounted that, growing up a bit, Nhu The began to notice the absence of a mother. Before her granddaughter’s innocent questions about her mother, Mrs. Hoa had to turn to another matter or lied to her granddaughter that her mother was away for work. However, when Nhu The became older, the girl understood that her mother who is “going away for work” would be forever unable to return to her side.

The pain, loss and lack of mother’s love made her shy, afraid to communicate, afraid to express emotions, especially to strangers. During an important time of personal development, it was fortunate that Nhu The met Mrs. Yen her adoptive mother under the program “Host mother”.

Mrs. Yen is a person who loves volunteer work, or helps people in difficult circumstances. Through the Vietnam Women’s Union of Vinh Phuc province, Mrs. Yen knew about Nhu The’s situation.

Yen said, it was also a grace when at the same time, the Central Vietnam Women’s Union launched the program “Host mother”. Knowing the humanitarian purpose of the program, Mrs. Yen proposed it to the branch manager of such support. Her opinion was then supported by the whole branch and she herself was assigned to be the representative of the branch to sponsor Nhu The from 2022 until now.

When she first met Mrs. Yen, Nhu The was a little girl with a delicate face, deep black eyes but immense sadness. “At that time, Nhu The clothes and hair were not as neat as they are now. In particular, the baby has great difficulty in talking and communicating. She doesn’t want to open her heart to anyone,” Yen shared.After that, Yen patiently visited the house, talked and gradually became a relative of Nhu The. Mrs. Yen has spent as much time as possible talking, listening to her adopted daughter as well as guiding her from the smallest things in life. Mrs. Yen taught Nhu The how to properly clean herself, how to dress up my clothes and hair before going to class, how to treat people and especially, to open my heart to share with friends and relatives.

“The situation of Nhu The is very pitiful. As a mother, I understand the importance of a mother in the development of children. I wish to become the second mother of the baby and make up for the loss she has experienced. The knowledge I impart to my baby is all drawn from the process of raising two grown-up children,” Mrs. Yen confided.

Although her work is very busy, Mrs. Yen always spends time with her adopted daughter on special days such as holidays, New Year… As to repay the heart of mother Yen, in just over two years, Nhu The has made constant progress in both her study and activities.

Thus, in two school years with the companionship of mother Yen, Nhu The achieved the title of excellent student. In daily life, Nhu The does housework very neatly and cleanly. More importantly, Nhu The is more open and friendly to people. “For the first time in more than 10 years, I saw Nhu The going to a local summer activity with other children. The above merits are all thanks to Ms. Yen’s enthusiastic guidance and instruction”, shared Ms. Vu Thi Hoa.

Recently, Mrs. Yen and her adopted child Nhu The had special memories for each other when participating in the “Sunflower” Summer Camp in 2023 – a program to honor the typical Mother – Child in the “Host mother” program nationwide.

“The mother and daughter had three days to spend together. During the three days of living under one roof, I also spent a lot of time talking to Nhu The, teaching her necessary skills in life. In particular, mother and daughter and 99 other mother-daughter pairs were honored to be encouraged by Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan while participating in meaningful programs,” Mrs. Yen said.