Nguyen Thi Loan's dream comes true

“I used to think the storms in my life never seemed to end. However, today I am able to say my life has never been better!” Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan said, while attending to visitors in her new house.

Ms. Loan is the mother of a family who was listed as the “top ten” poorest families in Vinh Quynh village, Thanh Tri, Hanoi. This single mother was kicked out of her husband’s house after the husband died from lung cancer. She left the house with a 5-month old baby and a big debt of her late husband’s medical bills.

Homeless, with no job, no house, no money, she did any menial job she could find. In an effort to survive, she found a plot of land (8m² – about 9.5 feet by 9.5 feet!) to pitch a tent. She and her 2 children lived in this temporary shelter for nearly 17 years! As you can see from the picture, the bottom portion of their house was made of brick.

However, there wasn’t even mortar between the bricks — they were just stacked up. The house could have collapsed at anytime, especially during the rainy season or by the wind in winter. They always faced the threat of eviction because the land actually belongs to the government. They were too poor to build a new house, and Loan said a new, brick house was something she could only dream of. Before construction of their new house, harsh weather such as a heavy downpour would send the whole family packing to a neighbour’s home. “We seldom had a peaceful night’s rest. I myself could stand all of these difficulties but I cried to think this was the lot of my children” Loan continued.

In addition to these hardships, in Vietnam, it is very

difficult for a single-mother with two children to remarry. This is a cultural, fact-of-life in Vietnam, as it is in many places around the world. So, Ms. Loan struggled on alone — to make a home for herself and her two children.

Loan only earns $2 per day. She and her children lived like that until HSCV team members discovered her in August, of 2005. Since then, HSCV has returned to help this family with their immediate needs.

Their situation has changed slowly for the better with support of two educational scholarships and a monthly allotment of a rice donation.

In 2009, one of HSCV’s sponsors came from

Australia to help Loan. The Murray family decided to help Loan and her children buy the land, build a proper house and furnish a lot of the household appliances. The new house was completed just before a very special time here in Vietnam – the Tet Celebration! All of us are very happy about her change in circumstances. We can see the smiles of happiness on Loan’s face. She said, “Now that we have a house, we can focus on earning out daily bread. Our living conditions are very much improved. I believe now that dreams can come true. Thank you very much to the Murray family and especially to HSCV!”

Blogged by Tran N. Lien