HSCV Lends A Helping “Hand”!

Thanks to a generous donation from the Marc Gold with “100 Friends Project” and his philanthropist friend Adam, HSCV’s Life-Changing Surgery Program is able to continue operations. It is not only timely but also fortunate for Ly Van Hung, a little boy from a northern mountainous province of Vietnam. He has been given a new lease on life because of the sponsorship of the donation and the Life-Changing Surgery Program.

Ly Van Hung comes from a poor family in a remote region of the north. His family is an ethnic minority family and they are unable to read or write. Hung‘s mother died some years ago. His father works and takes care of Hung and his brother. The father works very hard on his 365 sq. meters of farmland to provide for his children. [This is roughly, a plot of land about 62.3 feet by 62.3 feet]. He raises two dogs, some pigs and a few chickens but it is impossible to make ends meet from such a small farm.

Last year when the father went to work on a neighboring farm, he left his two little sons at home. Hung and his brother played outside. Unfortunately, Hung fell into a nearby pile of burning straw. This accident burned his right hand and left it badly paralyzed. With his deformed hand, Hung must now cope with many difficulties in his daily activities.

HSCV staff met Hung when he arrived at the Orthopedic Department of the National Hospital of Pediatrics (NHP) for surgery. It was the first time ever Hung and his family had come to Hanoi. And since coming from an ethnic minority, they were like a fish out of water in the big city of Ha Noi. They only had a little pocket money which was just enough to pay for transportation costs but were unable to afford the high medical and hospitalization fees. Thanks to HSCV sponsorship, Hung was able to proceed with the medical treatment for his hand.

The surgery went well and Hung’s hand was bandaged to help it heal. After the operation, he was still very weak and could only eat a little, but day-by-day his hand was definitely getting better.

Hung checked out from the NHP seven days after the surgery. On the day he checked out, Hung’s father, with a sincere face, said with heart-felt words, “Thank you to HSCV and to the sponsor”. He said he felt very lucky and would like to send his best regards to HSCV and the sponsor that helped Hung have a chance in Life with a normal hand. Hung’s father also hopes and prays that HSCV will also be able to help even more disabled children to have a bright future as well.

To sponsor a child like Hung and know more about this program, please visit our website at

http://www.hscv.org/medical_life_changing.htm

Blogged by Do Thi Thuy Hong - HSCV member