A family in need

On the day I went to take some heart patients for a check-up, I met a man at the hospital with his daughter. They were there to get an ultra -sound, check-up for his daughter. I talked with the father about her case. He felt sorry he hadn’t known about HSCV before this, because if they had, their daughter would have been able to receive heart surgery for free last July at Cardiovascular Center – E Hospital. Now they are in debt because her heart surgery cost 30,000,000 VND ($1,500 USD)! I told them that last year, HSCV funded CardioStart to come to E Hospital to provide heart surgery for poor children – for free.

Learning more about the family, I found out that the girl’s name is Dao Thi Kim Oanh and that her father’s name is Dao Van Chuyen. They come from Tien Lu District, Hung Yen Province. It is about 40 km, (24 miles) from Hanoi. Mr. Chuyen is a farmer. He and his wife were married for 11 years before they had a daughter – Kim Oanh. Today, Oanh is 14 years old and will be an 8th grade student in September.

Mr. Chuyen also has a son, who is going to be in the 5th grade this year. He told me that his family is quite poor and that his wife left him and their two children to go back to her parents' house to live because they used to fight about bills and the lack of income. She does not even come to visit her children. Today, before he took his daughter to E Hospital for a check-up, he asked the daughter to go ask her mother for some money - for transportation and hospital fees but the mother refused to give her any money! Mr. Chuyen and his children are very sad, and have come to the wife’s parents sometimes to beg the little girl Oanh’s mother to return home with them, but to no avail. Mr. Chuyen and his in-laws have had some disagreement in the past, so they continually keep their daughter at home to punish Mr. Chuyen.

Lately, the father has been working in construction, carrying bricks and cement. He does not earn enough money to make end meet for his children and himself. They have a piece of land to grow Longan fruit trees, but the crop is not ready for harvest yet. Their land is better used for fruit trees but they have no rice field to grow the staple food for their daily living.

The father has had to pay school fees for his children, as well as Oanh’s treatment after heart surgery. They are in a very difficult financial situation.

So, after meeting this man and his daughter, I’m writing this story about the family with the hope that someone can help Oanh and Oanh’s brother with their school fees so they can keep going to school this year — otherwise they will be forced to drop out of school for lack of funds. Or, if someone with a kind heart could give even a little something to support these two children - it would be most appreciated!

Blogged by Hanh Ngo - HSCV member