NGUYEN THI HUONG - 14 YEARS OLD

Have you ever said to yourself with a heartfelt sigh, “Oh, my life is so good and I am so lucky because I have a wonderful family and opportunities and a nice house and food to eat?” Or have you told yourself that you are not yet ready to grow up, that you still rely on your parents too much, and that you need to get your act together and be more assertive if you are going to find you place in the world? I used to ask myself these questions, and they all came flooding back when I first met Huong, a smart, beautiful, agile, and energetic 14-year-old girl.

Huong is not like me. Her life has been a series of misfortunes. She was born to very poor parents who never married. When her young sister was born, her father deserted her mother, who then had to work extremely hard to raise her daughters with the help of her parents. She couldn’t take the stress, and she did the worst thing possible—she, too, ran off with another man, abandoning her little girls to the care of her elderly parents.

What had been a hard life became even harder. Huong’s grandmother was old and weak, and the only income she could earn was from begging on the streets of Ha Noi with Huong. Every day, Huong and her grandmother woke up at 4a.m, and headed into the Old Town district to beg. On a lucky day, they’d earn enough to buy a meager meal; on an unlucky day they’d go to sleep with the stomachs growling. One fortunate day, though, they met the abbot of the Pho Giac pagoda, who kindly allowed them to stay there. For 3 years, Huong was able to go to school, she had enough food to eat, and she could live in contentment with her sister and grandmother. They finally had some security and happiness.

But then disaster struck: Huong’s beloved grandmother passed away. The pagoda gave her the support she needed to bury her grandmother in her home village, and there Huong stayed when she was adopted by her mother’s sister, while her sister stayed in the pagoda. Her aunt loved her very much but was desperately poor, with 6 mouths to feed and a husband suffering from mental illness so he was rarely able to work. After 2 extremely difficult years, Huong was able to graduate from grade 5, but then the money to pay for the school fees ran out. This aunt was unable to keep raising her, so Huong was adopted by another equally poor aunt in Ha Noi and still could not go to school.

Soon after this, disaster struck again. Her aunt had to go to prison for gambling, and the children (Huong’s sister, a 17-year-old girl, a 14-year-old girl, a 12-year-old girl, and a 10-year-old boy) had to fend for themselves, selling tea at Long Bien market. “Every day, we had to sell tea from 4 pm to 2 am next day. It is very complicated work. On a lucky day, we had many customers and could earn enough money to buy our food, but when it was cold and rainy, we often had nothing to eat. And sometimes, bad people would take our tea and refused to pay. We didn’t ask for it as we were too scared they would hurt us.”

When I heard Huong’s story, my eyes welled up with tears, thinking of her tragedies and unhappiness. She is only 14 years old. She should still be in school and thinking about her studies. Not forced to be the parent to her cousins and in fear for her life and that she and her cousins will not have enough to eat or a safe place to live.

“I have a dream that I can go to school like the other kids my age,” she told me as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Every day, when we’re selling tea, I would see the students who can go to school and are picked up at the end of the day by their parents, I wish I had a family with a mother and father who love each other and love me.” When she spoke to me like this, we both ended up sobbing. Her plight broke my heart.

Fortunately, Huong was introduced to Blue Dragon, a charity that provided her with a scholarship so she could go back to school. She’d go to her classes in the morning and sell tea with her cousins to earn a living in the afternoons. There were many days when she’d be so exhausted when she woke up that she didn’t want go to school, but she still tried her best. At school she is a good student, and is catching up for the 2 years she missed. Her teacher is very proud of her and Huong was voted to become the class monitor by her teacher and classmates.

Because Huong touched our hearts so deeply, we adopted her at GFH. She is always a shining example for the children to follow. She continues to study hard and work diligently.

For me, Huong is one of the most special girls I have ever met. She is a jewel in the rough who is yet to be honed. I believe that her courage and determination and goodness of heart will lead her to a long and successful and loving life. She has a magical touch. Nothing would make me happier than to see Huong grow up and flourish, and some day find a good man who will give her the love and family she deserves so much.

It is our goal at HSCV to help children like Huong have the opportunities they need so desperately so they can have a better life. Your donations enable us to continue our work. For that we—and Huong—are profoundly grateful.

Blogged by Than Thi Thu Huyen

February 8, 2012