"Since I was little, I have thought about you, Mom. What I wish for most is for your life to be peaceful, safe, happy, with time to rest and have fun. I hope you have a family, give birth to healthy children, and marry a gentle husband.
I want you to know that I am really fine. My life in Sweden has been very lucky. I have had a good education, went to university, and have good work experience. My adoptive parents are still alive. I have a younger brother - also adopted from Vietnam. I want to thank you for giving me a full and comfortable life.
Mom, since I was little, I was afraid that my search for you would affect your life. I understand if you decided not to see me. I would never force you. I never thought badly of you or decided to give me up for adoption. My dream is to meet you one day. But right now, just knowing that you are still healthy is enough for me . "
These are the lines in a letter written in broken Vietnamese by Kim Hoa Hof (35 years old), a Vietnamese girl who was abandoned by her mother at the hospital and adopted by a Swedish couple when she was a newborn. The letter was sent to her biological mother in Vietnam - the person she has spent many years searching for.
For a long time, Kim Hoa silently prepared herself mentally for the journey back to her homeland. Two years ago, she traveled thousands of kilometers back to Vietnam, carrying with her a single wish: to see her biological mother again.
Flowers were given away more than 1 month after birth (Photo: Character provided).
Abandoned within hours of birth
In a conversation with Dan Tri , Kim Hoa said that according to the remaining documents, she was born at Hanoi Maternity Hospital on July 10, 1990 and was abandoned by her biological mother right there, along with a handwritten letter.
In the letter, her mother wrote: "I am Nguyen Thi Hoan, 18 years old, residing in Nguyen Trai commune, Thuong Tin district, Ha Son Binh province. I just gave birth to Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa at Hanoi Obstetrics Hospital on July 10, 1990. Dear hospital, I consider myself incapable of raising my child, so I am writing this request to ask the hospital to help raise Hoa."
The letter was left next to the newborn baby, then the mother quietly disappeared amid cries echoing through the hospital hallways.
After that, the Deputy Director of Hanoi Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital wrote a letter to the Foreign Affairs Department of Hanoi People's Committee, when he heard that a Swedish couple - Mr. and Mrs. Ulf and Eva - wanted to adopt a child. The letter read:
"Hanoi Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital currently has a baby girl named Nguyen Kim Hoa, born at 5:30 a.m. on July 10, 1990, weighing 3,200g, with birth number 81. The mother is a woman who self-declared her name as Nguyen Thi Hoan, 18 years old, with an address at Pho Lu, Bao Thang, Hoang Lien Son province. Because she was pregnant out of wedlock, the mother wrote a petition for her child. We request that the Board consider and resolve this.
Note: In the application for her child, the mother Hoan declared her address as Nguyen Trai commune, Thuong Tin district, Ha Son Binh province.
After the adoption application was sent, Kim Hoa was fortunately chosen by Trinh Thuy Lan, an interpreter working for the Swedish organization Sida, among the three abandoned newborn babies at the hospital. A few weeks later, Mr. Ulf and Mrs. Eva, the Swedes who wanted to adopt, came to Vietnam to complete the procedures.
The letter left by Hoa's mother and the letter from the Deputy Director of Hanoi Obstetrics Hospital are all she has to find information about her mother. (Photo: Character provided).
On August 16, 1990, when she was only 1 month and 6 days old, Kim Hoa left Vietnam, set foot in a strange Nordic country and started a new life with the name Kim Hoa Hof. Not long after, her adoptive parents adopted another Vietnamese boy - who became her younger brother.
In Sweden, her new citizenship brought Kim Hoa many opportunities: freeeducation , universal health care, and a strong social security system. Her adoptive parents always encouraged her to study, sparing no effort and money to invest in books. Thanks to that, Kim Hoa achieved excellent academic results, entered a specialized choir school from middle school to high school, and performed for many high-ranking figures at home and abroad.
Since the age of 19, she has been living independently, graduated from university and is currently taking a break from work to pursue graduate studies. Since 2015, Kim Hoa has been actively involved in NGOs such as the Red Cross and Save the Children.
However, behind the appearance of an admirable life, the Vietnamese girl still has to face a not-so-easy reality.
"Swedish society, despite being modern and civilized, still has a cold attitude towards immigrants with different appearances.
Ever since I was little, I knew I was not my parents' biological child because my skin color and appearance were different from anyone else in the family," Kim Hoa shared.
She was unable to make friends, and her adoptive family had no relatives or close family members, so Kim Hoa and her Vietnamese-born brother in Northern Europe spent their childhood with only their adoptive parents. However, her adoptive mother suffered from a mental disorder, which caused their relationship to go through a difficult period. Fortunately, with time and patience, they were able to mend and regain their connection.
Although Kim Hoa grew up in the loving arms of her adoptive parents in Sweden, she always longed to find her roots. According to regulations, adopted children are only allowed to find their biological parents when they turn 18, so her plan had to be postponed.
Journey to find Vietnamese mother
At the age of 19, Kim Hoa decided to return to Vietnam - her birthplace - to live for a while. During her five months there, she volunteered at the Labor Education Center No. 2, Ba Vi, Hanoi. There, she learned basic Vietnamese and gradually felt more deeply about her homeland's culture.
This period of time ignited in her the desire to meet her biological mother. But at that time, she was not ready for the journey of searching, not only because of the difficulties ahead but also because she needed to be thoroughly prepared mentally, especially accepting the possibility of not finding anyone, so she returned to Sweden.
On August 7, 2023, Kim Hoa returned to Vietnam, officially starting her journey to find her biological mother with five simultaneous approaches.
Having been adopted right at the hospital, Kim Hoa has almost no mementos left related to the past. The only clues she has are a few papers from the hospital, a card signed by "Oanh" - who used to work at the Hanoi Obstetrics Hospital that year - and a hand-drawn map showing the way to this woman's house.
She also kept her birth certificate, but it did not include the names of her biological parents and did not contain any authentic information about her origin. She also kept her Vietnamese passport, adoption papers, and a letter from the Deputy Director of the Hanoi Obstetrics Hospital to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, mentioning the circumstances of her birth mother. She kept all of these carefully.
Those were small pieces of the puzzle among thousands of unanswered questions. But from those trembling lines, the desire to meet her biological mother once again urged her to move forward.
Kim Hoa began her journey to find her mother, visiting two addresses listed on her papers: Nguyen Trai Commune (Thuong Tin District, former Ha Son Binh Province, now part of Hanoi) and Pho Lu (Bao Thang District, former Hoang Lien Son Province, now part of Lao Cai). She went to the police headquarters, the People's Committee, and asked every resident in the area in the hope of finding clues.
She also sent a request for support to the Central Maternity Hospital - where she was born, asked the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to forward the request to the Vietnam Adoption Department, and posted information on the media and social networks to call for help from the community. However, to date, that journey has not had any specific results.
Facing many difficulties with language, unfamiliarity with administrative procedures and local culture, the girl with Swedish nationality - many times fell into a state of confusion and helplessness.
"I met many good people who helped me find information about the mother named Hoan, who gave birth in 1990 in Thuong Tin, and about the people from Thuong Tin who moved to Lao Cai to live and work, but there were still no clues about my mother," Kim Hoa shared.
Hoa always longed to find her biological mother, just to know that she was still healthy (Photo: Character provided).
At the end of 2023, in a special event, Kim Hoa met Johan Thyr - another Vietnamese person who was also adopted to Sweden. Hearing her story, Johan was inspired and decided to find his birth family himself. Just one day after returning to the village listed on his birth certificate, thanks to the support of the local police, Johan found his mother and extended family - who had been waiting for him for more than 30 years.
Hoa said she was very happy for her fellow countryman, happy to have contributed a small part in Johan's journey to find his roots. But that joy also aroused a deep sadness in her: After all her efforts, she still had not found any trace of her biological mother.
However, for Kim Hoa, Vietnam will always be her homeland. She was born in Hanoi, and although she is not fluent in Vietnamese, she believes it is the language that runs in her veins.
She felt better eating Vietnamese food, living in the tropical climate, light and rain. Here, among people who looked like her, she found peace of mind. She longed to know where she came from, to find her roots and to become a true part of Vietnamese society.
Kim Hoa also sent a message to her biological mother - if she could hear. She thanked her mother for giving her a safe, fulfilling and loving life. She affirmed that she would never invade her mother's privacy, respecting all boundaries, including silence. To her, just a little information about her mother was the whole world.
Information about Ms. Kim Hoa Hof
Place of birth: Hanoi Maternity Hospital
Birth name: Nguyen Kim Hoa
Born at 5:30 a.m. on July 10, 1990, weighing 3,200g, with birth number 81.
Mother: Nguyen Thi Hoan, 18 years old, address at Pho Lu, Bao Thang, Hoang Lien Son province, or address at Nguyen Trai commune, Thuong Tin district, Ha Son Binh province.
Readers with any information about Kim Hoa Hof's (or Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa) family in Vietnam, please contact the online newspaper 's hotline. People's Intelligence .
Hanoi Hotline: 0973-567-567
Hotline HCMC: 0974-567-567
Email: [email protected]
![[Photo] Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife visit Hanoi University of Science and Technology](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/5/27/267b6f2bdf3e46439f081b49f6ec26b1)
![[Photo] Hungarian President begins official visit to Vietnam](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/5/27/ab75a654c6934572a4f1a566ac63ce82)
Comment (0)