Mother died, father left, 17 year old girl became the support for 3 younger siblings and today goes to university

Her mother died and her father left. Although she was not yet 18 years old, the orphaned girl Nguyen Nu Kieu Oanh had to "grow up" quickly to raise her three younger siblings. And now Oanh is confidently entering university.

Orphaned student Nguyen Nu Kieu Oanh (English major, Duy Tan University, Da Nang ) cuts bamboo shoots to cook for the children - Photo: NHAT LINH

The day her mother passed away, Oanh secretly looked at her three young siblings and cried. She thought she would have to give up her dream of becoming a university student to find a job to help her mother raise her siblings.

Being an older sister, "mother" to younger siblings

The Willpower of the Orphaned Storks of Hue

In the blazing afternoon sun, the makeshift house of Kieu Oanh and her sisters located at the end of the road leading to Dien Dai village (Phu Xuan commune, Phu Vang district, Thua Thien Hue province) was sweltering hot.

Glancing at the clock, it was lunchtime, Oanh hurried down to the kitchen, grabbed a small knife and went straight to the wild bamboo bush in front of the house. Quickly cutting each young bamboo shoot that had just emerged from the ground, the young girl skillfully peeled the skin off the bamboo shoots to stir-fry with fat for lunch for her siblings.

Since her mother passed away, Kieu Oanh has been used to taking care of her three younger siblings single-handedly, from food to sleep.

18 years ago, Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich (Oanh's mother) had an unfulfilling marriage with a man from the same hometown.

After Kieu Oanh and Nguyen Nu Kieu Linh (Oanh's second sister, 16 years old this year) were born, that man left Oanh and her mother without saying goodbye.

In 2018, Ms. Bich decided to "adopt a child" (the child's father is unknown - PV) and then gave birth to Nguyen Nu Kieu Nhu and in 2021 gave birth to Nguyen Nu Kieu Na (2 years old).

After giving birth to Kieu Na, Ms. Bich suffered from severe postpartum depression and in a moment of despair committed suicide, leaving her children alone in the world.

The time the bad news came was when Kieu Oanh was preparing to take the final exam of grade 12 and prepare for the life exam for university entrance.

The mental shock of losing her only support, her mother, made Oanh think she could not recover.

Since her mother passed away, Nguyen Nu Kieu Oanh had to "grow up" quickly to become a father and mother to raise her younger siblings - Photo: NHAT LINH

Thanks to the encouragement of her family and friends, Kieu Oanh decided to continue her studies. Oanh threw herself into books and devoted all her mind to studying for the university entrance exam as if to forget the sadness of her mother's absence.

As a result, Oanh passed the English language entrance exam at Duy Tan University (Da Nang City) with a score of 22.

On the day she went to the city to start school, her 80-year-old grandmother gave Oanh more than 10 million VND, which was charity money that villagers donated and gave as condolences at her mother's funeral.

Orphaned Luck Goes to College

Sharing the same orphanage fate as Kieu Oanh, the life of new student Tran Van Loc (Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry) is also a sad note.

The small, dilapidated house on the slope of acacia hill in Huong Ho ward (Hue city) of Loc's family used to be filled with laughter.

New student Tran Van Loc (Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry) goes to the forest to collect firewood to cook lunch - Photo: NHAT LINH

Then one day, Loc received news that his father had gone missing while working at a livestock farm in Dak Lak province. It turned out that Loc's father had been involved in gambling and owed a huge amount of money. The man had to disappear to avoid debt without leaving any message to his family.

Just a short time later, on the day Loc took the math exam at school, Loc's mother also quietly packed her bags and left, leaving her four children with their grandmother and cutting off all contact. That was the biggest shock in Loc's life up to now, when Loc's four siblings were forced to become orphans.

The news that Loc had been admitted to the aquaculture department at Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry was like a bolt from the blue to Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thu Hong (Loc's grandmother). She felt sorry for her determined grandson, but also worried about where she would get the money to send Loc to school when her health was gradually deteriorating.

Not giving up in the face of poverty, after entering school, Loc rushed to find a part-time job and is currently working as a waiter at a restaurant in Hue City. The small salary from his job as a waiter gives Loc more opportunities to continue pursuing his studies.

The common point of these two orphans from Hue is that they were both pushed into a harsh life by fate, rejected by their relatives, and had to grow up quickly to replace their parents as the support for their younger siblings. However, the two young people did not surrender to fate.

They know that the sweat and tears on the path to conquering letters today will return a good future for the children and themselves.

Supporting 72 disadvantaged students of Thua Thien Hue

This afternoon, October 20, Tuoi Tre newspaper coordinated with Thua Thien Hue Provincial Youth Union to organize the ceremony to award the "Tiep suc den truong" scholarship to 72 new students with difficult circumstances in Thua Thien Hue. This is the fifth awarding point in the "Tiep suc den truong" scholarship program in 2023 for new students, under the 571st " For tomorrow development" program of Tuoi Tre newspaper. Nguyen Nu Kieu Oanh and Tran Van Loc were awarded special scholarships of the program. In addition to new students from Thua Thien Hue, the program also awarded 14 scholarships to new students with difficult circumstances from Quang Ngai who are studying in Da Nang and Hue.

Tuoitre.vn