“Threads of love” woven from women's hands

Women's Union members of Hai Hung commune visited, gave gifts and encouraged Ms. Le Thi Oanh - Photo: TRAN TUYEN

In Hai Hung commune, there are many elderly, lonely women who are quietly living in old houses, many of them lacking both spiritually and materially. They are mothers and grandmothers who have worked hard all their lives for their husbands and children, but now their hair is gray, their limbs are weak and they have to struggle through the day alone. In houses without the laughter of their children and grandchildren, the silence becomes a sound that weighs heavily on the mind.

Faced with that reality, in 2019, when implementing the theme of the year "Safety for women and children", the Standing Committee of the Women's Union of Hai Xuan commune (now Hai Hung commune) chose the content "Safety for women in the family" to organize implementation. Through a survey of the local situation, the model "Love Day for single women" was born. Accordingly, 11 sisters in the Executive Committee of the Women's Union of the commune volunteered to sponsor 11 mothers who were single women with no place to rely on, including mothers with dementia due to old age, mothers with mental illness.

Vice President of the Women's Union of Hai Hung Commune, Nguyen Thi Hien, said that with the form of organizing regular visits and gift giving on the 2nd of every month, the model is sustainable, long-term and practical. The visits are not only an opportunity to give necessities but also an opportunity for the women to clean the houses, personal hygiene for the mothers, listen and share their feelings. All are done by the caring hands and kind hearts of the union officials. "Since April 2020, after Hai Xuan commune and Hai Vinh commune merged into Hai Hung commune, the Women's Union of the commune continued to expand the model to the entire new commune, bringing the total number of sponsored single women to 19. In particular, during the COVID-19 period, the model has been maintained regularly and flexibly in a personalized form, with each union official in charge of one mother, ensuring both epidemic prevention and not letting the elderly suffer from material and spiritual deprivation," said Ms. Hien.

One day in early April, I had the opportunity to visit Ms. Le Thi Be (89 years old) with the women of the Hai Hung Commune Women's Union. Ms. Be lost her husband nearly 20 years ago, lives alone, and has no children. The solidarity house she is living in was built in 1999 and has deteriorated over time. However, thanks to the contributions of the Commune Women's Union and philanthropists, the house has been gradually renovated, becoming safer and cleaner. The women of the Commune Women's Union visit regularly every month to chat, help her clean the house, wash clothes, and give meaningful and timely gifts. These are seemingly simple tasks but bring joy and hope to Ms. Be.

Not far away is the house of Mrs. Le Thi Oanh (90 years old). Mrs. Oanh and her husband used to have 7 children, but all of them were disabled and passed away one after another. Her husband also passed away more than 40 years ago. Living alone in a house built with support from a foreign project since 2005, Mrs. Oanh is a poor household with poor health. Every month, the Women's Union of the commune not only gives her necessities, but also supports her in repairing the house, cutting her hair, and bathing her. When we visited, she only asked the women for a blanket and some old clothes. But what she received was much greater: comfort and sharing in her old age.

Not only Mrs. Be and Mrs. Oanh, but also many other elderly, single women living scattered in the villages, in small houses in the middle of lush gardens, were visited by the women of the commune's Women's Union. When some mothers were sick and could no longer take care of themselves, the women took turns staying by their side, cleaning them, cooking porridge, feeding them, and taking them to the doctor. Some women even carried their mothers out to sit on the porch, so that their mothers could bask in the sun...

That love not only touches the recipients, but also spreads throughout the community. Many people, after witnessing the meaningful activities of the association, volunteered to contribute rice, old items, support transportation vehicles... Some young people in the village also started to join the association in visiting sessions. The model gradually became a cultural beauty, where kindness is nurtured from the simplest things.

Every 2nd of the month, in many corners of the house, you can see the eyes of old people looking out the alley, waiting for a familiar figure. That is when love becomes presence, when kindness is most clearly shown through greetings, through hot meals, through gentle hands stroking gray hair. The model of "Love Day for Single Women" has gone beyond a simple women's activity. It is a declaration of compassion, an expression of the morality of "the whole leaf covers the torn leaf", a thread connecting kind hearts with lives in need of protection. Without needing to be ostentatious, this model gently enters life with the power of perseverance and sincerity.

Chairwoman of the Hai Hung Commune Women's Union Le Thi Lien said: "The funding source to maintain the model mainly comes from the contributions of the union's loan group leaders, each person 30,000 VND/month. In addition, the union also mobilizes small traders and philanthropists inside and outside the commune to contribute more, and allocate more to the union's fund to ensure that the monthly gifts are always full and diverse. In 2024 alone, the union organized 94 visits and gave gifts with a total value of more than 18 million VND."

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of modern life, when many traditional values are at risk of fading away, meaningful and humane models like these need to be supported and spread. The Women's Union of Hai Hung commune, with its tireless care and love, has lit the fire of humanity, warming the elderly in a small corner of the peaceful countryside.

Tran Tuyen

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/soi-chi-yeu-thuong-det-tu-nhung-ban-tay-phu-nu-193607.htm