Teacher Nguyen Xuan Khang took a photo with 22 children in Lang Nu that he adopted to mark the day "grandfather and grandchild recognized each other" - Photo: VINH HA
When the flood swept through Lang Nu (Bao Yen, Lao Cai ), it swept away 39 households, killing many people. Some surviving children lost their homes and loved ones.
Officially become a "grandfather"
Teacher Nguyen Xuan Khang was the first person to announce that he would adopt all the children in Lang Nu until they turned 18 years old.
Teacher Khang sent a working group to Lang Nu to verify, make a list of children and start sending monthly funds at the rate of 3 million VND/child. Among these, the two youngest children were born in 2021, the oldest was born in 2007.
He once shared with Tuoi Tre that although there were previous community projects that cost much more money, he did not feel as anxious or worried as the Lang Nu children's raising project because this was a human issue.
Once you have decided to raise your grandchildren and consider yourself their "grandfather", you cannot just give them money and fulfill your responsibility.
What he worries about most is how those children will grow up and study, especially those who have lost both parents.
And he set out for Lang Nu on a cold winter day. He confided that since 2018 he had not gone anywhere outside of Hanoi , but this time he had to go.
At the memorial site for those who died in the flash flood, Mr. Khang met Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim, mother of Khanh Ngan – one of the two youngest children he had adopted. The young mother saw him and tears streamed down her cheeks.
She told the teacher: “I told my daughter that grandpa was coming to visit and now we have two grandpas. She was very excited.” Kim and baby Khanh Ngan were swept away by the flood but were luckily rescued.
Visiting the children's home in Lang Nu, Mr. Khang invited the children's relatives to attend the meeting so that "grandfather and grandson can officially recognize each other".
For him, “recognizing each other” is not simply about providing child support, but he wants to become a real relative of the children, discussing and solving problems that occur in their lives until they grow up. “Next summer, I plan to invite all the children to Hanoi.
For children who still have parents, I will invite them, their grandparents, and their homeroom teachers. I will take care of everyone's food and accommodation for about a week, and let the children and their relatives visit Uncle Ho's mausoleum and famous sights in Hanoi," Mr. Khang told the children's relatives.
Teacher Nguyen Xuan Khang talks with a female student in the English teacher training project for Meo Vac ( Ha Giang )
The photo and the special "commitment"
All along the way, Mr. Khang held a small box. On the outside of the box was written the words “Sir, take care of your health, I will study hard”. Inside the box was a commitment, a ballpoint pen to sign and an ink stamp to “mark”.
The teacher said that it was a commitment of 23 grandparents and grandchildren. The children pledged to be good, and the grandfather pledged to stay healthy. During the meeting with the children on the afternoon of December 22, the grandparents and grandchildren signed or fingerprinted (for illiterate children) the commitment to work together.
He kept a record of the birthdays of his 23 grandchildren to remember together, and he believed that this would help him bond more with the children.
“This time I went to Lang Nu, I wanted to take a souvenir photo of the 23 grandparents and grandchildren when I came here. And I want 15 years later, when the two youngest children here, Gia Han and Khanh Ngan, turn 18 years old, I can take them back to Hanoi to take a photo of all 23 grandparents and grandchildren.
At that time, my children and I were still sitting in the same position as in the photo taken today. The two photos mark the changes, the maturity of the children and I hope to be able to fulfill my commitment to "stay healthy" to live until then, to see all the children grow up" - Mr. Khang shared.
Strive to take a photo together in 15 years
Confiding in his “grandchildren”, Mr. Khang said: “Since having 22 more grandchildren, I have been more conscious of taking care of my health and eating a little more. Although I know it is not easy to stay healthy, I want to strive to be in the group photo in 15 years when my grandchildren are grown up.”
"Grandpa" just had another grandchild Lang Nu
In fact, the first child was adopted by Mr. Khang from September 2024, the other children were adopted by him and provided monthly money from October 2024.
On the evening of December 22, when leaving Lang Nu, Mr. Xuan Khang discovered that Lang Nu had another child who was not on the list of children he was taking care of. This child was sick and did not go to school, so when he checked the list, his name was not on it. A journalist discovered this and shared it with him.
He immediately contacted the child's mother and offered to adopt the child like the other 22 children, and decided to let the child receive the back pay for the previous 3 months. So far, Mr. Xuan Khang has adopted 23 children in Lang Nu.
Teacher Nguyen Xuan Khang touched the board with the names of the people of Lang Nu who died in the flood in September, including children. He was in tears.
Nguyen Van Hanh (left) and Hoang Xuan Phuc (right) came to welcome their grandfather Xuan Khang in Lang Nu Moi. Hanh is the oldest of the children Mr. Khang has adopted and is also the first child he contacted, expressing his desire to accept the boy as his grandson when Hanh was injured and still lying in the hospital bed.
Teacher Khang talked with Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim, mother of Ha Khanh Ngan, born in 2021 in the old Lang Nu area, where there are still traces of the flood that wiped out many houses. Ms. Kim and her daughter were also swept away and were fortunately saved. During the conversation, Teacher Khang told the young mother to try to let her child study for a long time and he will accompany the child until she is 18 years old.
Teacher Khang visited Hoang Xuan Phuc's new home. In the new Nu Village, children who no longer have parents are registered as household heads and their names are attached to the house number right at the entrance. In the photo, Phuc (right) and Bao, Phuc's younger brother (left) are talking to his grandfather Xuan Khang. Bao innocently tells him about the healing wounds on his head, limbs and hands. Bao is also one of the children who was seriously injured and had to be sent to Viet Duc Hospital (Hanoi) for long-term treatment.
Teacher Khang and baby Gia Han, born in 2021, are two of the youngest children he has adopted.
Khanh Ngan's father and his child "pointed" to the child's name box in the "Grandfather-Grandchild Promise". The promise includes two contents: Every December 22nd, the grandfather and the grandchildren take photos and send them to each other to know each other's health and maturity. And on December 22nd, 2039, that is, 15 years later, the 90-year-old grandfather and the two youngest grandchildren will turn 18, all will meet in Hanoi to take a photo similar to the photo of the grandfather and grandchildren taken on December 22nd, 2024 recently. At Lang Nu, the grandfather and grandchildren both signed the promise. The two youngest children who cannot read yet "pointed" to each other with their parents.
The box containing the “promise” was inscribed with the words “Grandpa, take care of your health, I will study hard”. At the meeting with the children in Lang Nu, he said that since having 22 more children, he has been more conscious of taking care of his health. Although he knows that it is not easy to stay healthy at his age, he wants to strive to be in the reunion photo with his children in 15 years and witness them grow up.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thay-khang-di-gap-cac-chau-noi-o-lang-nu-20241223090000169.htm
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