Heartbreaking situation of Mrs. Thanh and her children

In Quarter 7, Ward 5, Dong Ha City, many people are familiar with the image of Mrs. Dinh Thi Thanh (born in 1945) who every morning takes her bicycle everywhere to collect scrap metal and scrap paper. At the age of 80, she should be resting and enjoying her children and grandchildren, but harsh challenges continue to come, making her shoulders thinner due to the burden of making a living.

At the age of 80, Ms. Thanh still has to collect scrap metal to earn money to cover her family's living expenses - Photo: TT

For Ms. Thanh, there is no greater pain than the pain of “the old seeing off the young”. Yet, cruelly, she herself has had to endure that pain not just once, but four times in her life. Her three remaining children are all grown up, but two of them have settled down far away, and life in a foreign land is not easy to make a living and to be able to regularly return to take care of their mother. Therefore, Ms. Thanh currently lives with her youngest son, who is 50 years old, and three school-age grandchildren.

Previously, the main source of income for the small family depended on the little money from the youngest son's watch repair job. Understanding her son's hardships, despite her old age and poor health, Mrs. Thanh still diligently pushes her old bicycle through the streets and alleys of the city every day, picking up every bottle and piece of scrap paper.

Although their material life was still lacking, their home at that time was still filled with love and sharing. When the painful losses of the past had gradually subsided, in 2022, Ms. Thanh once again suffered a huge shock when her youngest son - the economic pillar of the family - suddenly discovered he had nasopharyngeal cancer.

Seeing her son in pain after each round of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, her heart, which seemed to have become hardened, began to “bleed”. “Every day, seeing my son in pain, unable to talk or eat like everyone else, I could not hold back my tears. Normally, I did not have much money, but now all the money is spent on medicine for my son.

"Loving my children and worrying that they will have to drop out of school, despite the pain all over my body, I still try to go to work to earn money to pay for it," Ms. Thanh confided. At the age of 80, minor illnesses can easily knock this poor mother down. So, for nearly a month now, her declining health has forced her to stay at home, helplessly watching the burden of life pile up. Her family can only rely on the care and support of the local government, organizations, and the kindness of kind individuals and organizations.

Speaking to reporters, Chairman of the Red Cross Society of Ward 5, Dong Ha City, Dieu Van Ha, said that Ms. Thanh's family is one of the few families in particularly difficult circumstances in the ward. "Over the past years, despite local support, the lives of her and her children have still been difficult. I hope that her family will receive more attention and support from charitable organizations and individuals inside and outside the province," said Mr. Ha.

Thao Trang

All support for Mrs. Dinh Thi Thanh's family, please send to Quang Tri Newspaper, 311 Hung Vuong - Dong Ha City (Tel: 0919001317) or transfer to account: Quang Tri Newspaper, account number: 0771000000456 at Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam - Quang Tri Branch or send directly to the families at the address: Mrs. Dinh Thi Thanh, Quarter 7, Ward 5, Dong Ha City, Quang Tri Province.

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/xot-xa-hoan-canh-cua-me-con-ba-thanh-193698.htm