Be A Guardian: Le Trinh Hoang Oanh

We visited Hoang Oanh’s home, where she currently lives with her father, grandmother and younger brother in the R312 flat of the apartments on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street. Oanh’s mother was seriously ill since giving birth to the second child.

Although the family tried their best for her medical treatments but they could not manage to pull it through. Since then, situation in the family had gotten worse, and they had to move from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, so that Oanh’s grandmother could look after the two children. Oanh’s father is currently working as a the painter of advertisement boards in Ho Chi Minh City, so it had been a long time that he could go back home to visit his children. Fortunately, our members had a chance to meet him last Sunday. It is sad for every one of us to witness the fact that when we asked him about Oanh’s condition, he said, “you better ask her grandmother, because the place that I worked at is quite far away from home, it is very rare that i have the chance to come back here. Although I know about her condition, it is not the details that I know about”. It is clear that Oanh has a father but she was lacking the attention and care. Afterwards, we met Oanh’s grandmother. She is an old woman, wrinkles just added on the tiredness on her bony face. Everyday morning, she had to wake up at 4h30 a.m to pull the fishing nets for other people in order to earn money to take care of the two siblings. We felt sad and uncomfortable to witness the fact of an old woman having to work so hard. Righteously, she should be the one who receive intensive care.

While talking to us about the family situation, she was crying and sincerely thanked GFO, Although it was not that much, the 400 000 VND was the helping fund to the family. It was used to pay the school fees for the siblings (they still owed 3 months school fees), buy 20kg of rice (the last few weeks, she didn’t go to work as it was stormy, so the family had to eat sweet potatoes for a few days). Inside the house, there was nothing valuable, even the bicycle that she borrowed for Oanh to go to school, has also broken. During the stormy days, seeing the siblings go to school on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street (which runs along the beach side), she felt very painful and sad.

After the visit to Oanh’s family, our members saw the following difficulties that the siblings were facing:
+ According to Oanh’s grandmother, Oanh needs a lamp to study at night. Oanh is shortsighted, one eye is 2.5dp, the other is 2.0dp and she has been wearing the glassed for one year without any re-check up.
+ Besides, Oanh needs a bicycle so that she can ride her brother to school in rainy days, as her house is quite far from school.
+ Oanh needs helps and guidance in order for her to catch up with classmates.

With the sponsorship of 400 000 VND,Oanh’s family situation has improved on a great scale. With 400 000 VND, Oanh’s grandmother could buy rice grains to store for one whole month and bought a bicycle for Oanh to travel during these rainy days. Oanh and brother also received 1000 VND for breakfast, which seems to be a small amount for other people but it is extremely precious for Oanh’s family.

When we asked about what they spent the money on, Oanh’s grandmother said, “Upon receiving 400 000 VND, I immediately went to buy rice stock, it is our first priority. If I go to work, hopefully it would be a nice day for fishing , there would be better food for the kids. I could not stand to see them starving. The rest of the money was used to pay up the debt from their school fee. Moreover, I also gave each one of them 1000 VND for breakfast so that they could buy a loaf of bread or a packet of sticky rice to go to school. I really thank you for your help; without it, I don’t know how bad the situation would be!”. The grandmother also shared with us that because of having the fund; she could stay at home in stormy days, not having to go to work. She said, “I am already old, if i tried to go to work in those stormy days, I might get sick while we don’t have money for medicine”.

Through this occasion, the poor grandmother also sincerely thanked GFO in helping to improve the living standard of the family.

By asking Oanh’s course tutor at school, we know that Oanh has improved in her study. When she just entered the course, her results weren’t good, but in recent months, Oanh has improved tremendously in dictation, Mathematics and other subjects.

To be translated.

Little Oanh is living with her grandmother and her younger brother in an apartment for low income earners. Her mother passed away after giving birth to her younger brother. Her father has remarried, but he is also quite poor, so Oanh’s grandmother has to take care of Oanh and her brother. Previously, her grandmother made quilt and pillow covers to earn money, but there has been no order recently so she has to switch to other jobs. One of those jobs is peeling onions and garlic, for which she is paid 15,000 VND (0.8 USD) for every 10 Kg of peeled onions and garlic. The task normally takes her around 2 days to complete, so she also takes care of a little girl for her neighbour to earn just 200,000 VND (12 USD) per month, so their financial situation is really difficult. She can barely earn enough for their daily expenses and to buy necessary stuffs for Oanh and her brother. As she cannot afford their school fees, she has to ask the school to waive those fees, citing her financial difficulties. The family has to minimize their use of water and electricity, as those payments cannot be delayed for too long. Their meals are very simple, with boiled vegetable and dried fish. Sometimes they have to eat porridge as there is not enough rice. Despite all those difficulties, Oanh’s grandmother still keeps telling us that they are more fortunate than those who have nothing to eat at all. Oanh’s brother was attending extra tuition class at school for 30,000 VND (1.6 USD) per month, while Oanh studied at home by herself. Fortunately, a teacher in the same block knew about their situation and felt really compassionate, so he allowed Oanh to attend extra tuition classes for free. Before the start of the school year, Oanh’s grandmother has to ask around to find out whether any neighbour has old textbooks for sale. She also asks for old clothes that her neighbours no longer use, and then fixes them for her grandchildren. During the last camp in Danang, Oanh was given some garments to make school uniforms, but her grandmother does not have enough money to pay for sewing. They are also short of notebooks for their new school year. Every time they need to buy something, the family needs to cut down on their already very simple meals to save money. Their lives are difficult, and their grandmother is getting older and older. With her old age, it’s very difficult for her to find a stable job with regular income. Oanh is a calm girl who always takes good care of her younger brother. Besides trying her best to study well, she also helps her grandmother with her odd jobs to earn more money for her family. As she cannot afford to attend extra tuition classes, Oanh needs some reference books so that she can study at home by herself