Poor mother and her 2 children with cerebral palsy in need of help

Pham Thi Huong (born in 1987, Thuy Xuong Hamlet, Suoi Hiep Commune, Dien Khanh District) has three children. Unfortunately, her eldest daughter has cerebral palsy; her youngest son suffers mental retardation due to brain sequel. The burdens of earning the living and taking care of the children haven been put on Huong’s shoulder since her husband died from a traffic accident.
 

Ngoc and Quan have problems with movement and talk

Except for, Le Hoang Nghia (Huong’s second child), who is second grade pupil at Suoi Hiep 1 Primary School, the two other children of Huong are sick. Huong’s eldest daughter, Le Hong Ngoc, was born healthy in 2014. However, when she was about 8 months old, Ngoc didn’t respond to voices or sounds, couldn’t crawl, and didn’t develop normally like other children. Huong and her husband took Ngoc to Children's Hospital 2 (Ho Chi Minh City) for medical examination. She was diagnosed with growth retardation and congenital cerebral palsy. The whole family of Huong strived to have Ngoc treated, but her disease didn’t get better. Ngoc is now 9 years old but only weighs 16kg. Her legs haven’t developed, so she cannot move. She also cannot talk and requires total care for all of her physical needs.

In 2019, Huong gave birth to her youngest son, Le Hoang Quan. When Quan was 9 months old, he also showed signs of mental retardation, was unable to speak, and had weak limbs. Quan is 4 years old now but weighs just over 13kg. 

Another misery came to their family when Huong’s husband died in a traffic accident in February 2022. Huong’s husband had been the breadwinner in the family but with a meager income; Huong did the housework and took care of their sick children. Since her husband died, Huong has had to earning the living and take care of the children and her old mother-in-law alone. Their parents and relatives are also poor, so they can only offer some help with taking care of Huong’s children so that she can work as a scrap dealer to earn some money. Huong wishes to be healthy to work and look after her family.

Reportedly, Huong’s family is a poor household in Suoi Hiep Commune. The locality has also offered support to the family. Specifically, every month, Huong is offered VND360,000 for poor single mother; Ngoc is entitled to VND900,000 for a child with special severe disabilities; and Quan is entitled to VND720,000 for a child with severe disabilities. However, their circumstances still cause them a lot of difficulties. Vu Thi Thanh Tam, vice chairman of Suoi Hiep Commune People's Committee, hopes that people everywhere will offer support to help Huong’s family cope with the disadvantaged circumstances.

Support can be sent to Pham Thi Huong (tel: 0932.550106), or Khanh Hoa Newspaper office (tel: 0258.3822019) at 77 Yersin St., Nha Trang City. Support can also be sent to Khanh Hoa Newspaper’s bank account at Vietcombank Nha Trang (account number 0581000765262).

T. Dương
Translated by H.N