Everyone is born with a destiny. Hower, that of Mrs Hoang Thi Dua in the poor hamlet of Thuy Xuan Town, Thua Thien Hue Province is truly sad.  The poor family includes 5 children. The two oldest daughters have married and are living far away from home. One of the other children was born with a mental illness.

At 49 years old, Ngo Minh Trang still behaves like a child.  Everyday she only laughs, talks and cries to herself. Luckily, Trang was very kind and rarely makes Mrs Dua and her husband worry about her. The two sons, their wives and children live next door work for hire and do small trades, while struggling to obtain their next meal. Sadly an accident caused the first son to suffer from an spinal injury. The family has one more member perennially in bed and unable to work. For Mrs. Dua, after 3 strokes and 2 years of lying on her bed like this, Mrs Dua only worries for the old husband and her children having to take care of her. Everyday is the same. She only knows of the four walls and the small bed. All of her personal activities depended on her over-80-years-old husband and her nearby children when they are free. Though she cannot speak, Mrs Dua, this poor soul, seems tells us a lot with her eyes. The eyes tell of the wish to recover, to see her children suffer less because of her; of the expectation of an escape from the persistent poverty traps and the unforunates dealt by Fate. Mr Ngo Nghiem, Mrs Dua’s husband, is over 80 years old this year. Previously, he could do some garden work or hired work. For the past two years, he suffered the Zona disease in his head so he can only stay at home to take care of the food and water for his wife. For years, living temporarily in the perimeter of the temple of forefathers, Mr Nghiem and Mrs Dua lived in the love and protection of the neighbors in the poor hamlet.
Every day in this small house we can observe the old husband taking care of his wife who is perennially on bed and the diseased children. Trees and wild grass have grown to over a man’s height without anyone caring. The most important thing for him now is to have enough meals to live through the day and to see his wife and children recover.
It has been 6 months since the information on Mrs Hoang Thi Dua’s case has reached the office. On the behalf of the sponsors, OGCDC paid for her medicine, for doctors to examine her weekly and for her living fees. Mrs Dua’s condition has improved and the pains have subsided. She can even sit up for a short while now.  We hope that she would continue to progress even more and the life for Mr Nghiem, her husband, would be less tough. We would like to take this chance to express our profound gratitude the sponsors for their generous donations. Without such help, Mrs Dua’s improved condition and the better life her family is leading now would not have been possible