After 30 years, a French father traveled 10,000 km to bring his daughter to Ho Chi Minh City to find her mother.

One day in mid-February, we had an appointment with French man Philippe Tougeron (61 years old) and his Vietnamese daughter Oriane Mai Anh Tougeron (30 years old) in a coffee shop on Truong Dinh Street (District 1), not far from the hotel where the father and daughter were staying.

Vu Thi Hang Nga, where are you, mother?

The appointment took place not long after the 10,000 km flight of Mr. Philippe and his son from France to Ho Chi Minh City, carrying with them a deep desire to "find a mother for their child". Outside, the streets of Ho Chi Minh City were bustling, inside the coffee shop, Mr. Philippe was pensively telling the story of his family.

Frenchman Philippe Tougeron took his Vietnamese-origin daughter Oriane Mai Anh back to Vietnam to find her biological mother.

PHOTO: CAO AN BIEN

It all started in 1994, when a French couple traveled to Vietnam to adopt a child, because he and his wife could not have children. Fate arranged for little Vu Thi Mai Anh to come into the lives of the kind French couple.

According to the records that her father still kept, Mai Anh was born on December 30, 1994 at Tan Binh Maternity Hospital. The birth certificate clearly stated extremely important information about her biological mother.

Mai Anh's mother, Vu Thi Hang Nga, was born in 1976 and works as a seamstress. She temporarily resides at 72 Sao Mai, Ward 6 (Tan Binh District). She gave birth to Mai Anh at 3:35 p.m., and the baby girl weighed 2.6 kg.

Adoption profile with information about Mai Anh's biological mother

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY FAMILY

In the records of Kindergarten 2 at that time, Mai Anh's story was recounted in detail, as follows: On December 31, 1994, Ms. Vu Thi Hang Nga, born in 1976, brought to our nursery a baby girl born on December 30, 1994 (with birth certificate attached).

Due to her family's circumstances, she was unable to raise the child and so the school took care of and decided on the child. We would like to ask you to allow the child to be admitted to Kindergarten 2 so that he can enjoy all the benefits like other abandoned infants.

Attached to Mai Anh's adoption file is a paper giving birth to her child, fingerprinted by Ms. Vu Thi Hang Nga on December 30, 1994, with the mother's emotional sharing:

My name is Vu Thi Hang Nga, 18 years old, gave birth to a baby girl at Tan Binh maternity hospital on December 30, 1994. Due to difficult family circumstances, I cannot raise the baby. So now I agree to let Kindergarten 2 take care of the baby. I promise not to cause any difficulties for the school...

Ms. Vu Thi Hang Nga, Mai Anh's biological mother

Oriane Mai Anh lives a new life in France

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY FAMILY

Not long after, the baby girl born by Hang Nga was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Philippe and lived a beautiful new life in France with the name Oriane Mai Anh Tougeron.

The child came to him and his wife as a gift that made their life happier, the house filled with laughter. They were truly happy to become parents and also aware of their responsibility in taking care of a child.

If there was one thing to say to mom…

Not only adopting Oriane, in 1997, Mr. Philippe and his wife also adopted a Vietnamese son born in Vung Tau to "bring joy to the family" and for their daughter to have a younger sibling. That was Maxime. The whole family grew up happily and loved each other.

Having another adopted Vietnamese son is a wonderful thing for Mr. Philippe's family.

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY FAMILY

Oriane said that her childhood was wonderful, living in the love of her French adoptive parents, who gave her the best things. "Our family kept in touch and visited my brother's Vietnamese family many times. It was the bond between the two families that also inspired me to want to find my birth mother and my Vietnamese family," Oriane expressed.

Even though since childhood, Oriane never intended to find her biological family. However, at this age, when receiving the question from her father: "Do you want to find your biological mother? If you agree, I am willing to go back to Vietnam with you to find your roots", the French girl of Vietnamese origin thought a lot.

Finally, the girl really decided to find her mother. Although she returned to Vietnam many times, Oriane's journey became more special when she and her father first found her biological mother.

Mr. Philippe is proud of his children.

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY FAMILY

Oriane has a happy life in France

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY FAMILY

"If you had one thing to say to your birth mother in this article, what would you say?", hearing me ask, Oriane became emotional. The French girl did not speak English well, trying to type the words on the translation app on her phone, but the emotion made her hands stiff. Seeing this, the French father comforted his daughter, helping her calm down. "I really understand why my mother abandoned me and I will not blame her for that!", Oriane shared.

Check the address on file, any news?

The French girl's journey to find her mother, besides the help of her adoptive father, also had the companionship of kind Vietnamese people, Mr. Huynh Tan Sinh, currently living in France, and Ms. Tran Thi Thu Huong (49 years old), currently working in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the mother's address, Ms. Huong went to inquire about information. "However, over time, the house number in the file was changed to a new number. People living in the house and those around said that the house had been owned by many generations, including the owner who had settled abroad," Ms. Huong added.

The father hopes to find his child's biological mother during his stay in Ho Chi Minh City.

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY FAMILY/CAO AN BIEN

Mr. Sinh and Mrs. Huong hope that if Ms. Vu Thi Hang Nga or anyone she knows reads this information, please contact the French girl so she can be reunited with her biological family.

Anyone with information about Ms. Vu Thi Hang Nga, please contact phone number: 0932.387.137 (contact Ms. Huong). The French girl's family is extremely grateful!

Mr. Philippe confided that his two adopted children of Vietnamese origin are the great pride of his life. Raising two children from a young age, now that they are grown up, have stable jobs and are filial to their adoptive parents makes him happy.