The hearts of godmothers

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They did not give birth to them, but they loved, cared for and raised them as if they were their own flesh and blood. They were godmothers, ordinary women with great unconditional love in their hearts.

After the Covid-19 pandemic, the name Dao Thi Thanh An (former President of the Women's Union of Nguyen Viet Khai commune, now Vice President of the Women's Union of Cai Doi Vam commune) was mentioned more often not only in the province but also on national television. She is often invited as an honored guest in programs sharing about the union's work and the local women's movement.

Ms. An personally brought new school year gifts to visit and give to the children of Ms. Vo Thi Truc, Tan Hung B hamlet.

When we met her again, she still smiled gently: "I'm so shy to be in the newspaper all the time"! But then she agreed to meet us. Ms. An shared: One of the core tasks of the Association is to mobilize and support women to develop their economy and escape poverty sustainably. For that purpose, over the years, the Women's Union of Cai Doi Vam commune has always strived to support women. In particular, the godmother program launched by the Central Association, from the end of October 2021, implemented according to the instructions of the Central Association, families whose fathers and mothers died due to Covid-19, poor families who do not have the conditions to study, do not have the conditions to take care of the children, the Women's Union of the commune asked for the opinion of the local authorities, visited and met and discovered that there were many children in difficult circumstances and orphans in the area.

Initially, the Association supported 6 children whose fathers died due to Covid-19 and at the end of 2021, the Provincial Women's Union expanded the sponsorship program for children who lost their fathers or mothers but whose families were in difficulty, not only because of the impact of Covid-19. This is a volunteer program that the Commune Women's Union coordinated with local authorities, sectors, organizations, and the community to join hands to help the children. By the end of 2024, the Commune Women's Union had sponsored 36 children. Every month, the Association receives support for rice, necessities, and at the beginning of the school year, supports clothes and school bags so that the children are qualified to go to school.

Returning to the house she used to help, Ms. Vo Thi Truc, Tan Hung B hamlet, welcomed us from afar, with a gentle smile: "Without Ms. An, my mother and I would not be where we are today."

Going back in time to the time of the epidemic, Truc and her husband worked for hire in Binh Duong , the epidemic swept through, her husband got sick and died. In a foreign land, she held her husband's ashes, but was unable to return home due to social distancing. Her three children were sent to their grandmother in the countryside. At that time, Truc was really desperate, luckily An connected with a volunteer group, during the trips transporting aid to Binh Duong, An learned of Truc's whereabouts and prepared paperwork, stating her situation to ask for Truc to return home to her children.

Ms. An recalls: “When I picked her up, the thatched house they had built before was almost collapsed, inside was only a table made of rotten bamboo. But Truc was still holding an old backpack. I asked: why didn’t you put that backpack down? Truc quietly took out the urn of her husband’s ashes from the backpack and gently placed it on the rickety table. We were all stunned!”

Faced with Truc's difficult situation, An mobilized donors to donate 60 million VND to rebuild the house for Truc so that she could bring her children back to live with her. An also received sewing goods for Truc to process to earn more income. She then introduced Truc to the Women's Group in the hamlet, and then joined the cooking group so that Truc could help take care of her family.

Ms. An took care of Ms. Truc's three children and took care of their education. In this new school year, the oldest child is in 12th grade, the second is in 9th grade, and the youngest is in 8th grade.

Ms. Truc happily said: “Ms. An has provided all the children with school bags, books, and notebooks. Now I try to go to work to earn money to cover my living expenses.”

Not disappointing Ms. An's expectations, Ms. Truc's three children are all excellent students, well-behaved. After school, they stay home to help with housework and take care of each other so that Ms. Truc can go to work with peace of mind.

Not letting down Ms. An's care, Ms. Truc's children always try to study and study very well.

According to Ms. An, since the merger of the commune, the Women's Union of Cai Doi Vam commune has received 7 more children. Up to now, the Women's Union of the commune has sponsored 43 children. "At the beginning of the new school year, we have mobilized generous donors to support the children with books and school bags. Of the 43 children, 39 are finishing all grades, 4 are still in preschool. From the godmother program, many generous donors near and far have provided material support to help families rise up, overcome the pain of losing loved ones, and rise up in life. Many families have risen up on their own or learned a trade locally, have stable jobs, and are able to provide for their children's education," Ms. An said.

Following Ms. An, we went to a cheap boarding house near the commune's administrative center, where a nearly 3-year-old girl was waiting for us. Seeing Ms. An from afar, she ran to call her foster mother. For children who have lacked their mother's arms since childhood, when another arm hugs them, they think that is their mother. Her mouth always says: "I want to go with my foster mother, I love my foster mother!". Hearing that makes me feel sad.

The boy's mother died while selling lottery tickets. He currently lives with his two brothers. The older brother is 18 years old and works for a seafood company, while the younger brother just finished 5th grade.

She said: “Whenever I ran out of money and my brother hadn’t received his salary yet, I would borrow money from my father and his wife next door to buy food for me. When my brother got his salary, I would pay him back. Whenever we ran out of money, the three of us would cook rice and fry it to eat.”

Saying goodbye to Ms. An when the afternoon sun had faded, I carried with me the clear eyes of the children who called that woman “foster mother” and the stories that had not yet been told. Even though they were not related by blood, did not live in the same house, and were not bound by any obligations, they still chose to love.

Ms. An said: “We will report to the leaders about the difficult circumstances of homeless children in the area, so that we can continue to adopt them. We only hope that the children will have a full childhood, without feeling inferior or being forgotten.”

Ms. An and two children in a cramped rented room.

From unconditional love and silent sharing, the “Godmother” program has become a solid support for dozens of children in difficult circumstances in Cai Doi Vam commune. Although not related by blood, the godmothers still silently send love and give wings to their dreams to continue flying far. It is that human love that has helped them overcome the pain of loss, firmly step on the journey of learning and growing up. Because just an open arm, a loving heart, the future of a child can be completely different.

Diamond - Phong Nguyen

Source: https://baocamau.vn/tam-long-nhung-nguoi-me-do-dau-a121277.html