Thanks so much to our partner in the field for this powerful, testimony straight from Vietnam
“I will spend the rest of my life to travel to look for my son”, the poor old woman said to me with her smiley eyes which rised up my incident curiosity.
More questions were made during her confidence. Her name is Huynh Thi Phuong, 71 years old. She has three sons but living alone right now. Her eldest son died in his teenage years for heart disease. The second one died six years ago also with the same reason. The old poor mother shared while her hands kept wiping the tears fighting to fall down on her weather-beaten face. “My youngest son is the only reason keeps me to live this life. The sorrow of time after time watching my dear children leaving seemed to kill me but I wasn’t satisfied to leave my youngest boy lived his invalid life lonely to death. My son is 27. He is born with cerebral palsy. He cannot talk properly but can walk limpingly. He also has mental problem so he forgets me sometimes. I can’t count how many times he left home and I had to strenuously to find him. Last year he left home again. I had to go everywhere to look for him. One day while I was wandering on a street looking on every single of its alleys like a crazy person to look for my son, I got hit by a motorbike and my kneecaps broke. I cannot walk properly since the accident. Over a month lying on the hospital bed I have tried to kill myself many times but not successful. Following the advice of the doctors and the kind patients in the same room I decided to carry on to keep looking for my little son. After leaving the hospital I tried to practise walking everyday with a feeble hope as my old age makes my bone unable to get a good recovery. Lately, people in the village told me there would be some charitable organization coming to give wheelchairs for free has inflamed the thirst of living in my heart. With a wheelchair I will keep travel to look for my son.
Thank you very much for such meaningful and giant help of your organization”.
It is so moved by the example of a piteous mother lives and dies for her children. And it’s so proud to know that our wheelchair has become a real gift of mobility and a fellow-traveler to take the poor miserable mother on over her road to look for her missing child. I said good luck to the woman, gave her a big hug and my number so that she can call to let me know when she finds her son.