Sowing seeds of love
Tran Ha Bao Chau, an eight-year-old girl, is living in a small house in group 17, ward Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Bac Kan city, Bac Kan province. When she was three years old, her father passed away. A month later, Chau was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Knowing her situation, in 2020, the local authority supported Chau and her mother to build a “great solidarity” house. Since 2023, she has been sponsored by the Women’s Union of ward Nguyen Thi Minh Khai.
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The children visit Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. |
According to Phan Thi Na, Vice Chairwoman of Bac Kan province’s Women's Union, implementing the “Adoptive mother” program, currently, the union has sponsored about 163 orphaned children with difficult conditions. The chapters of Women's Union of the province at all levels regularly inquire after and present gifts to sponsored children while supporting them in their study and instructing them on social skills and ways to take care of themselves, among others. These deeds are seen as a great encouragement for orphaned children to overcome their difficulties to rise up in life.
The “Adoptive mother” program was launched by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Women's Union in October 2021, with the aim of supporting children orphaned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ton Ngoc Hanh, Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women's Union, affirmed that after two years, the program has been actively joined to by Women’s Union organizations of provinces, cities, and relevant units. The program has become a firm fulcrum for orphaned children throughout the country.
Moreover, many provinces and cities have pledged to support children orphaned by the COVID-19 pandemic and other orphans as well. A large number of “adoptive mothers” committed to sponsoring the orphans until they graduate from university. Especially, there have been 34 “adoptive mothers” in Europe supporting 56 disadvantaged children in all parts of the country.
Multiplying creative ways
Many units have exploited the strengths of social networking platforms to disseminate information and mobilize Women's Union members and the community to join the “Adoptive mother” program. Some units have chosen the implementation of the program as criteria for emulation.
Also, many provinces and cities have called on Vietnamese “adoptive mothers” abroad to join the program while proposing different policies to provide tuition fees and health insurance for orphaned children with difficult conditions.
In 2023, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Women’s Union coordinated with the General Department of Political Affairs to organize the Sunflower Summer Camp for orphans across the country. Meanwhile, various activities were held for orphaned children and their adoptive mothers, including a visit to Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, exchange with Viettel’s football players, the career orientation day, the gala summer camp, to name but a few.
In Ha Tinh province, the Party Committee and local authority of Huong Son district have called on enterprises, benefactors, and people living far from their hometown, and used the district's Children's Protection Fund to implement the program in an effective manner. Up to now, 59 disadvantaged orphans have been sponsored with an amount of nearly VND 800 million.
In Khanh Hoa province, in order to mobilize financial support resources, the Women’s Union organizations at all levels have sent letters to agencies, organizations and individuals; launched a program to connect adoptive mothers in the province via offline and online forms.
With high determination and creativity, nearly 1,500 orphaned children in the province have received financial support in tuition fees and scholarships, with a total value of around VND 30 billion. With love, responsibility, and sharing of the community and whole society, through the "Adoptive mother" program, many orphans have had a better life.
After more than two years, the "Adoptive mother" program has raised nearly VND 150 billion, sponsoring 27,670 orphans with difficult conditions, including more than 3,000 children orphaned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Translated by Quynh Oanh