Ever since her husband passed away, Phan Thi Tat struggled to raise her five children and now, at the age of 81, she still has a worry. That her young grandson Loi.

Phan Thi Tat and her grandson Loi

Three of her five children are blind, one is nearly blind, and one is fortunate enough to have normal vision. She put a lot of hope in Le Toan and his ability to see.

After Toan got married, he wanted to move to the Central Highlands and hoped to have a better life there. Toan has 3 children, and Loi is one of them. His daughter tragically drowned in a well and his other son is now staying with his uncle in Daklak Province. After the death of his daughter, his wife could not bear the pain of losing her child and committed suicide.

Toan married again 2 years ago and Loi was often mistreated by his step-mother when Toan wasn\'t around. One time, when Loi was taken to his hometown to visit his grandmother, he insisted on staying.

Tat does not have any garden nor a rice field. She and her grandson make a living by caring for some chickens. Their earnings are not enough to buy food.

“My life is so hard that sometimes I just want to die. But if I die, who will take care of Loi? Thus, I try to live and continue asking for help from neighbours,” Tat said through her tears.

Although Tat does not have enough food everyday, she always nurtures a hope of bringing up her little grandson and that Loi can continue his schooling. “Despite asking for food to get by, I never let Loi be absent from class, not even just for one day. But I am afraid of what will happen if I\'m no longer around.”

On July 12, DTiNews visited Phan Thi Tat, living at Phu Luong B Hamlet, Quang An Commune, Quang Dien District, Thua Thien Hue Province and handed over VND5,428,600 ($286) her.

The desperate grandmother and her grandson were so touched they could not find the words to thank all the kindhearted donors who supported them.

As we came to her house, she was picking up dried firewood in front of her house. Overcome with joy, she said, “I do not know who gave us such a valuable gift. I have never had such money like this. I am really grateful to DTiNews and the Compassionate Hearts fund for helping us.”

“I will buy rice with this money and save the remaining for my grandson Loi. He does not have parents with him here. He has only me, so I have to take care of him,” added Tat.

Despite living in an impoverished condition, Tat always tries her best to raise her grandson. When she cannot find enough food for both, she gives her portion to him.

Nguyen Hien, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Quang An Commune shared, “This family is very needy. Tat has 5 children but 3 out of them are blind. Now she has to care for this little boy who is just 7. On behalf of our committee, I would like to thank DTiNews and its readers for caring about civilians living in this disadvantaged commune.”

Nguyen Hien, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Quang An Commune handed over donations from DTiNew’s/DanTri readers to Tat

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