A grandmother in Hau Giang Province is calling for help for her grandson who is suffering from tuberculous meningitis.

17-months old Nguyen Minh Khoa is being taken care of by his grandmother, Tran Thi Tu, in hospital. Tu said, "My husband died early, leaving me with three children. When two of my children got married and have their own families, I brought my mentally-ill daughter to work in a rubber plantation and do odd jobs in Binh Duong Province."

Unfortunately, Dieu's boyfriend disappeared after knowing that she became pregnant. She gave birth to Nguyen Van Hung in 2009 but refused to raise him, Tu had to take the boy back to Hau Giang.

Five years later, Dieu returned home pregnant. She said she unknowingly got into a relationship with a married man. "She gave birth to Khoa then left. I don't know how and where she is now," Tu said.

Khoa and her grandmother

Tu's other children are also poor and struggle to support their families. Tu does odd jobs for VND2m (USD88) a month, excluding rent, babysitting and other utilities, they don't have much left.

Khoa then fell ill and was diagnosed with tuberculous meningitis at Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital, HCM City and was transferred to Cho Ray Hospital. He has gone under two operations since. Dr Ho Van Phuoc said, "Khoa has tuberculous meningitis that leads to ventricular dilatation. The right side of his body is paralysed."

17-months old Nguyen Minh Khoa

He went on to say that Khoa is severely malnourished. If his tuberculous meningitis isn't treated, he may be exposed to other illnesses. However, Khoa doesn't have a birth certificate so his treatment is not covered by health insurance.

The treatment cost for him up until now has reached up to VND30m (USD1,300). Tu borrowed some millions of VND from neighbours and still owes a huge sum of money to the hospital. Tu said their household registration book and other documents had been stolen when they first arrived in Binh Duong and haven't been reissued.

Duong Ho Vu, head of Tan Phu Hamlet in Hau Giang Province said because Tu was a migrant from another area and rented a house as a temporary resident, they couldn't issue household registration book for her. But without the book, they also can't register her as a poor household for a monthly allowance.

1. Code 2402: Tran Thi Tu, Khoa's grandmother, at Neurosurgery Department at Cho Ray Hospital, HCM City. In the coming time, Khoa will be transferred back to Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital.

Tel: 01864 518 526

As Tu lost her ID, please don't send her donation via post office.