Orphans at Ky Quang 2 pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – 23-year-old Nguyen Huong Lien is working her way through university tobecome an English language teacher, her career choice, with the help andsupport of her adoptive parents.
Lien (not her real name) said she didn’tremember her life at the orphanage in Hanoi where she was living up until theage of four before she was adopted.
However, it is easy to notice the sympathy onher face when she is asked about orphans and their life in orphanages.
“Sometimes, I visit the orphanage and play withthe children there,” Lien told the Vietnam News Agency.
She described how being adopted and living in a stablefamily surrounding was purely good luck and wished that all disadvantagedchildren could have such luck.
Infant found in the wild rescued
Thien Nhan was born on July 15, 2006, but was abandoned by his run-awaysingle teenager mother several days later.
He almost died as he was left unfed, wrapped in leaves, and in dangerof being discovered by wild animals in the woods in the central province ofQuang Nam, when he was found by a villager.
The infant Nhan was immediately rushed to a local hospital, suffering from seriousinjuries after being mauled by wild animals.
“The story about the abandoned child caught the interest of the press,so my husband and I decided to dig deeper into the story as journalists,” saidTran Mai Anh, Nhan’s adoptive mother.
Nhan survived a long leg-amputating operation, which was a miracleaccording to the operating doctors.
He was then sent back to his grandparents, who the police had sought out.
Mai Anh said she and her husband Phung Quang Nghinh were shocked when they sawthe conditions the infant was living in during their visit to his family home.
“We could see the serious health conditions that Nhan could be facing,”Mai Anh said.
“We could also imagine the extensive treatment process he would have to gothrough for the rest of his life, which is when we decided to adopt him in late2007.”
The couple began the year long process ofadoption, hoping to give him the opportunity to grow up with a more normalchildhood.
Thien Nhan (first right) enjoys his new family (Photo: courtesy of Tran Mai Anh) The story about Phung Thien Nhan and his adoptive parents went viral onthe internet and local newspapers. Donations, care, and voluntary help pouredin for the family.
With the financial support and encouragement of their families,friends, and donators, the couple have managed to take Nhan to differentoverseas medical facilities to seek the best help for his condition.
Over recent years, Nhan has received medical treatment and care both athome and abroad. He has undergone a series of genitaland limb operations in the US.
“Nhan is smart, active, and sensible both at home and school,” Mai Anhsaid proudly about her adopted child.
“I feel like my mum cares for me the most because she thinks I need themost help,” Thien Nhan said. Nhan has two older brothers who have always lookedafter and cared for him.
Thien Nhan, however, always assures his mother, brothers, teachers, andfriends that he can take care of himself despite of his missing leg.
Thien Nhan plays at school (Photo: courtesy of Tran Mai Anh) “We (Nhan and his brothers) like to group chat with our mom when she ison a business trip,” Nhan said, adding that there is a lot of fun and laughter wheneverwe are with her.
More opportunities being created
Mai Anh felt blessed to have Thien Nhan as one of her sons, as well asreceiving the valuable care of the community.
Such care has also inspired Mai Anh to connect with domestic andinternational financial and voluntary resources to help other disadvantagedchildren like Nhan nationwide.
Mai Anh andseveral others co-founded the Thien Nhan & Friends fund in 2011 to provide nationwidehelp for disadvantaged children as well as those with genital injuries.
The programmehas funded hundreds of genital operations. Thousands of others received freeexaminations with international pediatric urologists.
“I am also hatching plans to match up adoptive parents with orphans anddisadvantaged children like Nhan,” said Mai Anh.
The project, which will be officially launched on July 15, 2018, aimsto provide financial support for at-risk children and families, to make surethey are kept together, according to Mai Anh.
“We will find families for orphans, while also equipping foster andadoptive parents with the skills and knowledge required to meet the needs ofchildren coming from different backgrounds and suffering traumaticexperiences,” she said.
The project will also conduct post-adoption assessments to ensure thechildren are growing up safe in their new families.
According toVu Thi Kim Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Child Affairs under theMinistry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs, Vietnam has 29 millionchildren under the age of 16 with disadvantageous circumstances.
Nearly160,000 are orphaned and homeless children, with around 10 percent of themliving in orphanages.
InVietnam, childcare provided by the extended family is strongly rooted in localcultures. The paternal family automatically gains custody of an orphaned childunless it is beyond their affordability.
As part of its determination to care forVietnamese orphans, the Government launched the revised Child Law on June 1,2017, aiming to push for greater foster care.
Alternative forms of care for children – either by individuals, relatives, or unrelated but lovingfamilies – is the best way to protect the interests of these children,Hoa underlined.
Family environment is best placefor a child
Thereis no exact count for orphanages nationwide. Many of them are runby religious establishments, such as in pagodas and churches.
The “Suoi Nguon Tinh Thuong” (Stream of Love)Buddhist Orphanage Centre in Tam Binh district, in the Mekong Delta province ofVinh Long, is one such legally-recognised pagoda for institutional care.
The facility was launched in 2012 under theauspices of the Phuoc Quang pagoda in the district. It now accommodates over200 children, including many with disabilities.
“Most of the children in the centre have nosource of support at all,” said Venerable Thich Phuoc Ngoc, Director of theCentre, who is also head of Phuoc Quang pagoda.
Ven. Thich Phuoc Ngoc receives a child at the witness of a local law enforcement official. (Photo: VNA) Ngoc has been actively working with local authorities to ensure the children are given their basic healthcare and educational rights, as well as feeling part of the community.
In some cases, the pagoda charity fund has provided the poor extended families of orphans with the financial support needed and encouraged them to keep their relatives’ children in their homes.
The monk has also worked to find relatives of the children and ultimately help them be reunited with their family members.
“Some are adopted,” Ven. Phuoc Ngoc said, adding that “the process involves the local authorities and adheres to legal procedures.”
Venerable Thich Phuoc Ngoc said he believedfamily care ensures the best interests for children. Institutions of any kindshould be the last resort for them.
According toLe Van Thang, a child psychologist, institutionalised children are fed andeducated sufficiently.However, they are more likely to sufferphysical, emotional, and mental development delays.
“Basically, an institutionalised child becomesjust one in the crowd, craving for the individual care and attention a familyunit can provide,” said Thang, who is running the private 247 PsychologyConsulting Centre.
Psychologist Le Van Thang (Photo: VNA) Institutionalised children also tend to feelless confident. They lose a sense of love, care, and trust.
Many volunteers and donators have visited andcared for them from time to time. However, that kind of love is fleeting andtemporary, which is often confusing and damaging for children.
“These emotional and mental damages are usuallylong-lasting.”
Countless studies have shown that children rearedin orphanage institutions have an average of 20 IQ and EQ points lower thantheir family-reared peers, Thang said.
“Family-based care is the best place for achild.” -VNA
VNA
