At midday, the corridor in front of the neonatal intensive care unit at Gia Dinh People’s Hospital is quiet. Inside the unit, two babies who’ve been there for almost three months are not making much noise, either. Belly full, baby Na falls asleep as soon as she finishes her bottle. Right next to her, Nhim is hungry and impatient, and is sucking on her fingers, whining. Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, head nurse of neonatal intensive care unit, postpones her rounds to feed the baby. Just as she finishes with Nhim, Thuy receives a newborn. She holds the little one close to her chest so he can feel some warmth before giving him a bath and a change of clothes, getting him ready for a health check. The little baby has been abandoned by his family after his mother, who was HIV positive, passed away. Thuy holds the little baby close to her chest so he can feel some warmth before giving him a bath, change of clothe and get ready for health check. Luckily, the baby is quite healthy and can … [Read more...] about A mother to abandoned babies for 27 years
Mother abandons children
French extremist mothers in Syria face terrible choice
There are no schools or activities for children in the Syrian camps, where poor hygiene causes regular bouts of diarrhoea, vomiting and skin infections AFP/Amer ALHAMWE Like other Western nations which experienced an extremist exodus to Iraq or Syria, France is grappling with how to handle citizens left in the war zone following heavy losses for the Islamic State group. Last week, France announced plans to start repatriating an estimated 150 children, many of them being held alongside their mothers by Kurdish forces in Syria following Islamic State defeats. But French officials made clear that the mothers themselves will not be welcomed home. A few days ago, Nadine - her name has been changed - got a phone call from her daughter-in-law in a Kurdish camp. The young mother was in tears. "Do I have to abandon my children in order for them to go back to France?" she sobbed. RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL? Nadim Houry, a senior Human Rights Watch official who regularly visits the Kurdish camps, … [Read more...] about French extremist mothers in Syria face terrible choice
I want mommy: Australian’s 17-year-search for Vietnamese mother continues
“As the plane ascends The screeching chaos I turn to take on last look. What am I fleeing from? I cannot yet comprehend. Where am I going? that... God only knows” Sue Bylund’s poem asks a question with retrospective effect going back 44 years. She was 36 days old then. That day, when she and 17 other children were taken out of Vietnam, she was too young to know or understand anything. She now knows a lot more, but fundamental questions remain, and she has been looking for answers for many years. Sue Bylund during her first days in Australia Fateful flight Sue Bylund was born at the Maternity Hospital Saigon on April 18, 1974 (Vietnam war time), under the name Luu Thi Van, and was taken to an orphanage the same day. A month later, her name was put up for adoption by an Australian couple, Richard and Marlene. “On May 24, 1974, I was taken to Australia and started a new life under the name Sue Bylund,” she told VnExpress. The little Asian girl with dark … [Read more...] about I want mommy: Australian’s 17-year-search for Vietnamese mother continues
Adopted orphan comes from France in search of Vietnamese mother
Marion Potriquet is looking for her birth mother in Vietnam. Photo acquired by VnExpress On April 10, 1996, a baby girl was born at Tu Du, now a major obstetrics hospital in HCMC, and named Niem Thuc Nu. But Nu did not have a chance to see her mother. Niem Nhuc Kieu, the mother, who was 25 then, decided to abandon her daughter just a few hours after giving birth without even leaving a note or message. Doctors had no choice but to send the baby to the Go Vap Orphanage in the city’s Go Vap District. Around that time a French woman named Brigitte Potriquet, 44, had traveled all the way to Vietnam to find and adopt a child. And, she was looking for a newborn baby girl. Staying at a hotel in the city’s downtown, Brigitte, her husband and their daughter waited anxiously for news from the Go Vap Orphanage that a new child had arrived. The French couple got married quite late and they had agreed that if it was hard for them to have children, they would adopt. They had arrived in … [Read more...] about Adopted orphan comes from France in search of Vietnamese mother
Family care encouraged for disadvantaged children
Thien Nhan and his adoptive mother Mai Anh (Photo: courtesy of Tran Mai Anh) Hanoi (VNA) – 23-year-old Nguyen Huong Lien is working her way through university to become an English language teacher, her career choice, with the help and support of her adoptive parents. Lien (not her real name) said she didn’t remember her life at the orphanage in Hanoi where she was living up until the age of four before she was adopted. However, it is easy to notice the sympathy on her face when she is asked about orphans and their life in orphanages. “Sometimes, I visit the orphanage and play with the children there,” Lien told the Vietnam News Agency. She described how being adopted and living in a stable family surrounding was purely good luck and wished that all disadvantaged children could have such luck. Infant found in the wild rescued Thien Nhan was born on July 15, 2006, but was abandoned by his run-away single teenager mother several days later. He … [Read more...] about Family care encouraged for disadvantaged children
Thai court grants custody to Japanese father of 13 surrogate children
BANGKOK -- A Thai court on Tuesday said it ruled in favor of a wealthy Japanese man who had fathered 13 surrogate children in Thailand, naming him their legal parent and sole guardian. The case harks back to late 2014, when police said they had found 13 babies fathered by a Japanese national with nine Thai surrogate mothers. The children were taken to foster homes and the father has petitioned for custody since early 2015. The man had his sperm fertilize donor eggs, which were then planted in the wombs of the surrogate mothers in 2013, according to a press statement given by the court. No details were given on where the donor eggs were from. The scandal at the time shone an international spotlight on Thailand’s largely unregulated surrogacy business, prompting authorities to crack down on clinics with nationwide inspections and later to ban commercial surrogacy. The Japanese man was given custody of the 13 children on Tuesday largely due to his financial and professional … [Read more...] about Thai court grants custody to Japanese father of 13 surrogate children
Vietnamese student pedals children’s bike to university
A diminutive Vietnamese university student has ridden a children’s bike to university, ambitiously pursuing his career in computing. Duong Van Thanh, 21, born in Quang Tri Province, north-central Vietnam, is a senior in information systems at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Information Technology, a prestigious higher-education institution in Vietnam. Unlike many of his peers, he has a modest height of 80cm and weighs only 30kg. He has a congenital spine distortion, with two feeble legs that do not allow him to walk on his own. At nine months old, he was diagnosed with inborn heart condition, forcing him to undergo surgery. His feet, which are ill-proportioned and unusually shaped, have been bare since childhood for no shoes can fit them. “A doctor once gave me a tailor-made pair of slippers when I was receiving bone readjustment, but I didn’t get used to it, so I gave it up,” Thanh said. Long scars from several operations run on his feet, which reveal a … [Read more...] about Vietnamese student pedals children’s bike to university
Social News 16/1
Fire destroys thousand sq. meter wood factory in Dong NaiA huge fire suddenly occurred at a wood factory of Shing Mark Company in Bai Xep Industrial Park, Trang Bom district, Dong Nai at midnight on January 15. Because materials inside the wood factory are easily ignited, the flame quickly spread out causing the firefighters to meet difficulties in order to access the site and localize the fire. By 5am today, the blaze was extinguished.The initial information showed that there was no death in the fire; however, the flame destroyed thousand sq. meter factory and burnt wood materials inside the factory. At present, the functional agencies have investigated the cause of the fire. HCM City ensures traffic safety for TetThe Ho Chi Minh City Traffic Safety Committee has deployed various measures to ensure traffic safety and order in the city before and during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.Nguyen Ngoc Tuong, deputy chief of the committee, said, “The campaign aims to … [Read more...] about Social News 16/1
Vice President presents gifts to policy beneficiaries in Binh Phuoc
Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh presents gifts to policy beneficiaries in Binh Phuoc She visited and presented gifts to Vietnamese Heroic Mother Pham Thi Duyen, who was born in 1934 and has nine children. Four of her children took part in the resistance war against US imperialists and two of them laid down their lives during this war. Thanking Duyen for her great sacrifice for the struggle for national protection, Thinh affirmed that the Party and State always pay attention to Heroic Mothers and other policy beneficiaries. On the same day, the Vice President granted 200 scholarships, worth 1 million VND (44.6 USD) each, to excellent students with underprivileged backgrounds in Bu Dop, Loc Ninh, Bu Dang and Bu Gia Map districts. She also handed over three houses, worth 50 million VND (2,230 USD) each, to poor households in the province. According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Tien Dung, together with the implementation of … [Read more...] about Vice President presents gifts to policy beneficiaries in Binh Phuoc
Villages for orphans celebrate
HÀ NỘI – SOS Children’s Villages Việt Nam, which provides homes for thousands of orphans and abandoned children nationwide, on Tuesday celebrated its 30th birthday. In a message of congratulations, president of SOS Children’s Villages International, Siddhartha Kaul, said SOS Children’s Villages Việt Nam was "a fine example of a partnership between an international organisations and a government, where both parties have given their best efforts to serve children who have no one." SOS is an independent, non-governmental international development organisation that has been protecting the interests and rights of children since 1949. It was founded by Hermann Gmeiner in Imst, Austria. The Việt Nam operation was established in December 1987 under an agreement between Việt Nam’s Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the SOS Children’s Villages International. The two first villages were … [Read more...] about Villages for orphans celebrate