Nguyễn Văn Dũng’s family is classified as an extremely poor household, currently living in Hoài Đức Commune, Lâm Đồng Province. The couple has no farmland. The husband works as a freelance forest honey collector, while the wife does odd jobs to earn a living. Their house is about 50m², built with brick walls that haven’t been plastered, roofed with temporary corrugated iron, and contains no valuable furniture.
Two years ago, while collecting honey in the forest to earn money for his family, Nguyễn Văn Dũng fell from a tall tree and broke three lumbar vertebrae (L3-L4-L5), resulting in severe spinal cord damage. He underwent surgery, but post-recovery he has to use a wheelchair and has lost control of bladder and bowel functions. The surgery cost 75 million VND, which the family had to borrow to cover.
After regaining some strength, Dũng tried to earn a living by selling lottery tickets using an electric wheelchair. However, in the past eight months, he developed a tumor on his hip which ruptured and has not healed, making it impossible for him to sit. He was taken to the local hospital, which referred him to Chợ Rẫy Hospital. Doctors there recommended a skin graft surgery from his arm to the wounded area. However, due to his deteriorating health, the surgery has been postponed.
Currently, the family receives:
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Social welfare support: 1,500,000 VND/month
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Support from Dũng’s parents: 2,000,000 VND/month
This amount is not sufficient for a family of five. His wife must care for three children and her ill husband. On days when Dũng is well enough, she does hourly labor, though she often arrives late and leaves early, earning only 190,000 VND/day. The average income per family member is 1,016,000 VND/month.
Thiện Chí Center met the family during a scholarship assessment visit for the upcoming school year. Recognizing the family's difficulties, we provided 2,632,000 VND in immediate support, including a box of Milo, two bottles of vitamins, a bottle of liquid chlorophyll, and medical gauze for cleaning the wound. We also guided the family on how to clean the wound and use chlorophyll to prevent infection, hoping it will speed up healing. We will continue to monitor the situation and determine further support in the near future.
