HUYNH TIEU HUONG: A SYMBOL OF COMPASSION
- May 24, 2024
- 5 min read
The future seemed to be shrouded in "darkness".
Huynh Tieu Huong had a long and unhappy childhood. She was abandoned by her own parents shortly after birth, and even now, she cannot understand why. Without a family, she grew up like a wild weed, not knowing who had taken her in. She only remembers that when she was 5 or 6 years old, to get a bite of stale rice or leftover soup in that family, she had to endure bloody beatings.
At the age of 9 or 10, people saw the image of a frail, pitiful little girl and an old woman wandering and begging for food throughout the Thua Thien Hue - Quang Tri region to survive. Following that was a period of hardship on market trains traveling from province to province, before she was adopted by a family in Vinh Phuc. It seemed like peace would come, but it was here that the dark and humiliating days of Tieu Huong truly began. She was raped by her adoptive father, forced to flee, and lived a precarious life on the North-South train. This fragile, weak girl probably didn't foresee that more storms awaited her. Living on the train for about 4 to 5 years, Tieu Huong was now a pretty, attractive 16 or 17-year-old girl. It was on those same wandering trains that Tieu Huong met a man about 10 years older than her. The innocent girl was lured by sweet words of love and promises of marriage. However, Tiểu Hương was sold to a brothel in Vũng Tàu, forced to use drugs to make her easier to control. The young girl was abused by the physical strength of violent thugs, madams, and even perverts. Sharing about that time, Tiểu Hương said: "The pain and humiliation are beyond words."
The journey of Mother Huynh Tieu Huong and hundreds of children at the Homeland Humanitarian Center.
There were times when it seemed there was no chance of survival, but strangely, that small hand always wanted to cling to a glimmer of hope, a glimmer of light ahead, with an intense will to live. Tieu Huong overcame her addiction, leaving behind the mire that had surrounded her for so long. After successfully overcoming her addiction, Tieu Huong got a job selling coffee at Ben Bach Dang. It was from here that she realized that there was still humanity, kindness, and goodness in life, and saw a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
In the early 1980s, Xiao Xiang met a Taiwanese businessman named Chao Lai Wang at a coffee shop. After several meetings, Wang developed feelings for Xiang and confessed his love, but due to her past trauma, she refused, only wishing to become sworn siblings. Out of compassion and sympathy for someone whose life had been so utterly crushed yet who still maintained her dignity and honor, on the day they parted ways before he returned home, Wang gave Xiang 20 gold bars. He wanted her to be able to buy a house and start a more comfortable life after years of struggling with poverty and hardship.
Maintain a forgiving and tolerant spirit after life's hardships.
After several transactions buying and selling her first house in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, less than a year later, Tieu Huong had amassed over 100 taels of gold. Having become wealthy through real estate business, she has dedicated almost her entire life to social charity work, helping poor, disabled, underprivileged children and those in unfortunate circumstances.
In 2001, after much effort and with the help and support of central and local agencies and departments, she established the Que Huong Humanitarian Center in Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City. This place has become a lifeline for abandoned children...
With the increasing number of children, Ms. Huynh Tieu Huong painstakingly applied for a permit to establish a second facility, completing the procedures for building the second branch of the Que Huong Humanitarian Center in Binh Duong in 2003. Currently, the Center is caring for and educating 345 orphaned and disabled children. Each child has a story with a heartbreaking situation, but with the boundless love of Ms. Huynh Tieu Huong and the staff and teachers at the Center, the children have been nurtured, cared for, and given a proper education. Many of them, after achieving success, have integrated into society and returned to their roots at the Center to help Ms. Huong care for the children.
The children of Mother Huynh Tieu Huong at the Homeland Humanitarian Center.
Throughout her life, despite being childless, Ms. Huynh Tieu has set aside her own desires and personal happiness to walk a path filled with light and love. In her more than 20 years of humanitarian work, she has received numerous prestigious awards and titles: a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; a Certificate of Merit from the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the Central Committee of the Vietnam Red Cross; a Certificate of Merit from the Central Committee of the Vietnam Association for the Relief of Disabled Children; and Certificates of Merit from the People's Committees of various provinces and cities. In 2011, the Vietnam Record Organization awarded her the record for the thickest and longest household registration book in Vietnam, recognizing her as the mother of hundreds of orphaned and disabled children, all bearing the surname "Huynh Tieu". In 2017, the Asia Record Organization established the record for "The mother with the thickest and longest household registration book in Asia". Furthermore, for her tireless contributions to charitable and social causes, Ms. Tieu Huong was honored to receive the Golden Contribution Award from the World Record Content Institute (WRCA) in 2018.
Mother Huynh Tieu Huong and her legendary records.
In 2019, she and the Homeland Humanitarian Center organized a mass wedding ceremony for 100 couples with disabilities, which was recognized by the Vietnam Record Organization. That same year, after nearly 20 years of practical experience and proven results as a record holder, she was awarded a Bachelor of Practical Studies degree by the World Record University (WRU). Two years later (2021), she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the WRU – a title given to record holders who have demonstrated the results of a life of dedication and contribution, with positive research topics and practical contributions to the community in the field of charity.
Mother Huynh Tieu Huong - A shared home for 345 orphaned children.
At over 50 years old, the Founder and Director of the Homeland Humanitarian Center frequently suffers from aches and pains and is afflicted with several dangerous diseases. However, her main concern is not her own health, but rather the unfulfilled aspirations and anxieties she feels when thinking about the children she is raising who will no longer receive the protection and love they deserve. She only hopes that her children will continue to receive help and support from philanthropists and benefactors so that they can grow into useful members of society.
After learning more about Ms. Huynh Tieu Huong, we, as journalists, are deeply moved and admire her life and noble humanitarian career. We hope that many more philanthropists, both domestic and international, will join Ms. Huynh Tieu Huong in showing love, support, and companionship so that the children at the Homeland Humanitarian Center, the future generations of our country, can develop and become useful members of society.
For further details, please contact:
• Address: 1210 DT743A Road, Tan Long Hamlet, Tan Dong Hiep Ward, Di An City, Binh Duong Province, Vietnam
• Phone: 02743.740808 - 0903.803908 - 0983.803908
• Website: https://www.motherhuongcharity.org/
• Facebook: Huynh Tieu Huong.
According to Minh Phuong of Kinh Te Va Dau Tu newspaper: https://kinhtevadautu.vn/ky-luc-gia-huynh-tieu-huong-lan-huong-nho-mang-yeu-thuong-den-nhung-dua-tre-mo-coi-4159.html
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