Look carefully – He’s handsome!
Look carefully – He’s handsome!
As do other fathers of his minority tribe, Duc spends much of his time in the forest looking for edible plants and killing whatever game he can. A small rice paddy supplements the family diet. Duc, 2-year-old Som (severe cleft lip), 5-month-old Phuong, and Linh, his wife, have enough food – but just enough. Even by the standards of the Vietnamese mountains, the family is poor. Duc hasn’t money for Som’s needed cleft lip surgery.
Superstitious neighbors shun the boy and criticize his parents. “How did you sin to cause this?” is their judgmental attitude. No neighbor, or group of neighbors, will lend Duc the money for surgery.
Linh struggles to feed her son. Using a spoon, she tries to get milk and soft food down his throat. Much of it spills from his mouth onto his clothes though. Some makes its way to his stomach. Some takes a detour and flows into his lungs. He is perpetually congested.
Your gift of $50, $100, $200, or other amount of your choosing, provides for Som's needed surgery. It also helps other special needs children.