Heartbreaking news of a 10-year-old boy in rural Vietnam who refuses
to be adopted after losing his whole family, instead living by himself
and working in the fields all day, has melted the hearts of millions
around the world.
While most 10-year-olds have nothing to worry about but going to
school and enjoying their childhood, Dang Van Khuyen spends his days
slaving in the fields around his modest home in a remote village in
Vietnam, planting vegetables and foraging for things to fill his stomach
with. His life has never been easy, losing his mother at a very young
age and having to live with his grandmother while his father went away
to find a job in construction. However, things got dramatically worse
after his father died in an accident at work and his grandmother
remarried in another village, as he was left with no support whatsoever.
Khuyen relied on financial support from his father, who regularly
sent home money for food, clothes and other necessities, and on his
grandmother for cooking, but now that they’re gone he has to do
everything himself. In a video feature by Vietnamese media,
the 10-year-old boy is shown planting vegetables in the fields around
his home, and harvesting bamboo shoots to cook. He spends his days and
nights in a derelict hut with a thatched roof, but doesn’t want to get
adopted by another family.
After hearing about the death of Khuyen’s father, his teacher managed
to raise enough money to bring his body home for burial, and alerted
local authorities about the boy’s situation. As neither his parental or
maternal grandparents expressed any desire to take the boy in, admission
to a foster home and adoptions were the only solutions, but he flat out
refused, claiming that he could take care of himself.
Dang Van Khuyen currently relies on the generosity of his neighbors
for nutritious foods like rice, but he also harvests bamboo shoots and
plants vegetables himself. He claims he is more than able to live by
himself and refuses to even consider adoption, but admits that sleeping
by himself every night, with he wind howling through the walls of his
home is not the most pleasant thing in the world.
Ever since Khuyen’s teacher shared his story online and Vietnamese
media started writing about his admirable courage, support has been
pouring in from all over the country. Some people offered to adopt him,
while others expressed a willingness to donate supplies, but it’s
unclear how much help the boy is willing to accept.
One of the most impressive things about this brave 10-year-old is
that despite his hardships, he has never missed a day of school. Every
morning, he gets on his bicycle, attends classes and then returns home
to do his daily chores.
