Pham Thi Hoang Anh

My name is Pham Thi Hoang Anh. I was born in the spring of 1997 in Da Nang city. There are four members in my family: my parents, my sister and me. But now, I only live with my mother because my father and sister passed away many years ago. I was born into a family with more special circumstances than other friends. When I was an infant in the womb, my father became seriously ill involving kidneys and had to be treated in Hanoi. The hardship that weighed heavily on my mother's shoulder did not stop there because my sister had congenital cerebral palsy, is unable to take care of herself, like other people. Then my father was far away from my family when I was three years old. It was a crisis for my mother and she had to sell my family’s house to pay back the debts which were used for my father's treatment. After that, my maternal grandparents gave us a small piece of land near our grandparents' house to build a house in 2001.
My mother always tells me: "Please always respect this life because everyone helped me have it."
I though that the good life would come back to cover us, but in 2004 I began to take a long break from school because of an illness of a bad disease relating to my spinal nerve. I was in Da Nang General Hospital for months with the care of my maternal uncles, but the doctors still could not find what the disease is. Looking at me getting sick with pain, my mother could not stand it, borrowed some money and asked them to take me to hospitals in Saigon and Hanoi. When I came to Vietnam - France hospital in Hanoi, the doctors asked me to have surgery to get a bone marrow test but the surgery cost in this hospital was quite high. Fortunately, I was funded by the director of the Coca - Cola company with 1.100 USD and the money my mother borrowed, which brought me to the surgery quickly in 2004. After undergoing surgery, I was diagnosed as being cured of the disease. Now, my health is more stable and I can take part in more activities.
Previously, I was recognized as a poor student, so I received an annual scholarship from Da Nang Association for Promoting Education. To be honest, sometimes I feel sad and unhappy because of the difficult life of my family. However, looking back I am also more fortunate than many others. I was helped and loved by many people. My mother always tells me: "Please always respect this life because everyone helped me have it." For me, my mother is a light that illuminates all the paths that I go through, I admire my mother's bravery, no matter how many difficulties appear none of those things could not knock my mother down. I am always grateful for the heart that everyone has given me. I want to bring my warm heart and love to others, the way I received it from people, to share with the children who have an unhappy life like me before. I joined as a volunteer and an intern at Giving It Back To Kids Non-profit in November 2018. My passion and love brought me to the position of the heart program at the end of June in 2019. Therefore, I am extremely happy when working for GIBTKs to keep pursing my dream, which gives a lot of better opportunities for people with difficult circumstances in their life.