Children with Cancer
I heard about the story from Thao. Its a good story, and I wanted to take a look.
Her primary school teacher has been teaching at the Ho Chi Minh City Cancer Hospital children's ward twice a week. It is a project started by the local daily newspaper, Tuoi Tre (Youth Daily). 4 volunteer teachers and some youth volunteers have been teaching the children at this over-crowded hospital every Fri to Sun. The kids do not go to school, some have come from other province to South Vietnam's only hospital for cancer treatment. With accompanying family members, they stayed in the hospital for unknown periods of time, either till their condition stabilizes or till they pass away.
We were late in meeting up with Thao's teacher as we went to buy some stationary for the children, hence, we made our way to the hospital on our own. What greeted us outside the hospital was something like a preview of what we were to see. Sick elderly sat on the dusty roadside, amidst the suffocating fumes and never-ending flow of traffic in the hot afternoon heat. In the hospital grounds, patients sat on benches outdoors, waiting for their consultation or medicine. Families lay on straw mats at any corners they can find. It appears that some have been there for a long time, weeks or even months.
Thao's grandmother stayed in this hospital when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I heard that 2 patients have to share a bed, and with the offer of cash, a single bed can be arranged. This is a government hospital, hence, staff are lowly-paid health care civil servants.
Today I got to see it for myself. To find the children's ward, we walked through the adult's ward. Each ward is no bigger than 5x5m and has about 4 beds. I could not see exactly how many beds there were as every single ward is filled with people. They were not visitors, but family members who came from faraway provinces and stayed at the hospital grounds. I saw 2 family members sleeping under a bed. The condition is appalling.
We could hear children crying as we were reaching our destination. I smiled as the sound is so similar to my daughter's cry. The smile soon disappeared as the sight of sick children on drips, many with bald heads due to chemotherapy appeared . It was heart-breaking. The ward is filled to the doors with patients and family members. Sick children lay on the thighs of their mothers as the IV drip hangs beside, piercing their little hands and sustaining their lives. Some were crying, others lay silently.
We reached a room which serves as a classroom for today. It was spacious and stocked with books. On others days, classes are held in the crowded wards. Any child can come and learn from the volunteers. We saw a few walked in with their backpacks, wearing a shy smile on their faces. They sat down on any space they can find on the table and started learning. At first, I could not determine whether they were boy or girl as most were bald. I noticed a kid, who is very serious with his work and attentive, and took pictures of him and he wrote on his notebook. I was told he is one of the most hardworking kid. His name is Phi Thuong (Its mean extraordinary in Chinese). 9 years old and he came from the southern-most province of Ca Mau with his mother. He has blood cancer and has been at the hospital for 2 years.
I did not want to ask more about his illness, as he seemed to be happy learning. Through Thao, I asked what is his ambition. His reply, "to be cured". This answer brought me to my senses. They are kids stricken with cancer, 6 of them has passed away since the teaching program started in Sep 2009. What else do I think they hope for?
As we left, Thao said to me "That girl was very cute". Her voice was shaky. I could see she was controlling her emotions. Throughout the shoot, looking at their attentive faces through the viewfinder, I have forgotten that each of them has been given a severe or even death sentence, at such a young age. They seem so ordinary, so keen and enthusiastic. But their only wish is to be given another chance to live.
62 year old Nguyen Thi Sam teaching the children Vietnamese.
9 year old Phi Thuong has been staying at the hospital for the last 2 years. His only wish is to be cured of Leukemia (blood cancer).
A girl sits alone, engrossed in a comic book. Chemotherapy results in the loss of hair.
Mothers accompany their sick child as they seek treatment in one of the most crowded hospital in the city.
A boy looks at the on-going class from the chidren's ward corridor
Her primary school teacher has been teaching at the Ho Chi Minh City Cancer Hospital children's ward twice a week. It is a project started by the local daily newspaper, Tuoi Tre (Youth Daily). 4 volunteer teachers and some youth volunteers have been teaching the children at this over-crowded hospital every Fri to Sun. The kids do not go to school, some have come from other province to South Vietnam's only hospital for cancer treatment. With accompanying family members, they stayed in the hospital for unknown periods of time, either till their condition stabilizes or till they pass away.
We were late in meeting up with Thao's teacher as we went to buy some stationary for the children, hence, we made our way to the hospital on our own. What greeted us outside the hospital was something like a preview of what we were to see. Sick elderly sat on the dusty roadside, amidst the suffocating fumes and never-ending flow of traffic in the hot afternoon heat. In the hospital grounds, patients sat on benches outdoors, waiting for their consultation or medicine. Families lay on straw mats at any corners they can find. It appears that some have been there for a long time, weeks or even months.
Thao's grandmother stayed in this hospital when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I heard that 2 patients have to share a bed, and with the offer of cash, a single bed can be arranged. This is a government hospital, hence, staff are lowly-paid health care civil servants.
Today I got to see it for myself. To find the children's ward, we walked through the adult's ward. Each ward is no bigger than 5x5m and has about 4 beds. I could not see exactly how many beds there were as every single ward is filled with people. They were not visitors, but family members who came from faraway provinces and stayed at the hospital grounds. I saw 2 family members sleeping under a bed. The condition is appalling.
We could hear children crying as we were reaching our destination. I smiled as the sound is so similar to my daughter's cry. The smile soon disappeared as the sight of sick children on drips, many with bald heads due to chemotherapy appeared . It was heart-breaking. The ward is filled to the doors with patients and family members. Sick children lay on the thighs of their mothers as the IV drip hangs beside, piercing their little hands and sustaining their lives. Some were crying, others lay silently.
We reached a room which serves as a classroom for today. It was spacious and stocked with books. On others days, classes are held in the crowded wards. Any child can come and learn from the volunteers. We saw a few walked in with their backpacks, wearing a shy smile on their faces. They sat down on any space they can find on the table and started learning. At first, I could not determine whether they were boy or girl as most were bald. I noticed a kid, who is very serious with his work and attentive, and took pictures of him and he wrote on his notebook. I was told he is one of the most hardworking kid. His name is Phi Thuong (Its mean extraordinary in Chinese). 9 years old and he came from the southern-most province of Ca Mau with his mother. He has blood cancer and has been at the hospital for 2 years.
I did not want to ask more about his illness, as he seemed to be happy learning. Through Thao, I asked what is his ambition. His reply, "to be cured". This answer brought me to my senses. They are kids stricken with cancer, 6 of them has passed away since the teaching program started in Sep 2009. What else do I think they hope for?
As we left, Thao said to me "That girl was very cute". Her voice was shaky. I could see she was controlling her emotions. Throughout the shoot, looking at their attentive faces through the viewfinder, I have forgotten that each of them has been given a severe or even death sentence, at such a young age. They seem so ordinary, so keen and enthusiastic. But their only wish is to be given another chance to live.
62 year old Nguyen Thi Sam teaching the children Vietnamese.
9 year old Phi Thuong has been staying at the hospital for the last 2 years. His only wish is to be cured of Leukemia (blood cancer).
A girl sits alone, engrossed in a comic book. Chemotherapy results in the loss of hair.
Mothers accompany their sick child as they seek treatment in one of the most crowded hospital in the city.
A boy looks at the on-going class from the chidren's ward corridor
posted by Kwang Peng at 8:02 PM
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