In the past year, central Vietnam suffered 13 consecutive tropical storms, causing the worst floods and landslides in the past 100 years. Many houses were destroyed, crops were damaged, and people who were already vulnerable subjects were left empty-handed. On November 10 and 11, I visited flood-affected communes in Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces, and I witnessed the terrible devastation caused by natural disasters on 3 families. Each family carries within itself a heartbreaking story of loss and resilience. Still in that low-lying commune of Quang Binh, we followed the road and arrived at a small house. The two sides of the road were strewn with fragments of household utensils, plastic bags caught in trees and most heartbreaking were the dozens of notebooks and textbooks on the branches. It was still raining here, and those books that were probably left to dry, were now again wet. Sister Hoa and two little girls are waiting for us. Both babies have been sick, fever and cough since the flood came. Ms. Hoa showed us the children's health insurance cards. She also shared that she tried to bring the two children to the medical center but could not afford the cost of the medicines needed to treat them. Hoa's husband is a common laborer and her family, which was already at odds of poverty before the flood came, now has no safety items other than 4 bags of rice to help her family to endure through the months. next. When we handed her a UNICEF soap and water purifier, Hoa turned her back on her tears and secretly wiped away her tears.
