President Nguyen Minh Triet on Thursday sent a message of praise and encouragement to Tran Mai Anh who adopted an abandoned boy who had suffered a mauling from wild animals.

The boy Nguyen Thien Nhan.

Three years ago, Nguyen Thien Nhan was born and left to die in a banana plantation in the central province of Quang Nam. When he was found three days later, he was barely alive. His right leg, testicles and penis had been eaten by wild animals.

Triet said he had read an article about Nhan’s situation and the efforts of his adopted mother, who to date has taken him to 14 hospitals at home and abroad for treatment. Currently Thien Nhan is in good health and attends kindergarten.

Triet said he was moved by the kindness of Mai Anh and other generous donors.

He said: “She personifies the image of the Vietnamese Mother as a symbol of kind-heartedness.”

Triet believed that Mai Anh’s efforts for her adopted son was no fairy tale as people everywhere can make fairy tales come true.

Receiving the President’s message, Mai Anh, an editor at Heritage Magazine, said that his encouraging words had given her strength.

She hoped her family would play its part in campaigning against violence against children, because while physical injuries can be healed, psychological damage can remain.

Mai Anh said that despite being very young, Nhan was unhappy due to his injuries and cruel words and insults he had been subjected to by others.

She also gave her thanks to the kind people who had assisted her family during Nhan’s treatment.

VietNamNet/VNS/VNE