He was trying his best to hold the nipple tightly in his mouth, to drink...his sweat was running down, making his fuzz wet, his face was getting red; Two tidy hands were searching for warmth. "Poor him, he has never known his mother's milk smell!".

Said budhist nun An Son: "Past few months, his mother gave birth to him, covered him with a towel, and left him inside a basket by the road. A kind person picked up him when he or she was on the way going to the market, took him to Anh Dao Happy House; He was very weak when we took him out of the towel, there was still the smell of vomiting. Fortunately, there was some milk available...". He is 6 months old now and eats so much. Because there are no stable sponsor, nun has to feed him with gruel and sugar instead of milk. However, the abandoned children have grown fastly since they were sent to there.

Lonely Crying voice

It is nearly noon, there are some guests in the house, the children say hello at the same time, and then....do their own works, silently. The old ones clean the floor, the younger one water trees, cook; The group of kindergartenal children was excited with gifts. Everytime I visit Anh Dao Raising Orphaned children Center, I feel sad for life. It is really difficult to control mood when An Son nun names them and introduce their general background. I do not know how they were born, just know that since then, they have had the same unluckiness.

I still remember that, in the lunar new year festival (2007), through Lao Dong Golden Heart Fund, the representative of Nam Yang milk group (Korea) in Vietnam visited Anh Dao Happy House. In that day, Ms Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong - CEO of Nam Duong import - export joint stock company, sat silently for long hours... fondled a baby boy with a crossbred-liked face.

The abandoned child growing up day by day ...

According to nun An Son, in a winter morning, a onion seller picked up an infant at the market gate, took him to Anh Dao Happy House in the dawn, nun An Son put her surmane Pham to him and named him Pham Minh Nhat. That Tet, Minh Nhat was fed with X.O milk; and now, he is able to run and talk. Ms Thu Phuong was very happy when she recognized the handsome, childlike boy with crossbred-liked face welcoming her.

Nun An Son who was born in 1975, became a nun when she was 19, is orginally a farmer. Her hometown is Ninh Thuan commune, Ninh Hoa district, Khanh Hoa province. She has a hard childhood which is still in her mind. During a decade of buddhism study, although she decided to follow buddhism, she had a budden thinking about life. In 2004, she decided to leave Ho Chi Minh city, came back her hometown. She asked alone for permission of the Committee of Ninh Hoa district to open a center to raise ophaned children with difficult situation. In the early 2005, "Anh Dao Happy House" was established with intendance of raising 20 ophaned children in the hamlet and bordering communes.

Supprisingly, there were lots of ophaned children waiting for it. In that year, nun An Son, 30 years old, played role of a mother for 30 abandoned children. It was really hard for her when she had a limitted sponsor, she tried her best, earning her children's living, farming for her children's food.

It made a good reputation, many people from Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, Ho Chi Minh city....came for funding to build houses for children. Nowadays, Anh Dao Happy House is a house for 62 ophaned children, most do not have their both parents. The oldest child is studying grade 12, the youngest one is 6 months old, 23 children are primary pupils, 10 children are studying at secondary schools, and 3 children are in highschools. It is really happy because of the help of people around to the nun. There are 7 old mother, volunteering to stay at Happy House to take care of, raise and teach children.

We stand for a time by the altar of a malformational child, looking the nun doing workshop. The malformational child is Pham Minh Dao. Short time ago, he was put at Van Buu temple's gate (50km far from Anh Dao Happy House), then that unlucky girl was took to Bureau of Labor Invalids and Social Affairs of Van Ninh province, but there were no raising orphaned children center there, so they sent her to Anh Dao Happy House.

He has never known the mother's milk smell

Nun An Son said: "Everyone loved and took care of the unlucky girl carefully...; 40 days later she had not eaten, just cried and then....went away". She took care of her funeral and made her an altar customally. That was the first time the Happy House has an invisivle child living in. Looking picture of the girl, nun An Son feel sad and harassed....she cries regretingly: "She was so strange, she has a harassing voice".

The smell of milk

With a sence of mother, I remember that there was something liked milk's smell. The smell from the mouth whose were babies drinking their mothers' milk which not only not have bad smell but also warm and fragrant. Tong Phuoc Phuc's Happy House located at 56/4 Phuong Sai, Nha Trang city was rebuild spaciously. He always needs milk to feed up 38 orphaned children.

It is moved by people who fund, share milk silently to raise "immature birds". I have met mothers who did not think deeply, going to die, at the lastly time, Phuc father rescued and helped, then they and their children were allowed to live in Happy House. Thanks to the human's love....wake up them, after overcoming difficulty they and their children regathered and have thanked the life with "mothers' milk".

From Anh Dao Happy House to Phu Quang temple, Loc Tho temple, Centre for Social Protection of Khanh Hoa province, The Immaculate Heart of Mary in Nha Trang or the loving house Terresa in Cam Lam district....; we are really painful by the feeling of lacking of milk's smell. Nun Dieu YA, 74 years old, abbot of Loc Tho temple (Nha Trang) said: "In places that children have to have vegetable diet, stay alive thanks to sponsor sources, everytime they receive powder milk, all of us give priority for newborn and sick babies.