Protecting their future: one family’s recovery after Typhoon Matmo

Faced with rising floodwaters and uncertainty, one thing mattered most to Mr. Tuan: his children's safety.

Mr. Tuan is a construction worker in Vietnam's Bac Ninh province. He and his wife also grow rice and raise pigs and chickens to support their family of five. Their children's education is a top priority -- their daughter, Thu, dreams of becoming an artist and spends her free time drawing, while their youngest son, Duc, enjoys football and spending time with his classmates and teachers.

Last October, Typhoon Matmo brought heavy rain to Mr. Tuan's hamlet. As the family slept, rising floodwater filled their home. "When I woke up, the water was already there," Thu recalled. "Dad told me, 'Climb on my back. If we don't go now, the water will carry us away.'"

The water submerged the family's home within minutes. "The water came so fast," Mr. Tuan shared. "By the time we ran back home, it had already reached our necks."

As the floods rose, Mr. Tuan was able to stay calm and prioritize his children's safety. "When the water came, we didn't think about belongings," he said. "We thought about saving the children first." One of his children remembered how little time they had to escape. "We didn't take toys or books," they said. "We just followed Dad." The family evacuated for six nights and seven days, staying with relatives.

Across Chieng hamlet, neighbours helped keep each other safe when the floods hit. Relatives provided shelter for displaced families, while local rescue teams helped evacuate residents. Despite the impacts to his own home and livelihood, Mr. Tuan stepped up to help others through his role in the village militia. "As long as my family was secure, I could help others," he said.

Mr. Tuan's family was one of the six that experienced the most severe flooding. When they returned home, they found their rice had rotted in the fields and their pigs and chickens had been swept away. Inside the house, the children's notebooks and textbooks were soaked through. They had already missed a week of school, and now they would be even further behind.

Mr. Tuan and his family received emergency cash assistance through the Canadian Humanitarian Assistance Fund (CHAF), with support from the Government of Canada and Save the Children. "The first thing we thought about was the children," Mr. Tuan said. He and his wife used the cash to buy food and replace school supplies like uniforms, pens and notebooks. "The assistance came at the right time," Mr. Tuan said. "It helped us get through the most difficult moment."

The support enabled his three children to return to school and stabilize their recovery after the flood. "I was very happy when I got my new uniform," Thu said. "Going back to school felt normal again."

"Rebuilding will take time," admitted Mr. Tuan, but for his children, education remains the central focus. "If they can keep studying and follow their dreams, that is what matters most."