Every week, however busy they are with work, French couple Marc Witlox and Marie Pousiu Witlox take turns traveling to Thiện Nghiệp commune, Phan Thiết City, to look after the children. They have done this faithfully for two years now, ever since the Mái Nhà ("The Roof") orphan care center opened in 6/2012.

In the center's office, Mr. Marc Witlox greeted us with a friendly smile. Tall, blue-eyed and fair-skinned, he nonetheless felt very approachable as he offered a few words of greeting in quite fluent Vietnamese. Mr. Marc first came to Vietnam about 17 years ago, traveling with his wife, Marie Pousiu Witlox. “After that trip, we adopted an abandoned baby girl in Gò Vấp District, Ho Chi Minh City. Her heartbreaking situation moved me to decide to build a shared home for Vietnam's orphaned children,” Mr. Marc recalls.

Golden heart

Before coming to Vietnam, Marc and Marie were involved with several charities in Paris: EHNAUS, LA. SOUPE and NOEL LES HAUES, which provide regular monthly charity meals for the poor and lonely elderly people, and before every Christmas. “We wanted a charitable project of our own,” Mr. Marc stresses. So, after adopting their daughter, Marc and Marie returned to Vietnam more often. In 2005 they came to Bình Thuận, and after a few more trips back to Mũi Né (Phan Thiết) they developed a very special affection for peaceful Thiện Nghiệp commune, with its rows of coconut palms and its simple, honest people. They contacted some foreign friends doing charity work in Phan Thiết to help build an orphan care center. This unplanned meeting of noble, generous hearts became a “lifebuoy” for children whose young lives had been marked by misfortune. Thanks to their determination, together with the attention and support of provincial leaders and the local authorities, buying the land and completing the paperwork went quickly. As a result, the Mái Nhà orphan care center was established and has been running since 6/2012. The center is built on a plot of about 2,000 m2 and consists of 2 residential buildings, 1 office building and a playground. Each residential building has 5 double bedrooms, 1 living room, a kitchen and spacious, clean bathrooms…

The children's babbling from the house interrupted our conversation. “It's lunchtime for the children now,” Mr. Marc said with a smile. Watching the children playing on the porch, my eye fell on a little boy with big round eyes whose chubby cheeks made him look adorable whenever he played. As we came closer, the boy left his “little brothers” and toddled over to Ms. Thu, the center's managing representative, pouting and holding out his arms to be picked up. “How old is he?” I asked. Ms. Thu smiled at me and said: “Do you remember Mái Nhà's very first child?” Searching my memory, I could only let out an “oh” of surprise and a flood of emotion. “That's him!” she said, hugging him close. I remember it vividly: the first time I visited the center, a little over a year ago, this boy was just over a month old. His story was very sad: his young mother had made a mistake, given birth to him, and then left him here when he was still a tiny newborn…

The story of every child here moved me deeply. But when I saw the children in their neat, clean clothes, gathered around Mr. Marc and laughing innocently like children with their father, I suddenly felt my heart grow warm again. The love this French couple gives these children proves that compassion transcends great distances, skin color and language.