Carly Placek is sweeping the yard but stops when she hears coughing. It is Mit, one of the children she looks after at Thuy An Disability Children and Older Nourishing Center in Hanoi’s Ba Vi District.

The child quickly clings to the 27-year-old woman after seeing her rush into the house. Mit and more than 100 other children at the center had Down’s syndrome. The majority did not respond to anyone.

Back in 2013, when Carly visited this place for the first time and saw Mit open her arms, she knew she was her angel.

Carly and Mit at Thuy An Disability Children and Older Nourishing Center.
Photo by VnExpress/Trong Nghia.

That moment Carly decided to quit her job in the U.S. and stay back in Vietnam to take care of those children. The daughter of a construction business owner in Baltimore did not want to return home though she had complained about the transportation in Vietnam during her vacation with her family.

For the first two years in Vietnam she was often frustrated that she could not use a broom or communicate easily with locals, which stressed her out.

Things gradually got better.

"I have worked at this center for 20 years, but Carly is more resourceful than me," Hoang Thi Minh Hang, 50, who were among those who helped her learn Vietnamese, said. 

Being able to talk with locals made Carly became happier.

Having looked after old and disabled people before, Carly easily adapted to changing the children’s diapers and showering them. 

One day, when she was cleaning the floor, a child accidentally peed on her head. She reminded herself to always put on a diaper for every child at the center.

One time a boy broke a leg and she quickly splinted it and rode him to a nearby hospital, where she knows all the doctors and remembers their names since she has been there many times.

"She cares for the children like a mother," Hang says.

Carly does not get a salary, and so returns to the U.S. every four months and works as a supermarket manager for two months before returning to Vietnam with her salary. 

Her mother used to want her to take over the family business, but Carly has showed no interest so far.

But last year things changed. Her mother visited Vietnam and spent time at the center and changed her mind. She then began to support Carly and even encouraged her to adopt a child.

In the U.S.,  Carly lives in a luxury house in the city downtown and have a chauffeur. In Vietnam, she pays less than VND1 million ($43.15) to rent an apartment and eats food on the streets every day. 

Sometimes she cannot eat the food since she is not used yet to things like bitter melon and jute leaf.

Nevertheless, her saddest days are back home because Mit is not around. She cannot help think about Mit and the other children whenever she sees a child.

In August this year she had to rush back to Vietnam after just two weeks because Mit had pneumonia and kept crying since Carly was not around. The child did not even let the doctor touch her, and might have been in danger if Carly had not returned.

Carly taking care of a child. Photo by VnExpress/Trong Nghia.

It meant she could not bring back money, but instead of telling her family she became even more frugal than usual and asked her landlord more time to pay her rent. She teaches English on Saturdays to earn some extra money to help the children at the center.

She says: "If I cannot adopt her, I will return to the U.S. in the next year or two; if I can adopt her, I will live in Vietnam my whole life." 

Mit’s grandmother visits her sometimes. Her parents are divorced and cannot take care of their daughter.

Carly sometimes looks at the photos of the children she takes and is in tears. For her, everyone deserves a fair break, and is heartbroken to see the children afflicted by illnesses and without proper care.

Do Duc Hong, director of the center, says: "Carly spent her youth at this center. We will always be grateful for what she has done."

With November approaching, most Americans will think about returning home to their families for Thanksgiving, but Carly is worrying that the holiday will take her a very long time until she can see Mit and the other children again.