With a population of about 1.2 million, Can Tho is known as the biggest city in the Mekong Delta. Known as the “rice basket of Vietnam” and for its rich production of tropical fruits, looks like Can Tho is about to add something more to its list on what makes its place significant in the Delta and the whole country in particular. Within Truong Thanh Commune of the Thoi Lai District lives Pham Thi Thuong, a Vietnamese woman whom possibly could be the oldest person in the world.

Claiming she was born in Tay Ninh Province (neighboring Ho Chi Minh) and had moved to the small village in Can Tho about 20 years after marrying someone from Vinh Long (also in the delta), Thuong still possess an ID card issued sometime in 1970 bearing details of her birth date which says she was indeed born in 1890. That makes her 120 years old to date.

Believing she is too old, Thuong never really made efforts to renew her card. Apart from that, living in poverty is another reason why she never made attempts to leave the village for such. Seems like her being a ‘senior’ is taking a toll on her as her granddaughter-in-law forgot to include her in the new residential form when the family moved some 30 years back. Though the family moved again several years later, her youngest daughter, Nguyen Thi Dau, 77, said that they still have not taken steps to register their mother as she was already too old by that time. In the commune, people beyond 85 years of age are granted a financial aid of VND 120,000 (US$6.45) a month. It wasn’t only until Thuong was 118 when she was registered by her children.

Quite a hardy Thuong is, so to speak. Her children claimed that their mother rarely gets sick and was walking just fine until about a few years ago. At present, she may be confined in her bed but could still speak really clearly and is very sharp in discussions. Though at times, she turns wry about her being old and the few troubles that comes with her age. As her husband died at 90, and having 9 children, she believes her inadequacy is somehow causing inconvenience to her now grown kids. In an interview made by Thanh Nien News, who first came out with her feature story, she also expressed concern over being too wrinkled all over when someone asked to take her picture.

Thuong’s age yet have to be verified to be properly recognized as the oldest woman indeed. If so, Can Tho would then be more significant even across the globe as the home of the oldest person in the world. There were a few unverified claims earlier than Thuong, though. The children of a woman named Nguyen Thi Thanh in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang once insisted she was born in 1890. But no personal records could be presented as they have asserted the papers were destroyed from several floods. Though tests intended to determine her age were prepared to be performed, they were not carried out before she died in 2008. In January 2007, Lady Yone Minagawa from Japan was recognized as the oldest person in the world at 114 years of age. When she died that same year, another 114 year-old woman, Edna Parker from United States, was declared the oldest living person.

At present, Thuong’s name sits in the list of incomplete claims of longevity until supporting early-life records are verified for their claims. Though she had worked so hard during her younger years to be able to support her children, they claim that Thuong had always been positive even during unfavorable times. They believe that how she maintained a positive outlook on life could have been one big reason she made it this far.