Silently contributing, spreading humanity

Stories of silent sacrifice and kindness were spread at the award ceremony of the 4th "Beloved Teacher" and 3rd "Kindness around us" writing contests.

On November 17, right before the 43rd anniversary of Vietnam Teachers' Day, November 20, Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper held the award ceremony for the 4th "Beloved Teacher" and 3rd "Kindness around us" writing contests. Touching stories from real life were told by the authors with passion, love, and gratitude, spreading on the contest pages and were recreated at the emotional award ceremony.

More than 600 quality entries

At the ceremony, journalist - Dr. To Dinh Tuan, Editor-in-Chief of Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, said that the success of the two contests was not only reflected in the organization but also thanks to the active participation and contribution of authors from all over the country.

The winning authors and characters coming out of the pages of the two contests. Photo: HOANG TRIEU

With the "Beloved Teacher" contest, although it was held for the 4th time, the number of participants was still very large, gathering more than 200 works. Of which, the organizing committee selected 25 works to be published on the publications of the Newspaper Nguoi Lao Dong, these are also the works selected for the final round. With the writing contest "Kindness around us", the organizing committee recorded more than 400 articles from authors across the country. Newspaper Nguoi Lao Dong selected to publish 60 works. "Thus, in just over a year, Newspaper Nguoi Lao Dong has received more than 600 entries, this proves that there are still many bright examples who are still quietly helping life and the contest is still spreading more and more in the community" - journalist - Dr. To Dinh Tuan shared.

The group of teachers in the project "Good books for primary school students" and teacher Minh Tam shared touching stories about the journey of spreading knowledge. Photo: HOANG TRIEU

During the award ceremony, the organizing committee awarded prizes to 14 authors; the first prize was worth 30 million VND, the second prize was 20 million VND, the third prize was 15 million VND and the consolation prize was 7 million VND. In addition, the organizing committee also honored individuals and groups who were inspirational figures, emerging from the entries with prizes ranging from 3 million to 9 million VND/person, group of honored figures.

Heartwarming stories

Author Nguyen Duy Hien shared his emotions when he won first prize in the "Kindness around us" contest with the work "The story of Mr. Hung digging up martyrs' graves" about Mr. Le Thanh Hung - a silent man who specializes in digging up graves.

Author Nguyen Duy Hien received first prize in the 3rd "Kindness around us" writing contest.

Sharing at the ceremony, Mr. Le Thanh Hung said he was very happy to be the subject of the article. He grew up in his hometown of Binh Dinh (now Gia Lai), currently living in Dong Nai . Witnessing many families suffering because they have not found the remains of their loved ones, he vowed to devote his efforts to the search. Not only devoting himself to finding the remains of martyrs, Mr. Hung also devoted a lot of effort to finding resources, philanthropists, and organizations to support poor families and disabled children. According to Mr. Hung, the motivation to do the above work is the people living around him, they are always enthusiastic, encouraging and ready to participate and support the work that he and his wife are doing.

The first prize winner of the 4th "Beloved Teacher" contest was young girl Van Nhi with the work "Ho Chi Minh City teachers persistently carry books up the mountain". Van Nhi is a 4th year student at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU-HCM, moved when her name was called: "I especially want to thank the teachers of Ho Chi Minh City - those who took the time to share the stories of the project "Good books for primary school students". Through the stories, I clearly see the image of teachers silently carrying boxes of books to students in remote areas - where sometimes a book can change a child's childhood".

Author Van Nhi won first prize in the 4th "Beloved Teacher" writing contest.

The characters in the project "Good books for primary school students" shared their stories for the first time after 10 years of quiet implementation. The project was founded by Ms. Hoang Thi Thu Hien in 2016 and has traveled to many provinces and cities across the country. They traveled not because of charity but because of the responsibility and mission of teachers who want children in all regions of the country to have access to the light of knowledge.

Ms. Ngoc Diep, a teacher of the project, said: We always think that children from the plains or remote mountainous areas have the right to access knowledge. Since then, more than 3,000 schools have received books. Every time we donate books, the group interacts with students. Our joy and motivation is the bright eyes of students when they receive books, and the bright eyes of teachers when they have books to conduct reading sessions in school.

The group also shared that each trip is a memory, during the 10-year journey there are many memories that touch the group's mind.

Firm belief

In an online exchange with the program from Germany, Dr. Dao Thi Chau Ha (Germany) - a character in the work "Vietnamese Ambassador in Europe" - was very surprised and moved to become the honored character. Dr. Chau Ha said that besides promoting Vietnamese to international friends, she is a member of a non-profit company, specializing in supporting newly arrived Vietnamese families. From there, helping families integrate in Germany, at the same time preserving Vietnamese cultural values. "I believe in one thing, that is, patriotism does not necessarily have to be expressed through great things. From small things, we can build a great and sustainable love for our homeland" - the female doctor expressed.

Journalist - Dr. To Dinh Tuan, after listening to the stories of the project's teachers, decided to donate 10 million VND from the profits of the book "30 Years of Journalism" and 100 jackets to the project "Good Books for Primary School Students" for teachers to give to students.

At the award ceremony, two young authors Truc Thuy and Van Nhi donated a portion of the prize money from the "Beloved Teacher" contest to the "Central Heart" program of the Lao Dong Newspaper to continue spreading love and sharing with the community...

Instead of words

The program was especially moved by the appearance of "one-legged" teacher Nguyen Thi Minh Tam in the article "Contributing love to overcome adversity" (author Dang Hoang An - Tay Ninh). Ms. Minh Tam said that when she first graduated, she was assigned to a school in a remote area of ​​Dong Thap province. A year later, she had a traffic accident. From a young girl who loved life, she became disabled with only one leg. At that time, she was shunned and discriminated against, but it was her colleagues and students who helped her overcome.

Ms. Minh Tam turns to books and newspapers and no matter how busy she is, the young teacher still contributes and shares with everyone. She also actively participates in sports competitions and is the head of the Dong Thap Disabled People's Club. She founded the volunteer group "Nhat Tam" - living kindly together, developing oneself: reading books, learning foreign languages, exercising... "The Nhat Tam scholarship not only gives financial support but the children also receive books, learn English, and live kindly. The scholarship has awarded 189 scholarships to children in difficult circumstances. I want to spread kindness to the children" - said teacher Tam.

Author Hoang Thi Truc Thuy emotionally said that she learned about the contest through a friend who had participated in the contest before. However, that friend unfortunately passed away before receiving the award. "This has urged me to participate, I am sure this is a very meaningful contest" - Thuy said. Looking at teacher Ngo Tran Thinh - her character in the work "Doc tam diet nang buoc chan tro" - sitting below the stage, Thuy sent her sincere thanks for transmitting positive energy, many good things and right reasons to generations of students.

Mr. NGUYEN BAO QUOC, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City:

Special thank you gift

To celebrate the 43rd anniversary of Vietnamese Teachers' Day, the Lao Dong Newspaper organized the award ceremony for the 4th "Beloved Teacher" and 3rd "Kindness around us" writing contests, 2024-2025. Both contests have a humane and noble meaning. In the era of information technology development, artificial intelligence poses great challenges for teachers in their mission of educating people. That challenge requires teachers to constantly self-study, research, innovate, and create to meet the expectations of society, parents, and students. The portrait of a teacher in the digital age is both dynamic and modern, but always keeps a loving heart and tolerance for students...

Thank you, Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, for organizing meaningful and touching contests to spread beautiful images of teachers, as a special and warm gift of gratitude to the teaching staff on these special days. I believe that kind hearts are still silently spreading kindness, love, and hope in all areas of life to all readers across the country.

Continue to launch 2 meaningful writing contests

According to the Editor-in-Chief of the Lao Dong Newspaper, both competitions are a meeting place for noble souls and to spread the message of living a decent life.

"From the research and discovery of the authors, we realize that there are still many good people and good deeds around, which need to be praised and spread on the newspaper pages. It is not only the duty of writers but also the duty of citizens to make life more beautiful, together building a modern, civilized, and humane life" - journalist - Dr. To Dinh Tuan affirmed.

From the above meanings, Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper continues to launch the 4th "Kindness around us" writing contest and the 5th "Beloved Teacher" writing contest, 2025-2026.

The Organizing Committee will announce the content and rules of the two competitions in detail in the coming days. Entries sent after the last competition will still be selected to be published in the two newly launched competitions.

List of award-winning authors and works

SEVEN AUTHORS WHO WINNED THE 3RD "KINDNESS AROUND US" WRITING CONTEST INCLUDE:

First prize: "The story of Mr. Hung digging up a martyr's grave", author Nguyen Duy Hien.

Second prize: Work "Village chief for the people in the Northwest", author Minh Khue.

Third prize: Work "The teacher at the "head of the waves and the wind", author Doan Tam Ky; work "The Vietnamese messenger in Europe", author Le Kung Diem.

Encouragement prizes: "Kăn Ling - the mother who picks up children", author Hoang Hai Lam; "The H'Mong boy with "Forest and You", author Mai Hien; "The gentle mother of autistic children", author Van Trinh.

SEVEN AUTHORS WINNERS OF THE 4TH "BELOVED TEACHER" WRITING CONTEST INCLUDE:

First prize: "Ho Chi Minh City teachers persistently carry books up the mountain", author Van Nhi.

Second prize: "Contributing love to overcome adversity", author Dang Hoang An.

Third prize: "Steady hands on the ocean of knowledge" by Phan Thi Chinh; "Devoting oneself to supporting students' footsteps" by Hoang Thi Truc Thuy.

Encouragement prizes: Work "Professor Nguyen Trong Chuan - "the river of knowledge" that never stops flowing", author Song Han; work "The blind teacher sows hope", author Nguyen Thi Nga; work "She is here, no longer afraid!", author Nguyen Pham Gia Tue.

"Sincere thanks to the sponsors of the writing contest "Kindness around us": CT Group Corporation and FPT Long Chau Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/am-tham-cong-hien-lan-toa-tinh-nguoi-196251117231901266.htm