Disabled man sells tofu to earn money to give porridge to the poor

The motorbike behind had a small foam box with the words "Steamed tofu with milk" written on it and a sign in front with the words "Free gas for those who are lost on the road" that caught the eyes of passersby.

Chàng trai tật nguyền bán đậu hũ kiếm tiền phát cháo cho người nghèo - Ảnh 1. — Mr. Hieu and his "charity" car

Life is still hard but still want to help people poorer than us

I was curious so I stopped by to ask and found out that the owner of this "Steamed Tofu with Milk" and "Free Gasoline" stall is a young disabled man. His name is Pham Van Hieu (nickname is Quan, 37 years old, from An Giang province), many years ago he had an accident and lost all the fingers on his left hand.

Mr. Hieu honestly shared that his childhood was filled with poverty, hardship and lack of love from his relatives, so he decided to leave his hometown to go to Ho Chi Minh City to make a living when he was very young - around 11 or 12 years old. Up to now, he has been in Ho Chi Minh City and has been attached to this place for more than 25 years. Perhaps that is why Mr. Hieu considers this his second hometown.

"Since leaving my hometown and coming to Ho Chi Minh City, I have had to do all kinds of jobs, from construction worker, porter at markets to hired labor and seasonal worker at construction sites to earn money to take care of myself, as long as it is an honest job with hard work, sweat and tears," said Mr. Hieu.

Although his life is still full of difficulties, there is always something urging him - wanting to do something to share, to help the poor within his ability that he accidentally meets on the road or somewhere in his journeys to make a living.

Chàng trai tật nguyền bán đậu hũ kiếm tiền phát cháo cho người nghèo - Ảnh 2.

Chàng trai tật nguyền bán đậu hũ kiếm tiền phát cháo cho người nghèo - Ảnh 3.

Mr. Hieu and his group of volunteer friends

PHOTO: TGCC

He told me: "If we do good deeds, share, and help those in difficult circumstances, we don't have to wait until we're rich to do it. Because looking up, we're not as good as anyone else, but looking down, there are many people who are more miserable than us."

Mr. Hieu often participates in volunteer groups with his friends. Whenever there are volunteer trips to help the poor, he puts aside all his business, packs his backpack with his friends and travels to all provinces and cities across the country, sharing and giving gifts of necessities to the people.

During the Tet holidays, Mr. Hieu and his friends pooled money to buy bedding and necessities to give to the poor and homeless. Up to now, he has had hundreds of trips with volunteer groups and friends to share with the poor. Not only that, Mr. Hieu also participated in humanitarian blood donation programs, saving lives, when hospitals called for donations or at the temple, where he often volunteered whenever there was a humanitarian blood donation program...

Sell steamed tofu with milk to earn money to cook porridge for the poor

Mr. Hieu said that many years ago, while working as a temporary worker at a construction site, he had an accident at work and lost most of his fingers. Because of his plight and seeing that he often did volunteer work, and was disabled himself, an acquaintance sympathized with him and showed him how to make steamed tofu with milk to sell and earn a living. So with a "broken" motorbike carrying a styrofoam box selling the popular dish of steamed tofu with milk, he roamed the streets of Ho Chi Minh City.

A portion of steamed tofu with milk costs 10,000 VND but "I sell and give at the same time". When I meet old people, drivers, motorbike taxi drivers, and scrap collectors, I sell it at half price or give it away for free "because they are workers, poor people who don't have much money...". What's more special is that Mr. Hieu sells steamed tofu with milk to make a living, and also to earn money to cook "a bowl of porridge from the heart" to help the poor.

Chàng trai tật nguyền bán đậu hũ kiếm tiền phát cháo cho người nghèo - Ảnh 4. — Mr. Hieu during his charity work at Pho Da Pagoda

Every other month, Mr. Hieu and his group of friends plan to cook 400 portions of porridge to give to poor people passing by, to poor patients and their relatives at hospitals near where he sells. To cook 400 portions of porridge worth 7,000,000 VND is the money he saves from selling steamed tofu with milk every month and from a few friends who join him. Everyone gathers at the rented room and then assigns each other to go to the market, cook so that at dawn they can "gather" at the familiar place to give to the poor.

Mr. Hieu said that poor people, especially poor patients from the countryside who come to Ho Chi Minh City for treatment, get a free meal or porridge to help them save some of their expenses. Therefore, despite the difficult times, he and his group of friends are determined to maintain these "charitable porridges" for nearly a year.

Seeing me curious and asking why there was a "Free Gas" sign on the front of his motorbike, Mr. Hieu said that while driving around the streets of Ho Chi Minh City to sell steamed tofu with milk, he witnessed the elderly or passersby having to struggle to walk their motorbikes to find a place to fill up with gas, which was very tiring... So the "idea" for gas was born from there. He always had a full tank of gas on his motorbike to help those who ran out of gas...

Mr. Tien, a security guard at a hotel where Mr. Hieu parked his car to sell, shared that because he knew Mr. Hieu's situation, especially because he had a compassionate heart. Although he was still in difficulty, he sold steamed tofu with milk to earn money to cook free porridge for the poor, so the hotel let Mr. Hieu park his car in front to sell, as a way to share with him...

And so, amidst the bustling traffic and people on the road, amidst the noisy and bustling streets, every night there is still a "broken" motorbike with a disabled man roaming the streets of Saigon with steamed tofu "both for sale and for giving away", to make a living and to cook "a bowl of porridge from the heart" to help the poor, to carry out charity trips everywhere, how precious it is.