The mark of kindness

Since birth, Nhan's right side of her face has been deformed by a congenital defect (due to the effects of Agent Orange from her maternal grandfather), resulting in a large tumor that completely covers the right side of her face. Nhan has undergone numerous surgeries since the age of 5 to remove the tumor, leaving a large scar that makes her face look different.

Dấu ấn của lòng nhân ái - Ảnh 1. — Giving gifts to elderly people living alone in the "Wishes for the Elderly" program.

As a child, she was too naive to understand her differences. As she grew older, these differences became an invisible barrier: curious stares, malicious teasing, and alienation from her peers. Though outwardly the world seemed to close its doors to her, inside Thanh Nhàn harbored a vast, radiant heart, burning with the will to live a meaningful life, a life dedicated to all those around her who needed her.

Dấu ấn của lòng nhân ái - Ảnh 2. — Presenting gifts to elderly people living alone as part of the "Collecting scrap and plastic items to protect the environment" program in Tho An commune (now Lien Minh commune, Hanoi ).

Nhan understood that she couldn't change her appearance, but she could absolutely change how she lived and how she treated the world. She decided to use her own life as proof of true beauty – beauty that radiates from sharing and compassion.

In 2022, Nhan registered to donate her organs. She thought, "If my face isn't fortunate enough to be saved, at least the rest of my body will be used to bring life and hope to others if I unfortunately pass away."

Dấu ấn của lòng nhân ái - Ảnh 3. — Hair Donor Card and Thank You Letter

Two years later, after a health setback, she continued to register to donate her body to science , hoping to contribute to the development of medicine and help future generations. More importantly, she hoped that her body could help find the cause of her illness so that no child in the future would suffer from the same disease. By this time, her condition had progressed from a lymphatic tumor to a neuroblastoma.

Besides those momentous decisions, Nhàn's beautiful act of living is also woven from her hair. She donated her hair three times in a row in 2022, 2023, and 2025 to contribute to the creation of wigs, bringing confidence and smiles to cancer patients who unfortunately lost their hair. Sharing the reason for her repeated hair donations, she said: "I don't qualify to donate blood, so I decided to donate my hair to beautify the world and bring more smiles to cancer patients."

Dấu ấn của lòng nhân ái - Ảnh 4. — Presenting gifts to students during the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2024 at Tho An Secondary School, Dan Phuong district (now Lien Minh commune, Hanoi).

"In 2024, during surgery, I had to shave off part of my hair. When I woke up in the hospital bed, I was devastated and cried a lot because for a girl, hair is the most beautiful and important thing. So after that, I understood and empathized more with cancer patients, and every day I cherish my hair so I can give it to everyone on my birthday," Nhàn shared.

Beyond her personal contributions, Thanh Nhàn is also the representative of the "Gathering Love" group in Hanoi and one of the group's activity coordinators. She is often nicknamed the spiritual and action leader of the "Gathering Love" charity group. Under her guidance, the group has implemented a series of meaningful programs, providing practical assistance to the community.

Dấu ấn của lòng nhân ái - Ảnh 5. — Implementing the "Meal of Love" program in Hanoi in January 2025.

Familiar programs include: "Wandering for Good Deeds" (helping those in need, wandering together to create small but valuable things); "Old Age Wishes" (caring for and giving gifts to lonely elderly people, currently the group is implementing the program in Vinh Loi district, former Bac Lieu province); "Helping Children Go to School" (supporting poor students, enabling them to attend school, sowing the seeds of literacy for the nation's young generation); and the "Bringing Spring Home" program (organizing warm Tet celebrations for disadvantaged children in former An Giang province, former Bac Lieu province, and Hanoi), and many other humanitarian programs that are being widely implemented throughout Vietnam.

Nhan's dedication and effectiveness are demonstrated by impressive figures: the value of her and her group's charitable programs each year reaches 60-80 million VND, mainly from her personal funds and contributions from group members, each contributing a small amount of money daily, creating a significant impact. But even more valuable than the material figures is the spread of her volunteer spirit.

Thanh Nhan and the Gom gai yeu thuong group have built a network of love across the country. She believes that kindness needs to be multiplied and guided. Wherever there is a new member of the group, there will be support for people in need. Gradually, Nhan has turned the curious, distant looks of the past into looks of admiration, trust and companionship.

Dấu ấn của lòng nhân ái - Ảnh 6. — Sharing life skills with readers of the Thọ An branch of the Happy Library.

In addition, Nhan is also a member and shareholder of the Happiness Social Company, which owns the Happiness Library (a free private library open to serve the community of all ages and social classes, offering over 7,000 books in Lien Minh and O Dien communes, Hanoi City, formerly Tho An and Tan Hoi communes, Dan Phuong district).

Here, Nhàn, along with key members, built and created a reading culture environment based on three core values: ethics, intellect, and perseverance, considered the three most essential values for a person's development.

She always hoped that after reading time, the children would come to the library to read books, limit their use of electronic devices, and become useful members of the community, knowing how to protect the environment, protect our own lives, and perform many other valuable humanitarian actions.

And it is here that she and her team regularly participate in charitable trips to the highlands, donating bookshelves to disadvantaged schools to help care for the education of underprivileged children who, despite their hardships, maintain a high spirit of learning. The group hopes that these small actions of the library will help change the lives of these children, so that in the future they will be the ones to build a prosperous and beautiful homeland.

Thanh Nhàn doesn't hide the imperfections on her face. She uses them as a reminder: a person's beauty doesn't lie in their physical appearance, but in what they do, in the love and kindness they give. And it is these actions that have helped her overcome illness and sow seeds of love in life. Nhàn always shares that as long as she has the strength, she will work until her last breath, always ready to contribute to making the community beautiful and meaningful, given that she was born in this unique yet extraordinary form.