The mark of kindness

Thanh Nhan was born and raised in Tho An, Lien Minh commune, Hanoi city (old Dan Phuong district) - a poor rural area along the Red River.

Since birth, Nhan's right face has been congenitally deformed (due to Agent Orange from her grandfather), forming a large tumor that covers the entire right side of her face. Nhan has undergone many surgeries since she was 5 years old to remove the tumor, creating a large scar that makes her face different.

Giving gifts to lonely elderly people in the program "Wishes for old age"

PHOTO: NVCC

As a child, she was not aware of her differences. As she grew up, those differences became invisible barriers: curious eyes, malicious teasing and alienation from her friends. Although the outside world seemed to close its doors to her, inside Thanh Nhan hid a vast heart, shining with the will to live a meaningful life, a life dedicated to everyone around her who needed her.

Giving gifts to lonely elderly people in the program "Collecting scrap and plastic items to protect the environment" in Tho An commune (now Lien Minh commune, Hanoi city)

PHOTO: NVCC

Nhan understood that she could not change her appearance, but she could absolutely change the way she lived and the way she treated the world. She decided to use her own life as a testament to true beauty - the beauty that comes from sharing and kindness.

In 2022, Nhan registered to be an organ donor. She thought: "If this face is not lucky, then at least the remaining parts of my body will be used to bring life and hope to others if I am unfortunately lost."

Hair Donor Card and Thank You Letter

PHOTO: NVCC

Two years later, after a health incident, she continued to register to donate her body to science , hoping to contribute to the development of medicine, helping future generations. And more importantly, she also hoped that from her body, she could find the cause of her illness so that no child in the future would have the same illness as her. Because at this time, her illness had changed from lymphoma to neuroma.

In addition to those great decisions, Nhan's beautiful life is also woven from hair. She donated her hair three times in a row in 2022, 2023 and 2025, to contribute to creating wigs, bringing confidence and smiles to cancer patients who unfortunately lost their hair. Sharing the reason why she continuously donated her hair, she said: "I myself am not qualified to donate blood, so I decided to donate my hair to beautify life and add more smiles to cancer patients."

Giving gifts to students on the occasion of Mid-Autumn Festival 2024 at Tho An Secondary School, Dan Phuong District (now Lien Minh Commune, Hanoi City)

PHOTO: NVCC

"In 2024, when I had surgery, I had to shave off part of my hair. When I woke up in the hospital bed, I broke down and cried a lot because girls have the most beautiful and important hair. So after that, I understood and sympathized more with cancer patients and every day I cherish my little hair to give to everyone on my birthday," Nhan shared.

Not only stopping at personal contributions, Thanh Nhan is also the representative of the Gom gai yeu thuong group in Hanoi and one of the members coordinating group activities. People often nickname her the spiritual and action leader of the Gom gai yeu thuong volunteer group. Under her accompaniment, the group has implemented a series of meaningful programs, bringing practical help to the community.

Implement the program "Loving Meal" in Hanoi City in January 2025

PHOTO: NVCC

Some familiar programs include: "Wandering to do good deeds" (helping people in need, wandering together to create small but valuable things); "Wishes for the elderly" (caring for and giving gifts to lonely elderly people, the group is currently implementing the program in Vinh Loi district, old Bac Lieu province); "Going to school with me" (supporting poor students, so that they can go to school, sowing knowledge for the country's young children) and the program "Bringing spring back" (organizing a warm Tet for disadvantaged children in the old An Giang province, old Bac Lieu province and Hanoi city) and many other humanitarian programs that are being widely implemented across the S-shaped strip of land.

Nhan's dedication and effectiveness are shown through impressive figures: the value of her group's and her personal volunteer programs each year is up to 60 - 80 million VND, mainly from her personal resources and group members' contributions from daily activities, a small coin creates great meaning. But what is 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.

Exchanging life skills with readers of the Tho An branch of the Happiness Library

PHOTO: NVCC

Besides, Nhan is also a member and shareholder of the Happiness Social Company with the Happiness Library (a free private library opened to serve the community of all ages and classes to read books with more than 7,000 books in Lien Minh and O Dien communes, Hanoi city, formerly Tho An and Tan Hoi communes, Dan Phuong district).

Here, Nhan and key members have built and created a reading culture environment based on three core values: ethics, intelligence and determination, which are considered the three most core values ​​for developing a person.

She always hopes that after reading hours, children will go to the library to read books, limit the use of electronic devices and become useful people for the community, know how to protect the environment, protect our own lives and many other valuable humane actions.

And also here, she and everyone regularly have charity trips to the highlands, giving gifts of bookcases to disadvantaged schools to take care of the education of children who are still in need but their learning spirit is always high. The group hopes that these small actions of the library will help change the lives of the children, and in the future they will be the ones to build a rich and beautiful homeland.

Thanh Nhan does not hide the flaws on her face. She uses it as a reminder: the beauty of a person is not in their appearance but in what they do, in the love and kindness they give. And it is those actions that have helped her overcome her illness, sowing seeds of love for life. Nhan always shares that as long as she has the strength, she will do it until her last breath, she is always ready to do so that the community is always beautiful and meaningful when she was born with that body - although special but extraordinary.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dau-an-cua-long-nhan-ai-185251025155205349.htm