The Fatherland calls - the youth are the first to respond
In the long journey of the Vietnamese people, whenever the Fatherland faces a life-and-death crossroads, the first force mentioned is always the youth. From the early days of independence to today's muddy storms and floods, the Vietnamese youth has continued to shine like an uncontrollable flame, despite all the changes of time.
The spirit of “Where there is a need, there is youth” is not a slogan hung on billboards. It is the crystallization of millions of silent but courageous choices, from young people who put the interests of the community above their own safety. They choose to live a beautiful life – not because they are assigned a task, but because deep in their hearts there is always the call of the sacred Fatherland.
During the recent storms and floods, when the floodwaters rose to their chests, when each residential area was cut off, when only the roofs of each house could be seen, young people from all over the country volunteered to rush into the flood. They were there without waiting for anyone to call them. No one asked them to, but they understood: when the people are in trouble, young people cannot stand aside.
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Youth forces help people overcome storms and floods. (Photo: Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union) |
Amidst the flames of war – Vietnamese youth wrote history with blood and faith
Turning back the pages of the nation’s heroic history, one can always find traces of youth. They are footprints wading in the mud, smiles amidst the mist of Truong Son forest, tears seeing off fallen friends, songs that drown out the sound of bombs, letters sent home that never received a reply.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, in the anti-American resistance war, 65% of the combat and combat support forces were young people, more than 1.4 million youth volunteers were present at the most fiercely bombed areas. Of these, more than 10,000 people heroically sacrificed their lives, with an average age of only 18 to 22.
The twenty-year-olds become immortal
Ly Tu Trong – the 17-year-old youth who boldly stepped up to the guillotine and left behind the immortal words: “The path of youth can only be the revolutionary path.” Vo Thi Sau – the sixteen-year-old girl from Dat Do faced the enemy without “her heels trembling.” Nguyen Van Troi – the young electrician who turned the moment of near death into a call to awaken millions of hearts. Ten girls from Dong Loc T-junction – all eighteen or twenty, lay in the ground to maintain the traffic flow for the southern battlefield.
Luong Khanh Thien, Be Van Dan, Cu Chinh Lan, Tran Van Phuong on Gac Ma Island later on… and thousands of names, each name is a flame, each name is an immortal son of this Fatherland. Those people will never grow old in the memory of the nation, in the sacred soul of the mountains and rivers, because they chose to dedicate their entire youth to the Fatherland.
From the trenches to peace – the youth continue to pave the way for the country. When the gunshots of war have receded into the past, the S-shaped strip of land enters a difficult period of construction. And once again, the youth are called – not to hold guns, but to build a new Vietnam.
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Youth volunteers from Quang Ngai province have been delivering relief goods to the South Central region in recent days. (Photo: Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union) |
Youth roads – bridges of people's hearts
During 40 years of innovation, young people have left their mark in tens of thousands of specific projects and works:
In the period 2017-2022, the Youth Union chapters at all levels registered and implemented more than 34,000 youth projects. More than 150,000 km of rural roads were expanded, concreted or repaired. 20,000 bridges and culverts were built from the sweat and efforts of young people. More than 120 million trees were planted in the "For a green environment" programs, contributing to creating new lungs for the country.
In every countryside, every village, people can show you a project with the footprints of young people: the suspension bridge over the flooded stream of Muong Dang village ( Dien Bien ); the newly opened concrete road in Tra Don commune (Nam Tra My); the project "Electricity to light up the countryside road" in the Southwest region.
Young intellectuals go towards the difficult side
Youth in the integration era not only take the lead with strength but also with intelligence. Every year, youth across the country have more than 300,000 initiatives and scientific and technical topics recognized and applied. More than 40,000 young volunteers have been sent to remote, border and island areas to develop new rural areas, transfer science and technology, build economic models, and guide people in developing their livelihoods. More than 600,000 young entrepreneurs are creating young, high-tech businesses, contributing to making Vietnam a bright spot for startups in the region.
Today's youth, if not carrying goods over mountains like their fathers, are "paving the way" in new spaces: digital space, creative space, international space.
When natural disasters strike – young people are always the force on the front line.
During the prolonged days of floods in Dak Lak, Khanh Hoa, Gia Lai, Lam Dong and many provinces in the Central Highlands at the end of 2025, the whole country once again saw a familiar but always touching image: members of the Youth Union, young people wading through the rushing water, carrying old people in their arms, holding children in their hands, looking at each other steadfastly amid the howling wind and raging floodwaters. At any landslide, deep flood or isolated residential area, people first saw the green shirts of volunteers, young border guards, and red shirts of Red Cross youth.
No longer a story of just one locality, that spirit spreads across places that suffered heavy damage: from Buon Don (Dak Lak) where the water rose more than 2 meters in just a few hours, to Ninh Hoa (Khanh Hoa) where the Dinh River exceeded its historic flood peak; from villages in Krong Ana, Ea Kar, to streamside communes in Gia Lai - where youth groups walked through the night to reach people who had been isolated for many days.
True stories – recorded with sweat and courage
Story 1: 150 young people from Ho Chi Minh City set out to provide relief to Khanh Hoa in the midst of the flood (2025). On November 23, 2025, the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union decided to establish a team of 150 young volunteers, immediately setting out to support the people of Khanh Hoa who were submerged in severe floods. This is one of the largest teams mobilized in the past 10 years. In just 48 hours, the team provided more than 1,500 relief gifts, directly reaching deeply flooded residential areas in Ninh Hoa, Van Ninh, and Dien Khanh.
Story 2: More than 1,500 Lam Dong Youth Union members support people in cleaning up after historic floods (2025). After the particularly large flood in early November 2025, Lam Dong Provincial Youth Union mobilized more than 1,500 youth union members to go to areas that were heavily damaged. They cleaned mud, repaired houses, collected trash, helped cook rice, transported food - working regardless of sun or rain from morning to night. In some communes, wherever the floodwaters receded, youth were present, helping people rebuild each roof that had been blown off.
Story 3: Dak Lak youths spend the night in deep flooded areas to take people out of dangerous areas (2025). During the big flood on November 21-22, 2025, in Krong Ana district (Dak Lak), the rapid response youth team of Binh Hoa commune spent the night in boats going into each residential area, taking more than 200 people out of the rapidly rising floodwaters. The press recorded images of young men groping in the night, one hand holding a flashlight, the other holding the rope to pull the boat, in many sections having to wade through chest-high cold water to help each elderly person to safety.
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Youth volunteers from Quang Ngai province have been delivering relief goods to the South Central region in recent days. (Photo: Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union) |
Telling numbers in flood season
According to preliminary statistics from the Central Youth Union and the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control: More than 120,000 young people directly participated in rescue, relief and support for flood-affected areas in 2025 alone. More than 5,000 rapid response teams were activated in 63 provinces and cities. The material value mobilized by young people to support flood-affected people reached approximately 300 billion VND. More than 2 million meals, hundreds of tons of rice, more than 10,000 lifebuoys, along with thousands of blankets, warm clothes and medicine were delivered to deeply flooded or isolated areas.
These numbers not only show the strength of youth in difficult times, but also demonstrate the depth of the culture of humanity that has become a tradition of the Vietnamese people.
Small stories – but create great trust
Youth Union member Nguyen Thi Mai (Quang Ngai): On November 12, 2023, while evacuating people in Nghia Hoa commune (Tu Nghia district), Mai was grazed by a piece of corrugated iron blown by the wind, causing a lot of bleeding. However, she temporarily bandaged the wound and then returned with the youth group to move rice and take children upstairs to avoid the flood. She simply said: "The flood is rising too quickly, people still need me."
Group of youths in Ky Son district (Nghe An): The flash flood on September 2, 2022 in Muong Xen trapped many households. 15 local youths took advantage of every minute in the pouring rain to tie lifelines, wade through the rushing water to pull 12 people out of a wooden house that was about to be swept away.
11th grade student Nguyen Quoc Toan (Quang Tri): On October 29, 2022, Toan, an 11th grade student, jumped into deep water to save three people whose boat capsized in Hai An commune (Hai Lang district). He said: "At that time, I didn't think about anything, I just saw that they were about to drown."
These stories, though small compared to the great work that the youth of the whole country are undertaking, still highlight a simple thing: the kindness of the Vietnamese people always begins from youth. Regardless of the era, Vietnamese youth are still beautiful in their dedication, in their courage and in the way they put the People above themselves.
From the Ly Tu Trong generation to the COVID-19 frontline generation, from the generation of ten Dong Loc girls to the generation of crossing streams to save people in floods, there is still an unchanged spirit: when the Fatherland is in difficulty, the youth step forward; when the people are in trouble, the youth stay; when the country needs innovation, the youth are creative.
That spirit is the glue that binds generations together; is an endless source of energy for the work of building and defending the Fatherland; and is the political identity of Vietnamese youth.
Youth – the shock force in the new era
Today, Vietnam faces new challenges: fierce international competition, climate change, population aging, the need for rapid and sustainable development, the risk of fake news, high-tech fraud, non-traditional issues, and extreme natural disasters.
And once again, young people step into the forefront of the new era: On the front line of digital transformation, young people are the core. On the front line of green economy - circular economy, young people are the initiators. On the front line of environmental protection, young people are the pioneers. On the front line of people's diplomacy, young people are the bridge bringing Vietnam to the world. On the front line of innovation, young people are the fastest movers. They are the generation of 2045 aspiration - the generation carrying the great responsibility and mission entrusted by the Party and the People.
Every era needs a generation of brave young people.
Every time the country faces challenges, people ask: “Where are the youth?” And the answer has never changed: The youth are in the most difficult places. The youth are where the people need them most. The youth are where the Fatherland calls”. That spirit is the belief, the hope, the strength that helps the nation overcome all events. President Ho Chi Minh advised: “The prosperity or decline of the country, weakness or strength, depends largely on the youth.”
Today, when we see young people rushing to save people in floods, working night after night to repair bridges, researching new technologies day after day, staying in villages day after day to help people develop the economy... we believe more and more that Vietnam's future will be brighter, stronger, and more sustainable.
Because, in all circumstances, Vietnamese youth still keep their spirit and soul:
Where young people need to have.
Where there is difficulty there is youth.
Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/dau-can-thanh-nien-co-dau-kho-co-thanh-nien-khat-vong-tuoi-tre-qua-nhung-mua-gian-kho-217995.html
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