Sow kindness from the heart

"Don't let people live for you"

For many years, the image of Nguyen Duy Hoc with cramped limbs, walking with difficulty, often wearing a camera around his neck has become familiar to households in difficult circumstances in Dak Lak province. Hoc and members of the Loving Arms group have shared from the smallest gifts to sustainable projects to bring joy and sow love to those in difficult circumstances.

Mr. Hoc gives bicycles to students in difficult circumstances.

Photo: Character provided

Mr. Hoc was born in 1987 in village 1A, Ea Kly commune, Krong Pac district, in a family with a revolutionary tradition. "My father was in the army and was affected by Agent Orange, my mother was a youth volunteer who went to build a new economy in Dak Lak province and is now retired. I was born with bent limbs, and it was not until I was 10 years old that I took my first steps," he said.

However, with his own efforts, Mr. Hoc finished grade 12 and passed the entrance exam to the Information Technology Department of Duy Tan University (now Duy Tan University - TN ) in 2007. Going out into society, he realized that there were many people in more unfortunate circumstances than him and decided to become a volunteer for the Pink Lotus Club, teaching culture to disabled children at the Charity Vocational Guidance Center (belonging to the Red Cross Society of Da Nang City). Since then, Mr. Hoc has always kept in mind: "I must live for everyone, not let everyone live for me".

Young people in the group repair damaged desks and chairs for students.

Photo: Character provided

Thinking about his sunny and windy homeland, Mr. Hoc said that Dak Lak has a special feature of having a population far apart, high mountains, and many difficult areas, so it is very difficult for a young man with a physical disability like him to go everywhere to do charity work. However, when his heart leads the way to love, Mr. Hoc does not consider it an obstacle but a challenge to overcome.

After many sleepless nights thinking about sustainable volunteer projects, he decided to mobilize his friends to establish the Loving Arms volunteer group in 2012, initially with 6 members and he was the leader. The group's members come from all ages and social classes as long as they have the spirit of volunteering and contributing to the community. To date, the number of members has reached nearly 50 people and the Loving Arms volunteer group is currently a member of the National Volunteer Network in the Central Highlands region.

Sustainable projects

Immediately after the group was established, Mr. Hoc immediately launched a project to cook rice for poor patients being treated at local hospitals, each time the group cooked about 200 meals. "I divided them into small teams such as logistics, chefs, rice distributors... and coordinated them to carry out the project once a week. In addition to voluntary contributions, we also have the support of philanthropists. Each meal given to poor patients brings us happiness," Mr. Hoc confided.

Mr. Hoc and the children after having sturdy tables and chairs.

Photo: Character provided

The project was maintained with the encouragement and motivation of local people. In 2014, Mr. Hoc continued to implement the project aimed at students in difficult circumstances. The group mobilized benefactors to donate 5,000 white shirts and school supplies to schools in Dak Lak and Dak Nong.

2017 marked the birth of a major project led by the Loving Arms group: the project of Building houses with iron frames for poor students. Mr. Hoc said that because he often saw many children living in dilapidated wooden houses that could be blown away after a storm, he had the idea to carry out the project.

Due to limited resources, it is difficult to build a concrete house, so the group chose a house with an iron frame and a corrugated iron roof. In addition, iron frame houses can be built quickly while still ensuring basic functions, and have a lifespan of over 10 years. "Each time we organize, the group mobilizes about 30 volunteers, divided into iron workers, corrugated iron workers, and logistics teams, each person doing a job to help. So far, the group has built 5 new houses and repaired more than 20 houses for students from difficult family circumstances," said Mr. Hoc.

In November 2017, storm No. 12 swept through Yang Mao commune, Krong Bong district (Dak Lak), blowing off the roofs of nearly the entire commune, leaving people homeless. Upon hearing the news, Mr. Hoc called for money to buy corrugated iron and, together with volunteers, went to the commune to roof more than 10 houses for the people at lightning speed.

In addition, since 2018, the group has implemented a project to repair desks and chairs for schools in remote and disadvantaged areas. This is a model of repairing and replacing damaged desks and chairs and reinforcing the frames so that children can study better. To date, the group has built and repaired 4,500 sets of desks and chairs for 41 schools in Dak Lak and Dak Nong provinces, and repaired a boarding school. In addition, the Loving Arms group also organizes activities such as personal hygiene for children, haircuts, distribution of warm clothes, participation in the prevention of the Covid-19 epidemic, giving school supplies to students in difficult circumstances, and implementing clean water supply projects with a mobilized budget of about 1 billion VND...

"When I visited Bui Thi Xuan Primary School - a school located in the middle of a remote forest in Cu San Commune, M'Drak District, I saw students sitting on severely damaged desks and chairs, their clothes dirty because they had to lean on the peeling paint to write. That moment made me decide to carry out a project to make new desks and chairs for students. Immediately after that, the group started working, repairing nearly 60 desks and chairs, replacing 6 fans and adding more than 10 new fans to the classrooms," Mr. Hoc shared.

Steps do not stop

Although it is difficult to move, Mr. Hoc still travels a lot. There are months when he volunteers for 30 days, and some days he travels more than 200 km to the homes of poor families to give gifts. Seeing his determination, many parents trust their children to volunteer with Mr. Hoc to experience love and the spirit of sharing in life. "In big events, the group can mobilize over 500 volunteers to participate, most of them are young people and many are disabled. The long, muddy roads and difficult travel conditions, rain or shine, do not diminish the enthusiasm of the young people. There are bumpy roads that I cannot walk, but my friends carry me and carry me to overcome them," Mr. Hoc shared.

Anh Hoc received the Shining Vietnamese Willpower Award 2020

Photo: Character provided

Since graduating, Mr. Hoc has done many jobs to make a living, such as selling milk tea, repairing computers, and taking photos and videos. Because his hands cannot stretch out, he cannot directly make tables and chairs or build houses, so he often uses a camera to capture beautiful moments of volunteers. "The volunteer journey will follow me for the rest of my life. Live for everyone and live in a way that is useful to society," he smiled gently.

Ms. Ly Thi Hong Tri, Head of the Standing Committee of the National Volunteer Network in the Central Highlands, said: "Over the years, Mr. Hoc has led the Loving Arms group to carry out many sustainable volunteer projects, contributing to helping students go to school. Mr. Hoc's determination is truly admirable." In 2019, the Loving Arms volunteer group was honored to receive the National Volunteer Award presented by the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/geo-nhan-ai-tu-trong-trai-tim-185250516193704851.htm