30-year journey of "helping people, helping life"

QTO - With enthusiasm and a heart of sharing, always looking towards the community, up to now, Mr. Nguyen Mau Anh Tuan (48 years old) in Nam Dong Ha ward has donated blood many times. He is also an active member in movements and volunteer activities whenever epidemics or natural disasters occur. In addition, Mr. Tuan is also the Captain of the Quang Tri 0 Dong Volunteer Canoe Team, who is always active and proactive in rescue work...

70 times of voluntary blood donation

Mr. Nguyen Mau Anh Tuan (often called Mau Tuan) has a main job as an MC, a freelance football commentator and an electrician, but people often know him more through his role as a long-time volunteer blood donor and the "leader" of the Quang Tri 0 Dong Canoe Team. Despite his extremely busy work, Mr. Tuan still takes a little time to share with us about his journey of helping people and life over the past 30 years.

After many days and nights of struggling with the members of the Quang Tri Free Canoe Team to participate in the rescue and relief of the shipwreck that left many fishermen missing in Cua Viet due to storm No. 10 recently, Mr. Tuan's eyes were sunken due to lack of sleep. He confided that his family was poor as his father worked in the fields and his mother was sick all year round, often having to be hospitalized for treatment. Therefore, at home, almost all of his four siblings had to fend for themselves.

“When I was in 5th grade, I went to school in the morning and in the afternoon I wandered around the streets of Dong Ha City (old) to sell cigarettes and sugarcane to make a living. My mother was constantly sick, so all the valuable assets in the house had to be sold to pay for treatment. Even the iron sheets used to make walls had to be dismantled and sold to have money to buy medicine. Because of our poor family circumstances, my siblings and I had to go pick up potatoes and cassava, and borrow rice from the whole neighborhood to make ends meet,” said Tuan. Having received the sharing and help of everyone during those difficult days, Tuan soon vowed that when he grew up, he would do charity work to help people.

Mr. Mau Tuan (the one holding the loudspeaker) is the "leader" of the Quang Tri 0 Dong Volunteer Canoe Team - Photo: D.V

At the age of 17, he started participating in social work and Red Cross work. “I volunteered to donate blood to save people. Then, I participated in cutting hair and asking for old clothes for students in mountainous areas. That was how I shared with the community in the early days,” said Mr. Tuan. In 2008, Mr. Tuan donated blood for the first time and so far he has donated blood and platelets 70 times (about 23 liters); of which, in the period 2020-2025, he participated in humanitarian blood donation 24 times.

In addition, as Vice Chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial Voluntary Blood Donation Club, in charge of the "living blood bank", he has mobilized more than 350 people to participate in voluntary blood donation, promptly helping emergency patients at Quang Tri Provincial General Hospital and Hue Central Hospital. Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic - the most difficult time for emergency blood donation, Mr. Tuan and the Club members have made efforts and actively coordinated with the Provincial General Hospital to promote propaganda and mobilize people to donate blood to save lives, preventing a shortage of emergency blood for patients.

Ms. Mai Thi Kim Nhung, President of the Quang Tri Provincial Red Cross Society, said: Mr. Nguyen Mau Anh Tuan is a typical example of blood donation and blood donation mobilization for many years. His contributions contribute to sharing with critically ill patients, those in difficult and disadvantaged circumstances who need help. From there, spreading the beautiful image of people doing humanitarian work, promptly sharing with the community in the most dangerous times.

Entering dangerous areas to save people

These days, Mr. Mau Tuan and his volunteer colleagues in Quang Tri province were present in Thai Nguyen province to carry out the program "Quang Tri towards the North".

Mr. Tuan said that, sharing the difficulties with the people in the North who were severely flooded, he and 4 members of the Quang Tri Free Canoe Volunteer Team brought a motorized canoe to Thai Nguyen province directly to the vulnerable areas, deeply flooded to rescue and provide emergency relief for people for many days. After that, he and the members moved to Bac Giang and Bac Ninh provinces to continue to carry out emergency relief and rescue work for people.

In addition, a group of 0-dong rescue canoes in Da Nang City also joined forces with Mr. Tuan's group to bring 2 canoes to join in the rescue and relief of people in deep flooded areas. Thanks to Mr. Tuan's 0-dong canoes group, dozens of people and many households in dangerously deep flooded areas were brought to safety and provided with food and necessary necessities to cope with the flood.

Mr. Mau Tuan carries an elderly person in Thai Nguyen province from a deep flooded area to a safe location - Photo: NVCC

Together with local volunteers, Mr. Tuan has coordinated to mobilize and donate resources to support his fellow countrymen. Up to this point, dozens of tons of goods worth hundreds of millions of VND, including goods and essential necessities, have been transported to help people in the northern provinces that suffered heavy damage due to floods.

“We have been present in many deeply flooded areas in the provinces of Thai Nguyen and Bac Giang, rescuing people, including many elderly and sick people deep in residential areas. Our canoes have tried to reach and take them to safety. In places that have been isolated for many days, people lack food and necessities, so despite the hardship and fatigue of the long journey and the frequent travel, my team and I have tried our best to help people overcome this difficult time,” said Mr. Tuan.

With his positive and meaningful contributions, Mr. Nguyen Mau Anh Tuan has received many noble awards. In particular, in the period of 2020-2025 alone, he was awarded the National Security Protection Medal by the Ministry of Public Security; was voted as a typical advanced model in the period of 2015-2020 of Dong Ha City (old) and a typical advanced model in the period of 2020-2025 of Nam Dong Ha ward.

From 2020 to now, Mr. Mau Tuan has participated in many rescue and relief operations when floods occurred in Quang Tri province. In 2024, Mr. Tuan coordinated with the authorities of Vinh Linh district (old) to work overnight to promptly evacuate more than 20 people trapped by floods in dangerous places, adjacent to Sa Lung river, to safety.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Tuan established the group "Sharing love for Quang Tri", responding to the call for the whole people to prevent and fight the Covid-19 pandemic by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the Fatherland Front at all levels. As the group leader, he called on and mobilized many organizations and individuals to join hands to support the people of the South and neighboring provinces with nearly 100 million VND in cash; more than 250 tons of goods.

Under the supervision and coordination of a number of agencies and units, Mr. Tuan mobilized 100 million VND to support gasoline, food, and drinking water for people on their journey back to their hometowns through Quang Tri province (old). He also called for 500 million VND in sponsorship to drill 2 clean water wells in Dakrong district (old), 1 clean water well in Huong Hoa district (old), support the construction and repair of 4 houses in Dong Ha city (old)...

Mr. Tuan's humanitarian and volunteer activities in recent years have not only promptly helped the community in times of difficulty and disaster, but also contributed to spreading a beautiful image and lifestyle in society.

German Vietnamese

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/xa-hoi/202510/hanh-trinh-30-nam-giup-nguoi-giup-doi-50a4d59/