Spread the good deeds

Initially, he simply thought it was a beautiful morning, perfect for visiting home and reminding the literacy class students of their new year's class schedule for that evening.

However, before Thành could even stop by the village chief's house, he saw Klen, a student in his literacy class, running towards him, reporting that her fourth daughter, Yai, had been missing for several days. By the time Klen calmed down, Thành had learned the situation. Yai had asked her mother for permission to visit her siblings in the neighboring village, and since it was still the Lunar New Year holiday, her mother had allowed it. When her siblings came to visit today and couldn't find Yai, the whole family frantically searched the village but to no avail.

With his keen intuition, Lieutenant Thanh discovered that Yai had recently received an old phone from her brother. Although it was currently unreachable, it was still a clue to finding Yai. So instead of visiting other trainees' homes to remind them, Lieutenant Thanh quickly went to the house of Mr. Kui, the village head and former commune police officer, to explain the situation. Thanh asked Kui to send a friend request via Zalo and also send a message in the Bana language to Yai. After a long period of anxious waiting, Yai accepted the friend request and asked for help from her new friend. Thanh hastily instructed Kui on how to locate Yai's position. Upon receiving the location pinned to Yai at the Dong Nai karaoke bar, Thanh rushed back to the district to report the situation.

Lan tỏa mầm việc tốt - Ảnh 1. — Klen's family and Yai opened a bottle of rice wine to celebrate Yai's rescue.

Thanks to the complete and accurate information provided by Thanh, the Mang Yang district police were able to take timely professional measures to identify the suspect and report to their superiors, contacting the Dong Nai provincial police to establish a special case. Therefore, on February 13th, just three days after contact was established, Yai was rescued by the authorities and reunited with her family.

Remove fingerprints

Lieutenant Le Tuan Thanh was assigned to the village of Kret Krot as part of a project to bring regular police officers to assume positions in commune police stations in 2023. He quickly learned that Kret Krot village – one of the three villages he was responsible for – was not only extremely economically disadvantaged but also a former hotspot of the Ha Mon cult, a cult that caused people to flee into the mountains to pray, abandoning their homes and fields. According to accounts, the children didn't go to school because of this. No one cared about making a living, let alone going to school. The most obvious consequence was that over 80% of the village's population was illiterate; when filling out paperwork, people simply used ink pads to sign with their fingerprints.

Lan tỏa mầm việc tốt - Ảnh 2. — Teacher Thanh's evening class is filled with the efforts of mothers.

Although he quickly adapted to his new work environment, those fingerprints always stirred up in Thành an indescribable sense of unease. After many sleepless nights, Thành thought about teaching literacy to the villagers in the evenings using a "Charity Class" model. The class received support from the authorities, but still faced many difficulties, such as the villagers' self-consciousness and fatigue after a long day's work. Understanding these challenges, Thành collaborated with the village head to go door-to-door, and the initial enrollment of over 30 students was a gratifying achievement for the young police officer.

Following the success of the first class in Kret Krot village, which, despite only teaching on Mondays and Thursdays from December 2023 to December 2024, successfully eradicated illiteracy for over 30 students, Thanh realized that the need for education among the people still existed. Therefore, in January 2025, he opened a second class in Kon Hoa village with 15-35 students. Because the class is only held in the evenings, students with young children choose to bring their children along.

Lan tỏa mầm việc tốt - Ảnh 3. — The father learns first so he can teach his son.

Looking at the child sitting and practicing reading with him, Mr. Thun shared: "My child is almost old enough to go to school. I want to learn to read before my child starts school, so that when they go to school, I can write their name, guide them to read, and study with them. That's why I'm trying so hard to learn."

Klen, a woman in her early 40s who is already a grandmother and mother of Yai – the girl tricked into working at a karaoke bar in Dong Nai – couldn't hide her embarrassment but also her excitement as she showed off her neat handwriting. She said, "I only intended to learn how to write my name. But the more I learned, the more I liked it. I want to be able to read papers and newspapers myself, instead of having someone read to me."

Lan tỏa mầm việc tốt - Ảnh 4. — Students with young children choose to bring their children to class.

Mr. Kưh, a teacher at Hra No. 1 Primary School, after realizing how effective and necessary this charity class model was for the people in his village, volunteered to support and assist Thành's class. Mr. Kưh said: "We have to learn, only with literacy can we avoid being deceived or being lured by Hà Mòn. Thành, who is not from the village, has such a mindset, so we must all lend a hand."

Thanh's classroom model is a testament to the government's attentiveness and understanding of the people, with the classroom serving as a strong bridge. Thanh always takes advantage of opportunities to understand the people's thoughts and feelings by chatting during breaks, or by arriving a little earlier or leaving a little later. He prioritizes creating short videos for people to watch and discuss Party policies, prominent cases, or matters related to people's lives, thereby significantly improving security in the village.

Support from family

It's easy to see that Thanh is very passionate about volunteer work. Looking at the certificates of merit neatly displayed on the wall, a testament to his contributions, I can't help but admire the journey of this young lieutenant. Thanh shyly confided, "To receive these certificates of merit, I must thank the encouragement and understanding from my family, especially my wife, very much."

Lan tỏa mầm việc tốt - Ảnh 5. — Lieutenant Thanh is looking to develop more projects to support elderly people living alone.

Indeed, from the early days with the "Bookshelf for Enlightening Morality" project to donate books to prisons and rehabilitation centers, to the "Peaceful Road" project aimed at filling and repairing potholes on village and inter-village roads to facilitate travel and reduce traffic accidents, Thanh has always received the support of his family. His father, Mr. Le Van Dien, and his father-in-law, Mr. Ksor Nhuat, assisted him in repairing roads near their home, and his younger brother, Mr. Le Van Tam, has donated blood with Thanh 15 times.

The school organized a tree planting campaign and worked with students to raise awareness.

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR

During his free weekends, he also joins young people in planting trees for the "Green Journey" project on coastal alluvial plains and on hillsides at military training grounds, such as mangrove, kơ nia, pine, and green star trees. Simultaneously, he has created a green startup model with nearly 300,000 seedlings, including acacia and coffee trees, to help disadvantaged people start businesses and develop their economy. He has also donated nearly 2,000 fruit trees and promoted green living in schools.

When talking about his activities, Thanh confided: "I just want to help the community through my concrete actions. The spirit of 'wherever youth are needed, they are there' that Uncle Ho taught is always right, sister. Initially, planting trees or opening a library were inspired by Uncle Ho's teaching, 'For the benefit of ten years, plant trees.' Even opening literacy classes stemmed from Uncle Ho's lessons. I think we need to 'eradicate ignorance' first, then village security will gradually be ensured."